UNRELIABLE AUDIO SYSTEM ON SOME DART TRAINS IS TO BE REPLACED - KENNY

Posted on February 25, 2014 5:49 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin Bay North Labour TD and member of the Oireachtas Transport Committee Sean Kenny has welcomed the news that the unreliable audio message system that is in use on some DART trains is to be replaced.

"All DART trains are equipped with an on-board system. This allows for automatic announcements and also for announcements made by the crew on board the DART. Of the 144 carriages in the DART fleet, 76 of these carriages had a system installed in 2007 and 2008 under the Transport 21 programme and this is working very well and without problem. However, the remaining 68 carriages have a system installed that is obsolete and unreliable."

"Irish Rail have told me that funding has now been made available by the Department of Transport to replace this second unreliable system, which is excellent news. There have been frequent complaints made about DART trains travelling in one direction, saying that the next stop is one that is actually in the other direction, which is entirely unsatisfactory, particularly for those with visual impairments who need a properly functioning audio system in order to have information about their journey."

"The tender process for a new system is complete and a contract to start this work will be signed shortly and I understand that the work will be started this year and will be finished by next year. l pleased that Minister Alan Kelly has ensured that funding has been made available for this new system, which, while not important to everyone, is hugely important to quite a lot of people."