Opinion

Anton Savage: I’d choo-choose to take the train, if only they made the experience a little more enjoyable

Part of the reason some of us may want shorter journey times may well be to lessen our exposure to this travel adventure

Anton Savage: ‘Unless they invest in Shinkansen bullet trains, Irish Rail are never going to shorten the journey times enough to make it quicker – in total – than driving. Instead, they should make it nicer.’

Irish rail have been putting a lot of money into speeding up their services. They’ve updated track, upgraded signalling and bought new rolling stock. All seeking to provide a service to attract people away from their cars and onto the train. Their achievements are to be lauded. Their priorities though? They might need to be tweaked a little.

Journey time is a lovely metric for an organisation. It’s definite, measurable and easy to put in ...