Councillor queries fielded by an Irish Rail representative

A NEW ERA of customer service is dawning for Iarnród Éireann, according to passenger services manager John Reville.

Giving a presentation to members of Wicklow County Council last week, Mr Reville said that the company is currently conducting a review of its customer service.

He said that he was attending council meetings around the country to brief them of the changes before they were implemented.

Mr Reville said that the company had come to recognise that there is a greater needed for an on-board staff presence along routes, particularly the intercity routes. He also said that there had been a switch from the traditional purchase of tickets at stations to online sales.

Mr Reville said the plan was to have a staff member highly visible on board delivering a can-do attitude. He said ‘every intercity route will have a customer representative responsible for customers’ needs.

Cllr Jennifer Whitmore said while she understood the push to automated ticketing and online sales but said that some elderly people might not be able to use these services and pointed out that people with poor broadband connectivity would also struggle. She also expressed concerns that people with mobility issues had to give 24 hours notice to travel.

Cllr Tom Fortune pointed out that Kilcoole has a population of 4,000 but the train station didn’t have any shelter. He also questioned the lack of stops at Kilcoole, stating that if the train were passing through the station he didn’t see why it couldn’t stop there too.

His request for a shelter at the station was supported by Cllr Nicola Lawless who also raised concerns about the accessibility of trains and queried the need for people with mobility issues having to give notice.

Cllr Miriam Murphy, herself a wheelchair user, said while she enjoyed using public transport she had a fear of being unable to board, and said that it was unfair that people with mo- bility issues had to give notice to ensure there were someone at the station to help them.

Cllr Derek Mitchell raised concerns about the planned increase in journey times and also the lack of bike parking spaces within Greystones station.

Cllr Michael O’Connor wondered if it were possible to coordinate bus and train timetables.

Cllr Sylvester Bourke wondered if it were possible to put a station in Avoca.

The disparity of fares between Greystones and Bray prompted concern from Cllr Gerry Walsh who said that the Greystones fare to Dublin was disproportionate to what was being charged from Bray. ‘We should be trying to incentivise people to use public transport,’ he said.

Cllr Irene Winters said that the Wicklow train was often delayed, while Cllr Grainne McLough-