Remember the record-breaking heatwave we had at the end of May? Well, for one reader, it made for a miserable journey on an Irish Rail train that had, she says, the heating on full blast as the sun beat down.
This reader was travelling on the last train from Dublin to Rosslare Europort on one of the hottest days of this year – or indeed any year.
She says a “a diesel commuter-style train had been put into service instead of the usual Intercity train for the route and the train was already extremely crowded as it was the final service of the evening”, she writes.
“Because it was already such a hot day, passengers did not immediately realise the train itself was overheating, but the temperature increased significantly over the course of the journey,” she continues.
READ MORE
“Passengers became visibly lethargic and overheated and small children were asleep or passed out across seats by the later stages of the trip.”
She says that Irish Rail staff boarded at Rathdrum, and “appeared openly shocked by the conditions. Upon arrival at Arklow station, staff brought boxes of bottled water on to the train and distributed them to passengers. Announcements were also made advising passengers to formally complain to Irish Rail, with staff acknowledging the situation was unacceptable.”
So our reader did as she was advised and submitted a complaint to Irish Rail but says “the response I received appeared to place responsibility on passengers for not moving carriages themselves, despite the fact that the train was crowded and passengers had not been informed about the heating fault.”
[ Irish Rail to scrap new €50m IT system for trainsOpens in new window ]
She includes the response she received in full.
“I am sorry to learn of the issues you experienced with the HVAC system on your recent journey,” it begins. “Each carriage has a separate HVAC unit and where one may be faulty another carriage may be more comfortable for you. I have forwarded your feedback to the relevant maintenance depot for their attention. Unfortunately, I cannot accede to your refund request on this occasion. On behalf of Iarnród Éireann I would like to apologise for any discomfort caused.”
The response did not satisfy our reader, who says “the incident raises wider concerns about whether Irish Rail is adequately prepared for increasingly hot weather conditions.”
We shared our reader’s story with Irish Rail.
The company’s response seems unlikely to make our reader feel any better about her experience, but here it is.
“Unfortunately, there was an unforeseen technical issue with the HVAC on this train during service,” a spokeswoman said. “Whilst the air-conditioning functionality of the system failed to cool the carriage, the system was not producing heat and continued to provide ventilation throughout the journey.”
[ Revolut sent Elaine’s money to the wrong person, who didn’t return itOpens in new window ]
“Iarnród Éireann on-board customer service officers responded quickly, accommodating passengers in alternative carriages where possible, making regular announcements in relation to the issue and supporting with water distribution,” she continues.
She stressed that the “vast majority of Iarnród Éireann services operate without issue, however, should a technical issue like this arise during service this is reported and managed by staff on board and fixed at the earliest available opportunity. This particular carriage required a full replacement of the HVAC module, which has since been completed. Iarnród Éireann’s apologises for any inconvenience caused by this unforeseen issue.”
