Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an old chestnut: overcrowding on the train service from Dublin to Ballina, Castlebar and Westport. Regularly at weekends there is overcrowding, people are standing and sitting all over the place. It does not seem to be a very safe or satisfactory service for Iarnród Éireann to deliver. The most recent big flare up was at the June bank holiday weekend when many people were travelling to Bloom and other festivals. There was a severe case of overcrowding on the train leaving Heuston Station. Listening to people’s complaints I have to think there must be a better way to manage this. Will the Minister intervene with Iarnród Éireann and ask it to do something about it? It does not seem to consider putting on extra carriages or to factor in online bookings. I am told that many bookings are made online but Iarnród Éireann does not seem to cater for these passengers. It might be possible to provide a bus service for the people at Heuston. Some may be going to Athlone but there are many on the Mayo train, who are elderly and so on. It really is not satisfactory.

This may seem to be a small point to bring to the Minister’s attention but it reflects the value placed on the service that the number of the platform for the Ballina-Westport-Castlebar train goes up only ten minutes before the departure time. It is platform No. 7, which is way down the station. There is a stampede down the platform although people could have been notified earlier. Staff have raised this issue. These are practical measures that could be taken to address what has been complained of for forever and a day. From a health and safety point of view people pay to travel on the train but they are not being facilitated. They should be dealt with in some shape or form better than they are now.

There is one early bird service from Mayo, through Castlebar. That train ordinarily arrived in Dublin at 8.30 a.m., which was good for people going to meetings or medical appointments and all the other appointments they come to in the city. It has now been pushed back by ten minutes and many people regularly use that train, including those who drive from my town, Ballina, to Castlebar. People find it difficult to make the deadlines they made before. The service has been pushed back to accommodate an express service out of Cork. There is a service every hour from Cork during the working day and into the night whereas there are four trains out of Mayo and back. People feel that they are being treated as second-class citizens, that the focus is on a high-speed train out of Cork and the Mayo train has been pushed back to convenience a further service for Cork.

People from Ballina have to drive 25 miles to the early bird train from Castlebar although there is a train station in Ballina that links to the Castlebar station. Why do they not get a service directly from Ballina instead of having to head to Castlebar? They are willing to use the train service.

Is it now policy to have unmanned train stations, because this seems to be happening in Castlebar? Do people have to buy tickets from a machine and if there is a problem with the machine and they get on the train, will they be booked for not having a ticket? Is there a facility to buy a ticket on the train? I understand there is only a driver on the train now. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport might address some of these issues in the interests of equity for Mayo passengers.

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