Irish Rail recently purchased a whole set of super-duper railway carriages as part of a major government initiative to modernise our country’s rolling stock. You can book your train seats in advance, there is plenty of room for luggage and the journey itself is impressive by its relative silence.
One of the things that particularly interested me were the on-board toilets – automatic doors, push-button locking systems, triple action pee sprays for the loo-bowl, infrared systems for hand-washing, hot air blowers for drying. An almost totally hands-free waste management experience. The future has indeed arrived!
Except for one thing.
On my trip down from Dublin, the smell of cigarette smoke emanating from the little room was overpowering. The little room is being used as a smoking room by some of the lesser-evolved members of this society. And what do Irish Rail seem to be doing about it? Smoke alarms perhaps? Spot fines? Throwing the offenders out of the train at high speed? Garotting them on the emergency break cord? Naah. More than their job’s worth I would guess. After all, we are only talking about health and safety laws here..
In addition, what is it with the Irish male species that they feel obliged to bring on-board 12 packs of beer tins, and proceed to get pissed in front of their fellow travellers? Some of my fellow travellers were already stinking of drink before they boarded the train. If this was air-travel these people would never be allowed on in the first place.
I must be getting old, but it just seems that with all the changes in our country over the past few years, some old habits will take a long time to die out.
Passive Impressions 
Now wouldn’t you have thought that they’d fit smoke detectors in the toilets. It’s what they tell us is in place in the trains in the UK (or at least in the newer trains over here).
Are the new trains more comfortable and faster than before, or just newer?
Wouldn’t it be great if they fitted smoke detectors which recycled the water out of the toilet bowls and deposited it on the heads of the smokers?
:evilgrin:
Ive always wondered about the beer drinking thing on trains. Doesn’t seem to matter how early it is in the day, people seem to think they should drink cause there on a train
Teuchter, I’m open to suggestions as to suitable punishments!
Phil, The new Irish trains have the potential to travel faster and they most certainly are a lot more comfortable. Gone are the days of the foggy windows. In terms of speed I didn’t notice anything too spectacular.
DACH – I agree, maybe it’s just that few enough people are complaining about it. It’s antisocial in my opinion.
Here in Australia, I was amazed to see big signs everywhere on the trains and stations banning drink and threatening fines for non-compliance. I don’t know why (yes, I do, inveterate bigotry due to a UK background) but I expected Australia and Australians to be at least half-drunk most of the time, but in fact, there doesn’t seem to be the kind of binge-drinking that goes on in UK towns and cities. I live near a pub which is always busy on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and yet I have so far not seen a single person throw up outside or get into a fight. Incredible.
I think it’s the case that whatever Australia introduces, we follow up much later. Is there still smoking in Australian pubs?