Holly

Today’s railway	A potential future railway
• Holly has reduced mobility and needs	• Upgrades to carriages, platforms, and
to call ahead to arrange assistance at	station layouts will increase accessibility
stations. Phone lines are often not	and provide step-free access for all users.
open during evenings or at weekends.	Alternative contact methods will make
She also has to check if lifts are in	arranging assistance more convenient.
working at each station on her journey.
	• The integration of the network in Dublin
• Her journey requires her to take the	through a link between Kilcock and
Luas to travel between Connolly and	Adamstown will make the journey much
Heuston, increasing journey time and	more convenient with a single interchange
making the experience less pleasant.	at Adamstown or Heuston.
• Her perceptions of the inconvenience	• More seamless service offerings for users
of having to arrange assistance in	with limited mobility and more affordable
advance cause her to only consider rail	fares will create good experiences that
travel a handful of times per year.	encourage people to travel more by rail.

Jim
The retired traveller
Jim is a 73-year-old retiree living in Westport who
often visits his children and grandchildren in Galway.
With a free travel pass, he likes to take public
transport as much as he can.
Today’s railway	A potential future railway
• There is currently no direct passenger	• A direct and regular passenger rail
rail service between Westport and	service between Westport and Galway
Galway, so Jim has to drive or rely on a	would be significantly faster and more
bus that can take more than two hours	convenient for passengers like Jim,
to complete this journey.	enabling him to make this journey more
	often and spend more time with his family
• There are no lifts at Westport station,
	in Galway.
which is not an issue at the moment as
only one platform is regularly in use.	• Investment in more accessible stations
However, it would be an issue if the	will ensure that facilities such lifts are
second platform were brought into use	available to serve an expanding railway.
to accommodate more services.
	• Incorporating catering requirements into a
• Jim would enjoy tea and a bun on his	service quality regime will help ensure
journey, but the lack of catering options	that these services are provided and
means that his journey is not as	improve customer experience.
pleasant as it could be.