Passengers upset at being '˜packed like sardines' on late Translink train

Train passengers travelling from Lurgan to Belfast have complained of '˜unsafe' crush conditions on this morning's journey.
Lurgan Train Station.Lurgan Train Station.
Lurgan Train Station.

Several passengers complained of long delays and being ‘packed like sardines’ on too few carriages.

Most of the complaints related to the 7.06am train from Lurgan which some said was nearly half an hour late arriving.

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Also there were complaints that there was standing room only when it eventually did arrive from Portadown.

Several passengers tweeted of their concerns to Translink this morning.

Grainne McConville‏ said the train was 30 minutes late and people were left on the platform in Lurgan.

She said it was not good enough and called for more carriages.

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Neil Kerr said he was ‘standing yet again from Lurgan’ in a tweet to Translink.

Meanwhile Andrew Foster said: “I can live with a delay, but there are no announcements in Lurgan.”

He complained he had been ‘waiting indefinitely for 20+ minutes with no clue if train was coming or not.”

Another passenger said from Lurgan there was standing room only and from Moira the journey became ‘very unsafe and very third world-like’.

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Others spoke of being late for work due to the late trains and complained it had been happening too often recently.

A Translink spokesperson said: “We have experienced growth of more than 6% across NI Railways services during the six months to the end of September and we recognise the need for additional capacity on many of our routes.

“We are currently developing a business case for new trains which would provide extra capacity for our passengers.

“This morning all available trains were in use, however due to poor rail conditions a train from Newry was delayed at Portadown, causing larger than usual numbers on the service. Although some passengers were standing, this is well within safety parameters.”