Westport Line - Media Reporting

Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Western People

Up to 300 shoppers delayed on Dublin to West train
by Marian Harrison

Iarnrod Eireann has defended itself in the wake of recent delays in train services to and from the West.
Up to 300 commuters on the Westport to Dublin train on Tuesday morning, November 22, were delayed by over an hour and a half.
The passengers on the 7.10am service from Mayo, many of them shoppers heading to the capital to stock up on Christmas presents, were forced to wait just miles outside Heuston Station due to a problem with signals.
A spokesperson for Iarnród Eireann told the Western People that the delays were out of the train company’s control with workers on a construction site, near Cherry Orchard, cutting a power line.
“When the power line was cut turning off the electricity in thousands of houses there was a power surge which damaged out signalling system.”
The signalling system was up and running within an hour and a half but further services to the West were also delayed.
The midday train from Dublin to Western People was almost an hour late, while the one o clock service from the West to the capital was delayed for more than 50 minutes.
Iarnród Eireann apologised to commuters but a refund on tickets was not awarded with the rail company noting that the delays were “out of our control”.