Bigbro's foray into the scary world of blogging
In an effort to get from Dublin to Limerick with some degree of comfort and reliability, I booked a 1st class ticket for the 17:05 train from Heuston to Dublin, scheduled to arrive at 19:15. How misguided and futile my attempts were to prove on both scores.
So far, there has been a fault with the doors, resulting in us stopping for 20 minutes to check the doors. This was followed shortly with a signalling fault, resulting in a further stoppage. I was told by a nice gentleman in the restaurant car that the driver was dealing with a fault with the engine shortly after that - so I got myself a nice cup of tea for the further wait. From speaking with the staff it would appear that some part of the engine may hvae gone on fire. Never mind... the driver put it out with water from the restaurant.
After finally getting the train moving once more, we got almost as far as Templemore. upon which we stopped again because something has happened to a bridge in Thurles and only one line is open. It was eventually announced that a truck had hit the bridge in Thurles and knocked it down on the tracks. My dad later informed me that the Cork train had subsequently crashed into some rubble on the track, further fouling things up.
I finally arrived in Limerick at 21:05, a mere 1 hour 50 minutes late. I had to laugh - just yesterday Irish Rail sent me a long letter apologising for my 98 minute delay the last time I travelled to Limerick, and apologising for taking so long to send me a letter apologising for the delay... along with half the cost of the journey refunded in Irish Rail vouchers, €13. I can't describe how pleased I am to discover that I can get a train ticket from Dublin to Limerick for €26... I'll be looking out for that particular type of ticket. When I calm down at losing yet another 2 hours of my life due to their incompetence I'll be writing a polite letter to their complaints office, CC'ing the Irish Times.
posted at: 23:58 | path: | permanent link to this entry
