A broken rail between Malahide and Donabate delayed train services between Dublin and Drogheda yesterday morning. It led to several passengers voicing general dissatisfaction with the service.
Particularly badly affected was the 6.55 a.m. cross-Border service from Belfast which also serves Dundalk and Drogheda. Scheduled to arrive in Connolly Station, Dublin, at 9 a.m., it eventually arrived at 10.15 a.m.
Passengers on the train were scathing about the service. Mr Bill Spence, a chemical engineer from Newtownards, Co Down, uses the Monday service every week to get to work in Dublin. He described it as "abysmal" and said it was regularly 15-20 minutes late. This complaint was repeated by other travellers.
Mr Spence said he got up at 5.30 a.m. to catch the first train from Belfast. He blamed the frequent delays on a lack of preparation after the weekend. "It's a pity it's not more reliable."
Ms Orla Devine, a civil servant who gets the train every day from Drogheda, described the service as "absolutely brutal, terrible". It was regularly late. She worked flexi-hours and would be expected to make up the time.
A Dundalk-based passenger described the service as "very poor" at the moment. "The last three months have been particularly bad."
Passengers said they were frustrated they had no alternative to the train. Travelling by car to Dublin was regarded as impossible. There was also a lack of seats for people boarding the train at Drogheda. Many had to stand for the duration of their journey.
A spokesman for Iarnrod Eireann said suburban services between Drogheda and Dublin and the Enterprise service were affected by the track fault yesterday. The longest delay was 75 minutes. The problem with the track was being rectified.
He said the Belfast service had been "particularly susceptible to delays this year" due to leaves on the line. This, together with a "couple of technical problems", meant that the service had taken the brunt of an "unusually high number of delays".