Anti Social Scumbags - Page 4

Traincustomer · 13-04-2014, 16:43

It seems a perfectly reasonable expectation that there would be a dedicated (i.e. separate to train enquiries etc...) phone number plus a possible text facility for reporting anti-social behaviour and that same number/s would be staffed 363 days a year from say fifteen minutes before the departure of the first train till fifteen minutes after the arrival of the last.

While the phone number would remain the same the actual staffing of it could be transferred around the country in the course of the day e.g. a member of staff from say Cork could man it from first train till 08.00 then 08.00-noon could be manned by Dublin and so on...

All stations, particularly unstaffed/staffed part-time ones, should have help points too.

James Howard · 13-04-2014, 17:47

The real issue here is that the anti-social behaviour number posted in Edgeworthstown station was not answered. Even the number of Longford station would have done. I'll repeat what I said so far, maybe people will understand if they read again.

There is no point in calling the guards in Edgeworthstown as there aren't any. It is better for the train to take the problem to Longford and the guards in Longford can meet the train.

I felt unsafe using any of the mechanisms for communicating with the driver as there people were at both ends of the car and I could go no further either way. When I got off the train, to speak to the driver, I would have had to walk past the main site of the messing so I figured I was better off using the anti-social behaviour number that I knew was posted in the station but I didn't have in my relatively new phone.

This was not an emergency situation but it had the potential to develop into one but as a result I found out that the posted anti-social behaviour number did not work. Stopping the train in Edgeworthstown for 20 minutes to wait for guards would have only made matters a lot worse.

Inniskeen · 14-04-2014, 06:51

This is an issue which Irish Rail need to take seriously. I have attempted to use the vandalism hotline on one or two occasions and found it to be an utter waste of time. This is a major risk for IR given that the majority of trains are effectively unmanned from a passenger standpoint. Likewise many stations are unstaffed, particularly at peak times for anti-social behaviour.

James Howard · 14-04-2014, 07:37

For the record, I don't think it is reasonable to expect small stations like Edgeworthstown to be staffed for a large part of the day if at all. It might make sense to have somebody there to sell tickets for the morning rush but with TVMs that isn't really necessary. The staff in Edgeworthstown are very much appreciated, particularly Ross Carr who used to be there on freezing winter nights with a watering can of hot water to defrost your windscreen before he died so tragically young. But sadly, we can no longer afford or expect this level of service from Irish Rail.

However, it is reasonable to expect there to be a number to call to report loitering youths, etc. The issue is that a lot of minor anti-social behaviour isn't criminal but it does cause distress and discomfort to the majority of passengers. This kind of behaviour does not merit phoning the guards but it does need to be dealt with before it escalates into more serious incidents such as we saw a few weeks ago. In cold financial terms, this level of messing also drives away customers who will just take the car where they don't have to put up with the hassle.

Irish Rail's response lately seems to be to institute alcohol bans which just affects the law-abiding majority. Personally an alcohol ban wouldn't affect me as I always have to drive when I get home, but there is no point in introducing yet more rules that will be ignored.

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13-04-2014, 16:43	#61
Traincustomer Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ar an traein Posts: 602	It seems a perfectly reasonable expectation that there would be a dedicated (i.e. separate to train enquiries etc...) phone number plus a possible text facility for reporting anti-social behaviour and that same number/s would be staffed 363 days a year from say fifteen minutes before the departure of the first train till fifteen minutes after the arrival of the last. While the phone number would remain the same the actual staffing of it could be transferred around the country in the course of the day e.g. a member of staff from say Cork could man it from first train till 08.00 then 08.00-noon could be manned by Dublin and so on... All stations, particularly unstaffed/staffed part-time ones, should have help points too.

13-04-2014, 17:47	#62
James Howard Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sligo Line Posts: 1,115	The real issue here is that the anti-social behaviour number posted in Edgeworthstown station was not answered. Even the number of Longford station would have done. I'll repeat what I said so far, maybe people will understand if they read again. There is no point in calling the guards in Edgeworthstown as there aren't any. It is better for the train to take the problem to Longford and the guards in Longford can meet the train. I felt unsafe using any of the mechanisms for communicating with the driver as there people were at both ends of the car and I could go no further either way. When I got off the train, to speak to the driver, I would have had to walk past the main site of the messing so I figured I was better off using the anti-social behaviour number that I knew was posted in the station but I didn't have in my relatively new phone. This was not an emergency situation but it had the potential to develop into one but as a result I found out that the posted anti-social behaviour number did not work. Stopping the train in Edgeworthstown for 20 minutes to wait for guards would have only made matters a lot worse.

14-04-2014, 06:51	#63
Inniskeen Really Regular Poster Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 951	This is an issue which Irish Rail need to take seriously. I have attempted to use the vandalism hotline on one or two occasions and found it to be an utter waste of time. This is a major risk for IR given that the majority of trains are effectively unmanned from a passenger standpoint. Likewise many stations are unstaffed, particularly at peak times for anti-social behaviour.

14-04-2014, 07:37	#64
James Howard Really Really Regluar Poster Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sligo Line Posts: 1,115	For the record, I don't think it is reasonable to expect small stations like Edgeworthstown to be staffed for a large part of the day if at all. It might make sense to have somebody there to sell tickets for the morning rush but with TVMs that isn't really necessary. The staff in Edgeworthstown are very much appreciated, particularly Ross Carr who used to be there on freezing winter nights with a watering can of hot water to defrost your windscreen before he died so tragically young. But sadly, we can no longer afford or expect this level of service from Irish Rail. However, it is reasonable to expect there to be a number to call to report loitering youths, etc. The issue is that a lot of minor anti-social behaviour isn't criminal but it does cause distress and discomfort to the majority of passengers. This kind of behaviour does not merit phoning the guards but it does need to be dealt with before it escalates into more serious incidents such as we saw a few weeks ago. In cold financial terms, this level of messing also drives away customers who will just take the car where they don't have to put up with the hassle. Irish Rail's response lately seems to be to institute alcohol bans which just affects the law-abiding majority. Personally an alcohol ban wouldn't affect me as I always have to drive when I get home, but there is no point in introducing yet more rules that will be ignored.