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27-03-2011, 11:22 | #1 | |
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[Article] Is it time to put a stop to drinking on trains?
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http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/...293121256.html
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02-04-2011, 10:58 | #2 |
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Wicklow-Wexford services and antisocial behaviour
I have travelled from Wicklow Town to Pearse Station many, many times with disruptive drunks and many junkies onboard - an overlapping set. Why minivan services to methodone clinics can not be provided, I don't know, but the situation is dangerous and a tragedy waiting to happen. Railway employees won't say or do anything. And most trains don't carry security police. Gardai come if there is reported trouble, but not always, and not fast enough.
This simply wouldn't be tolerated, and isn't, in any other country where I have travelled by train, and I travel by train whenever and whereever I can. Furthermore other countries do not permit people to play music but now require earphones. I would dearly love it if nighttime services were provided so that I could go to dinner, meet friends or see a film or a play in Dublin and come home by train, but I can just imagine the horror and violence that would ensue afterhours, given the carry on in daylight. If trains were made safe and frequent many more would use them and everything should be being done to discourage people from driving into Dublin by day or night. It won't happen here because there isn't a critical mass of influential people who use public transport. It's largely a matter of class, a subject which everyone ignores. |
02-04-2011, 16:19 | #3 |
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Heres a wild thought. Why not get the train security to be a part of the Garda Reserve. Would this help?
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02-04-2011, 18:23 | #4 |
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While I agree anti social behaviour on trains is a problem (as it is throughout society, unfortunately) I disagree that a simple ban on alcohol is the answer. For two reasons:
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04-04-2011, 03:09 | #5 |
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Give free travel to all members of the Gardai and the Defence Forces in uniform and in possession of their service credentials. The latter would not be empowered to do anything, but hopefully the sight of them will provide some comfort and they could observe and report to IE personnel and police in some cases where the general public might be too scared to.
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04-04-2011, 09:13 | #6 |
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the defence forces??
anyway, the important thing is to prevent people taking drink onto trains - the sale of drink on intercity trains is not the mian problem as that can be controlled. then again, you do not need people to take the drink onto the trains either - people can get onto the train already intoxicated in one form or another and can proceed to be an annoyance or threat to other passengers. what is needed is a dedicated wing of the traffic corps to deal with this. Reserve offices do not have the power nor do Defence Forces. |
04-04-2011, 09:22 | #7 |
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There are already clear mechanisms to refuse/remove someone who is intoxicated (which now means drink or drugs). Also there are mechanisms to remove someone who is disruptive. Thats all great but its post fact
Its trivial to spot the likely lads with a slab of cans walking towards platform. What Irish Rail need is 1. Power to refuse someone who is reasonably believed by an official to represent a risk of disruption. E.g Deco and a slab of cans 2. A ban on consumption of alcohol not purchased on the train A certain student bar in Dublin came up with a magic way to block drink being brought in. They simply made only a single type of lager and cider available anyone caught drinking anything else was ejected. Word got out and problem vanished
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04-04-2011, 12:05 | #8 |
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It can also be Fiachra on the phone to his dealer ...
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04-04-2011, 13:35 | #9 |
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I agree with the need for a dedicated force but living as I do in a city with one, the reality is that they can't be and therefore aren't everywhere - there will be a vehicle/officer ratio. Having uniformed people around for want of a better word raises the tone - and at a time of public service restraint it would be a good perk to hand out in lieu of pay rises which didn't have implications for pensions etc.
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04-04-2011, 14:50 | #10 |
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as the rail network move more and more towards automation in stations the ability for a staff member to prevent people from getting on board with cans or intoxicated is therefore reduced. the only way to provide a meaningfull and effective security presence it is to have a small number of gardai (easier in the Commuter area) hopping on and off as part of their beat. the reason i mentioned traffic corps is that they are not usually tied down to one station and can be deployed over a large area.
also some services are easily identified as problems - any Luas from Tallaght after a Bohs match with Rovers for example. |
04-04-2011, 17:35 | #11 |
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Bohs-Rovers and similar predictable stuff shouldn't require a transport police though - that's event policing and should be made the local garda honcho's problem. Transport police should be concentrating on point issues such as keeping ticket machines free of loiterers, arresting people who won't follow direction from LUAS staff etc. Between wages, equipment and other costs police officers are expensive compared to both customer service and contract security staff.
Toronto has 100 special constables with batons and other non-lethal equipment but the local police service which had agitated against them for years finally got them downgraded and now the system is patrolled by a detachment of 80 regular (armed) police with the SCs being redeployed to other duties. Considering it's a massive 24x7x365 system with almost 2000 buses, 200 streetcars and 600 subway cars, I don't think 80 goes very far. |
04-04-2011, 17:54 | #12 |
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For every duty, you need to have up to 5 people employed (4x43 hour working weeks per week and one on leave / training). However, you can obviously tailor that to the daily / weekly fluctuations in demand.
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05-04-2011, 13:40 | #13 | |
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06-06-2011, 14:59 | #14 |
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Antisocial behaviour - letter Irish Times
Madam, – Having witnessed three teenagers drinking cans of beer and urinating on Platform 6 in Connolly station last Wednesday, I decided to ring Iarnród Éireann’s antisocial behaviour line 1850 366222 as advertised on its poster, to report the incident.
Incredibly, this turned out to be the main inquiry line, so I gave up after option five. I later checked this number, having bought more credit and found I had to wait until option eight to report my incident (56 seconds!). You could be beaten up by then. Also, for your act of goodwill you are charged at least 30 cent. No wonder there’s so much anti social behaviour on our trains and stations, when these thugs are allowed do it in the first place and then you cannot report it immediately. – Yours, etc, TONY Gorey, Co Wexford. |
09-06-2011, 11:50 | #15 | |
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09-06-2011, 12:08 | #16 |
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There are two passenger emergency contact buttons on platform 6/7 for use in these situations
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13-06-2011, 21:34 | #17 |
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It must be 12 years ago when I was travelling home to Cork on a crowded train from Dublin that the drinking youth across from me knocked over his can of beer, right into my lap. He had little enough to drink that he apologiesed but enough to drink to just sit down again after a quick sorry and not offer any assistance with cleaning mopping up.
After stating quiet forcefully that I did not appreciate sitting opposite someone who spilled their beer all over me with barely an apology he moved. I had a very damp uncomfortable journey home. I would agree with the absence of alcohol on train journeys. |
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