NI Railways new timetable

D.A.

OK, if anyone on here is a regular train user - has a single one of your trains run on time since the new timetable was introduced? Can't say I've noticed any as yet, and a look at Translink's website just shows delays and cancellations day after day.

And of course Monday was just a complete joke.

BigAl94

What do you expect - efficiency!!!??? It takes more than fancy new rolling stock to make a good railway. These people are complete amateurs, the standard of service is appalling, I have travelled on railways all over Europe and what we have is unbelievablely "third world". Just go to any station, Bangor and Gt Victoria Street prime examples - just look at the number of "goons" apparently sitting around all day doing nothing until a train is about to arrive or leave, even then they are half asleep and often send you to the wrong platform! What is wrong with automatic ticket barriers and proper on screen information - get rid of these characters. Even on the new trains, I feel sorry for any strangers, usually a complete lack of announcements re next station etc. Overcrowding at peak times also a major problem if you are trying to get on say a Bangor train at Central. Maybe this will ease IF they can get the new timetables to work - but don't hold your breath. In this day and age, the travelling Northern Ireland public should expect and deserve better- I hear complaints about trains in England but it is an apparently far more sophisticated service than we have.

mcclim

Come on give them a chance, today is only the third day of the new timetable and it is a large improvement for the majority of train users Bangor gets a train every 20 odd minutes and so does Portadown, Lisburn etc, where as places like Newry get one every two hours or so and only two trains in in the morning....

I know there has been delays since Monday but it is a new a completely new timetable which the station staff are struggling with as much as us.

I would give it a few more days to get themselves sorted and how things work sorted...

Remember the trains have improved a vast amount since this time last year, it used to be a daily occurrence me coming into work photocopying my train ticket and filling out a claim form due to a train being late... The last two days have been the only time I have been delayed in a long time....

Neil

D.A.

I get the feeling that the new Chief Executive of Translink is trying to run a modern service while many of the staff (and track infrastructure) are still stuck in the mindset of Ted Hesketh, the previous Chief Executive (what exactly DID he get an MBE for???).

My main gripes are:

1) The information displays at Central are appalling. On Monday they were such a complete disaster that the guy at the ticket barrier had to say "go down to the platform and there will be an announcement made when you get there". I got on the Lisburn train, whilst the platform display still said for a full 10 minutes that it was a Bangor train. God help anyone who doesn't speak English, as you have to be totally dependent on the announcements to know which train is which.

2) This morning I got the 08:12 "express" from Lisburn to City Hospital. It actually ended up travelling slower than a normal stopping train, as some eejit has decided to run an 08:05 stopping train from Lisburn in front of it. And of course, it was delayed leaving, thereby forcing the "express" to stop just as often. It doesn't take a genius to work out that an express train needs to have a clear track in front of it to operate!

3) Where is the car parking at stations (particularly any station between Lisburn and Belfast) for those who don't live close enough to walk, and who can't get a lift to the station? How is this supposed to entice people out of their cars? (I realise this isn't really Translink's problem, but they are hamstrung by a DRD which seems completely bus-centric).

4) The Translink website is just abysmal. Any delays which there are are normally only shown after you would have left to catch the train anyway. We need SMS alerts of delays.

Don't get me wrong - many NIR staff really do seem to be trying their best (particularly those at the ticket gate at Central - they rule), but they seem to be completely held back by archaic IT and information systems, and outdated infrastructure. I really do hope it improves after these teething troubles, because the initiative certainly deserves to succeed.

D.A.

The start of a new week, and nothing has changed. 10 minute delay on my train this morning, and a "this train terminates here" announcement at Gt Victoria St, causing (almost) everyone to get off, whereupon they were told that the train was actually going to Bangor. Oh, the incompetence...

Rather amusingly, a Translink spokeswoman on Radio Ulster on Friday evening claimed that the new timetable was "bedding in well" and that a commuter who had had 9 out of 9 trains delayed was an isolated incident. I think not dear...