The data released under freedom of information shows that last October, the 5.40am Cork to Dublin train had 26 trips in total.
Of those, just three arrived in Dublin on time and two were early. Of the 21 that were late, 15 were late by five minutes or more.
A train is only considered to be late by Irish Rail if it arrives 10 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival time, a metric set by the National Transport Authority (NTA).
If people don’t trust the train to be on time, they will take the car
Fianna Fáil MEP for Ireland South Cynthia Ní Mhurchú, who compiled the data, said Irish Rail’s own punctuality figures are “flawed and designed to hide tardy timekeeping”.
Ms Ní Mhurchú, who is a negotiator on passenger rights in the European Parliament, has called for a switch to the metric used in Switzerland, whereby a train is deemed late if it arrives three or more minutes after it was scheduled.
“When a train is late, it is late. Clearly some delays are minor delays. That doesn’t excuse them. We need to engender the same mentality in our rail services that the Swiss have. Be on time, every time,” she said.
“If people don’t trust the train to be on time, they will take the car. That is why we cannot be happy with a 75pc or 80pc punctuality rating.
“It is sloppy and unnecessary at a time when we need people to trust in their national train service.
“Trains in Switzerland are reaching over 93pc punctuality rates and they only classify a train as on time when it reaches its destination within three minutes of its scheduled arrival – unlike Irish Rail who are allowing 10 minutes leeway before considering a train to be late.”
There was a more positive timekeeping record for the 5.45am Tralee to Dublin service, Ms Ní Mhurchú said, with just two arrivals late by more than five minutes out of 18 journeys in January last year.
Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú
In the same month, the 8.49am Tipperary to Dublin train was late 11 times out of 26 journeys and late by five or more minutes on four of those occasions.
Last December, the 5.59am Wexford to Dublin service was late 13 times out of 15 trips.
An Irish Rail spokesperson welcomed Ms Ní Mhurchú’s comments and said Swiss governments have prioritised rail investment, while for decades Ireland “saw dramatic under-investment in its rail network”.
“Iarnród Éireann’s punctuality performance measures are determined by the National Transport Authority (NTA), under our Public Service Contract (PSC) with the NTA, and any changes in these measures are a matter for the NTA,” they said.
“Under the current PSC contract, the NTA determines punctuality on the Iarnród Éireann network to be measured on the following basis: Dart, Dublin Commuter and Cork Commuter Routes on time or within five minutes of time; Intercity and Regional Routes on time or within 10 minutes of time.
“The current investment programme and our ambitions under the All-Island Strategic Rail Review will – amongst other measures to improve frequency, capacity and speeds – see more double-track and four-tracking, and we welcome Ms Ní Mhurchú’s support for the scale of that ambition.”
The NTA was contacted for comment.
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