Iarnród Éireann announced yesterday that it will return to its original timetable from October 14 after weeks of delays caused by the schedule changes.
All changes made to the Dublin timetable on August 26 will be scrapped to “rebalance the timetable” and improve the punctuality of rail services. However, “minor time changes” will be implemented to accommodate extra services.
Iarnród Éireann apologised for the congestion, saying it “deeply regrets” the “enormous disruption” the new timetable has caused for commuters.
Iarnród Éireann Corporate Communications Manager Barry Kenny said: “We got it wrong and we are genuinely very, very sorry to our customers.”
“[The new timetable] did impact hugely on daily commuters, on their work, education, childcare,” said Kenny.
“That’s why we are making these changes, and going back to the pattern people would have known before. We believe that this will address the issues that our customers have had.”
Speaking on the changes to come, Kenny said: “Essentially, the morning timetable will revert to the same pattern of the old timetable with some minor time changes to accommodate our Intercity and Belfast services.”
Since the new timetable was implemented, commuters have experienced numerous issues including frequent delays to DART services, overcrowded carriages and platforms, and irregular patterns of services.
“It’s frustrating living in a place that already has relatively little public transport to have supposed improvements make this public transport unreliable,” one commuter told Trinity News.
Yesterday’s announcement comes less than 3 weeks after Iarnród Éireann issued updates to the new timetable in an attempt to rectify these problems.
Minister for Housing and Dublin TD Darragh O’Brien in a video posted on X said he had communicated with Iarnród Éireann and “pushed for changes” to improve rail services after he received “very serious feedback” from commuters.
