Ireland

‘It does feel like passengers are abandoned’: Readers on taking the train

Passengers report antisocial behaviour, drug use and fighting on rail network

Readers say they can understand why staff are considering taking action over the level of anti-social behaviour on trains. Photograph: iStock

Fri Oct 29 2021 - 14:01

Members of the National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) say authorities must act to protect rail workers from “antisocial behaviour and downright thuggery which has now gone well beyond a tipping point”.

The union is to ballot its members in Irish Rail from next week for a mandate to engage in industrial action including work stoppages “in protest at the lack of protection afforded to members” in this regard across the rail network.

We asked Irish Times readers to share their experiences on the rail network.

Here are some of the responses we received. Some entries have been edited for length.

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‘There is an element who believe they can act however they wish’

STEPHEN WYNNE

I am an infrequent user of the Dart, usually at weekends or evenings. I regularly encounter antisocial behaviour, often quite threatening in nature. Unfortunately there appears to be an element of society who believe they can act however they wish with impunity. Something needs to be done, now.

'I have witnessed open heroin use several times'

WILL QUINN

I have witnessed open heroin use on the Dublin to Cork and Tralee trains several times. On one occasion two bathrooms had become blockaded by heroin users either refusing or being unable to get out of the bathroom. When the bathrooms were finally vacated, you could very easily make out what was going on. And the poor staff are essentially powerless to act. . . There has been countless trains with excessive drunk and disorderly behaviour. The trains in Ireland are in many respects lawless today.

‘The feeling of fear stayed with a long time’

CLAIRE FOLEY

October 2019. On train to Sligo, midweek evening, with three young children, booked/reserved seats. Male passenger #1, with very obvious psychological issues, on seat opposite harassing female passenger. Male passenger #1 then joined by a male friend, clearly quite drunk. Both continued to drink and male passenger #2 spoke loudly of his brother in prison facing violence from other inmates. Passenger #2 engaged in loud and extreme telephone conversations threatening grievous harm to some person (not there) relating to his brother’s situation. My children were wide eyed and struck dumb by this point. Situation escalated as both men started to engage with my children. Male passenger #1 picked up the children’s pencils and started drawing elaborate nonsense on their paper. Drunken male passenger #2 started focusing his attention on me. I remained civilised in tone in my response as I knew the children were terrified. No one intervened. The children could not go to the toilet for fear of splitting up our group. The men eventually got off the train in the midlands, by which time I was in a state of fear. No railway attendants. No number clearly visible to call. Could not get out of seat whilst they were there to buzz the driver via emergency button. Suggest stickers be placed up on windows with a helpline for passengers to contact if in fear. Someone should be there to assist. Kids still talk about it. Horrible, frightening experience that I think of any time I see a train. The feeling of fear stayed with me a long time.

‘Antisocial behaviour has been a feature for a long time’

JAMES HOWARD

Well done to the NBRU for highlighting this but the transport police idea won’t do much for intercity services that have historically been driver-only operated. I used to commute from Longford regularly and problems with low-level and occasionally more serious antisocial behaviour have been a feature for a long time. I think the real solution has to be a prioritised response for the gardaí. One one occasion a few years ago I called the published antisocial behaviour number at around 8pm as a couple were having a row and was somewhat surprised to get an automated message asking me to call back after 9am the next morning.

‘An enormous deterrent to people using the train’

DON CROMER

As a pensioner I upgrade to first class to avoid predictable misbehaviour. Youths entering carriages on phones are a sure sign of trouble. Last journey from Cork the ‘A’ carriage was withdrawn without explanation leaving me very exposed particularly if someone had prebooked the seat where I happened to be seated. Fortunately the journey passed in the B carriage without incident this time. This must be an enormous deterrent to people using the train.

‘Covered in graffiti’

NEILL DOUGAN

Ireland’s newest railway station was opened in Pelletstown just over a month ago. Within the space of a few weeks it was covered in graffiti and being used as a fireworks launching pad by gangs of people who also vandalised the sheltered covering for the bike stands and lit a fire on one of the platforms. On the first occasion I got the train from the new station I was forced to call the guards as I was concerned for my personal safety due to the amount of fireworks being let off.

‘Inspector said he was punched three times’

EOIN

I don’t frequently travel on intercity trains however I recently have and spoke to one of the ticket inspectors between stops. I asked him whether he experienced trouble on the train ever. He said that he has been punched in the face three times in his first six months of his job. The reason he was assaulted was due to asking customers to obey the mask mandate. He also said there was a link main between alcohol and antisocial behaviour.

‘A man in a Cork jersey spilled half the contents of his beer on me’

AOIFE O’DWYER

While I was sitting in carriage C on the evening after a Cork/Limerick hurling match in Dublin, a drunk older man in a Cork jersey spilled half the contents of his beer on me. I called this man out immediately, in great disbelief. However, he failed to stop and continued hobbling through the carriage. There were other people near me who saw this happen, but nobody batted an eyelid. I reported the incident to staff on board, I explained where I was sitting and at approximately what time it happened. The staff on board were sympathetic to my situation, explaining that they have had a difficult time trying to subdue unruly passengers. They offered me some water, chocolate and escorted me to carriage G, which they had maintained as a “quiet” carriage. I was grateful for their assistance, but disappointed by the lack of action. Once off the train, I wrote an email to Irish Rail to express my dissatisfaction with the lack of security on board. I received no response. I have since never taken the train on a match day. I think alcohol has subsequently been banned on board, thankfully.

