High fares keep us off the trains

What an interesting, and for me , timely, front page headline on today’s (Oct 19) Irish Examiner, concerning the perilously fragile future for CIE.

For as far back as I can remember, CIE, including its passenger rail service, Irish Rail have only ever incurred huge losses.

Maybe this tuppence worth will not fully reverse that trend, but it certainly can provide your readers with one very poignant and obvious example of why this is so.

On Friday last, December 12, in Thurles railway station, where only a handful of pensioners were waiting to catch a non-peak hour, Dublin bound train, I was informed that, despite my 16-year-old son offering passport ID as proof of age, a single fare for him, from Thurles to Dublin would cost an absolutely jaw dropping, €37.50.

Needless to say, as the shiny new train went on its merry way, with its added compliment of four or five silver haired Tipperaryites, the seat my son had hoped to occupy remained empty.

Rather than continue to rack his brain as to how to save CIE, or bother the rocket scientists of the Department of Transport for advice on the matter, Minister Varadkar might do worse than cock an ear to the howling of the proverbial ‘dogs on the street’, who will confirm, that such ludicrous fares are the main reason why most off-peak, loss making trains, are empty and most of our roads are packed.

Mike MacCarthy

Collins Ave

Waterford