Madam, - When the DART first ran in 1984, users were told it would eventually run at five-minute intervals at peak times and at 10-minute intervals off-peak. As a result, many of my teenage years were spent kicking my heels at DART stations for upwards of 20 minutes, perplexed at the failure of the powers-that-were to fulfil the original promise.
Now we are told that several million euro are to be spent, and thousands of travellers inconvenienced, as DART stations are altered to accommodate eight-carriage trains. Instead, surely now is the time to realise the original promise, and introduce a more regular service? I cannot believe it would be more expensive to employ more drivers than to spend so much on this "upgrade". In a capital city, it does not seem unreasonable to expect any public transport service to run at least every 10 minutes from 6 a.m. until after midnight. - Yours, etc.,
MARK TOTTENHAM,
St Patrick's Deanery,
Kevin Street,
Dublin 8.
Madam, - Some years ago, in response to a complaint (it still stands) as to why some trains stopping at Malahide did not stop at Portmarnock, I was told by the Manager of Dublin Suburban Rail to be aware that each time a train stopped it added two minutes to its journey. I thought the inevitable logic was a bit extreme, but I suppose not running the trains at all is the logical extension of the same mind-set. - Yours, etc.,
GEORGE SMILLIE,
Portmarnock,
Co Dublin.
Madam, - Oh my God! No southside Dort at the weekend for nine months, I'm like soooo upset. - Yours, etc.,
ROBIN HEATHER,
Dunbur Lower,
Wicklow Town.