DART workers taking the p***

Has anyone else who rides the Howth/Malahide DART noticed how it usually stops just before Clontarf Road a lot of the time? Taking a closer look, you may notice a DART worker entering Fairview depot as the DART pulls away.

Saw a DART worker standing at the platform at Tara St. this evening talking to a co-worker. The DART stopped at Fairview depot, and as it pulled away, I noticed the same guy walking into the depot. My suspicions confirmed-DART is regularly making an unscheduled stop so that one of its employees doesn't have to make the 2-5 minute walk from the platform at Clontarf Road to the Fairview depot. Apparently this may also happen on the Cork line around the works at Inchicore.

I have no problem with DART staff getting concessions, such as discounted or free travel. I just think that the above situation is ridiculous. As if the service wasn't bad enough as it is, we have to endure further delays to facilitate the laziness of their own staff.

Should I write to Iarnroid Eireann to reigister my objection to this practice? Would it do any good? Am I being unreasonable? Would the withdrawl of this perk lead to a strike?

Your opinions appreciated.

It's a good job that he does not work for Aer Lingus or he would be dropped off near his home :lol

AFAIK, the stop is for a change of drivers and that practice pre-dates the opening of the Clontarf Road station.

I can't believe I'm defending Iarnrod Eireann !!!

Wouldn't it be a whole lot safer for all concerned, and a better use of passengers' time for drivers to change on the platform at Clontarf or whereever ?

I can just picture it now though:
"Sorry boss, that'd be a cha-unge ta me wurkin conditions. That'd need an increment on me pay, d'ya know whorrami mean ?"

Oh the joys of Dublin transport ! We need a [broken link removed] or a Willie Walsh to sort it out !

I have noticed the delay, usually in the mornings, after the Clonfarf Road station, on the way into town. It might be worth writing to ask about the reasons for the delay and whehter it would be possible to organise matters so that this delay is eliminated.

This post delayed by the late arrival of an oncoming post

In this case it sounds like the stop wasn't the normal scheduled change of driver, it was to drop off an employee who was going to the depot from Tara St.

Southbound trains frequently have to pause before Connolly due to the limited number of platforms and signalling capacity, capping the number of trains they can run per hour. This bottleneck is (one reason) why they're making the DARTs longer instead of more frequent.