A 22-year-old man was killed by a train while crossing the railway track during a midnight beach party at Greystones, Co Wicklow, an inquest heard yesterday.
The coroner said he would bring Iarnrod Eireann's attention to the jury's call for a new security fence to be built in the south beach area, as well as their request for broad-beam lighting for trains at night to prevent further deaths.
The inquest concerned the death of Mr Michael Hogan, unemployed, of Kindlestown Park, Greystones, Co Wicklow.
Garda Richard Reddan told Dublin County Coroner's Court the young man was among a dozen people at a beach party. Just after midnight on April 19th he went to the toilet but coming back he had his back to an oncoming train which was carrying ammonia.
The garda said he found the body under the second-last train wagon. There were severe injuries, including a severed leg.
The train driver, Mr Paul Stanley, told the inquest he was given the official all-clear signals approaching Greystones station. "I saw a person about 10 feet in front of the train. There was nothing I could do. It would require about a thousand feet of track to stop the train, which had even slowed down coming into Greystones," he added.
Mr Stanley said that during the summer seaside walkers used the track regularly because it is adjacent to a pathway along the beach.
A pathologist, Dr Niamh Nolan, said death had resulted from a severe skull fracture and other extensive injuries consistent with the deceased being hit by a train.