Irish Rail has announced updates to its new timetable just two weeks after it was introduced, following persistent delays and commuter frustration.
The new timetable was introduced on August 26 and increased routes across Ireland, particularly intercity services that pass through Dublin’s Connolly Station, causing a number of changes to arrival and departure times.
In practice, the timetable has struggled to deliver punctuality and led to a cascade of delays.
In a statement, Irish Rail recognised that the new timetable has resulted in issues for proper delivery of intercity and DART services, and announced that departure times and platforms will be adjusted from next Monday to combat these issues.
“We have experienced some issues impacting punctuality performance in the first two weeks of the implementation of the new timetable, notably arising from congestion in the Connolly Station area affecting commuter routes feeding into Connolly,” the statement read.
Barry Kenny, Head of Corporate Services at Iarnród Éireann, said the primary issue has been the impact on commuter services, particularly during peak rush hour times.
Kenny stated that from next Monday, there will be time changes for a number of services, including the DART, Maynooth commuter, and Northern commuter routes to avoid congestion. Other services will also experience time changes to “ensure we are hitting that punctuality,” but they are yet to be announced.
Speaking to Trinity News on the new timetable, one commuter said: “It’s frustrating living in a place that already has relatively little public transport to have supposed improvements make this public transport unreliable.”
Commuters across social media have also been sharing their experiences with the new timetable, with one user on X (formally called Twitter) writing: “Constant announcements of late arrivals at Connolly and it’s taking me an extra hour today than last week. None of the trains have a clue what platform they’re coming into.”
Irish Rail has apologised to its customers for “any inconvenience they have experienced” and they anticipate next week’s updates will improve services.