‘They got off at Collooney station yelling “we started this together, we end this together!”’

HEBER ROWAN

On the Dublin to Sligo train two years ago, I recall having two unforgettable gentlemen. One of them stood over my group of seats demanding attention from a fellow female passenger. When she ignored him and averted her eyes he got more aggressive. I asked him to leave us all be on two occasions and he eventually returned to his seat. Later on as the train emptied, one of the gentlemen fell asleep with his legs completely blocking the corridor. He urinated on the seat clearly heavily drunk. When his friend returned from smoking a cigarette in the toilet, he was loudly given out to by his friend. They continued speaking very loudly on the rest of the journey until they got off at Collooney station yelling ‘we started this together, we end this together!’. After they got off they realised they disembarked a stop too early and the train began moving away, they banged the windows of the train as it moved off.

‘We have lost control of public spaces’

OLIVER WHELAN

I use the Dart nearly every day. I was using it through the pandemic twice a week. We have lost control of public spaces in this regard. I had groups smoke hash regularly at the back of the carriage with no regard for anyone else and obviously wearing no mask. I’ve seen a woman go to the space between Dart carriages to use as a toilet. Once as a group of teenagers got off the train, one of them jump kicked the window right in my face. I’ve seen an 18/19-year-old couple try to intimidate people on the train, walking up and down the carriage asking for money, they then sat beside and in front of an older woman asking for money until the woman had to move to avoid them. Obviously I wasn’t going to let them take her money ... but it’s dangerous and we shouldn’t have to take these chances going home from work, shopping, etc. This is all within the last year. The other issue is that none of these people ever pay for their journey. They walk through directly after you usually laughing at ticket attendants. Drugs and drink are at the centre of most of these issues. Since the pandemic it’s obvious that people with issues around drugs and alcohol have had free rein of public transport and the centre of the city. Politicians need to walk around and get on public transport to see what really is happening. We have to bring in new laws to get our city and public transport back or we will lose control of them for the foreseeable future.

‘It does feel like passengers are abandoned’

JANE TOUHEY

In the last two months I have returned to using Irish Rail – it is so wonderful to travel a bit again. Most journeys are okay except for people without a mask (carrying and occasionally sipping a water bottle is not the same). Then there are the loud and verbally offensive young fellas. Less often are the aggressive off-their-heads drug users. Fortunately I haven’t experienced a flasher or groper for years. Sometimes there are warnings given over the intercom and sometimes a warning that gardaí will board at the next stop, and they do. It is many years since I have seen Irish Rail staff intervene. Not that I blame them, but it does feel like passengers are abandoned. If there are undercover security people perhaps they could make themselves known.

‘Very uncomfortable’

JOHN HOWLEY

Large alcohol consumption by groups on the trains. Antisocial behaviour. Very uncomfortable for passengers.

FRANK

I used to travel regularly on the Waterford to Dublin train and never experienced any misbehaviour either on the first train or the return journey.

‘Common to see incidents of anti-social behaviour and drugs’

WILLIAM REDMOND

Travelled to Limerick bi-weekly before pandemic. Fully support staff position. Common to see incidents of antisocial behaviour and drugs on train. Typically had to move carriage regularly.

‘I turned down a few jobs that involve travelling/commute on trains’

JOHN JOHNSSON

In 2018, I used to commute from Dublin/Balbriggan for temp work. Usually leaving at 10 in the morning and hop on the Dart back in the night (9pm-10pm). The worst is during the weekend and the behaviour of teens and the older adults aged 18+ is disgraceful and unacceptable. They drink/spit/urinate/loud/screaming etc. . . any antisocial behaviour you can imagine. This happened very often and poor workers don’t have any backup or may have very little power to intervene. These youngsters hop on in groups so if you dare to tell them you will get some lesson when you get off (my own opinion). . . I am a father of three and I surely would know what my kids are doing after 10pm in the city or other places. My opinion is Irish Rail should have better supervision over passengers’ safety but also the workers. Why on Earth are teens and thugs hanging around the platform after 10pm, they just sit there and wait for some action to be involved in, another thing bikes (pedalling in the Dart and on the platform), baseball bats, weapons etc. I am sick of it, that’s why I turned down a few jobs that involve travelling/commute on trains.

'I have never experienced antisocial behaviour'

ANNE WALSH

I travel by Irish Rail and I have never experienced antisocial behaviour.Ennis and Cork are the usual places I visit.

What does Irish Rail say?

Irish Rail said on Thursday it had been “working extensively with our employees and trade unions, with An Garda Síochána, and our private security personnel to ensure we both proactively put in place measures to address antisocial behaviour, and respond to specific incidents, to ensure we have as safe a travelling and working environment as possible”.

It said: “The measures in place and those planned are yielding and will continue to yield results, and we want to continue working with our employees and trade unions to address the scourge of antisocial behaviour.”

Irish Rail added that antisocial behaviour was a societal issue to which the railways were not immune. It said that, working with other agencies, it had significantly increased its security presence, with security resources up 50 per cent in the past four years. It had also established ongoing proactive joint patrols with gardaí, particularly on Dart, Heuston Commuter, and Cork routes, including specific programmes such as during the current midterm break and Halloween season.