Irish Rail to get tough on anti-social behaviour

Irish Rail to get tough on anti-social behaviour


Anton McNulty
antonmcnulty@mayonews.ie

Irish Rail has apologised to customers who have witnessed anti-social behaviour on the Westport-to-Dublin train and say it is taking steps to curb such behaviour in the future.
The apology came as a result of representations by annoyed and upset customers to Mayo TD John O’Mahony. Mr O’Mahony wrote to Irish Rail outlining his constituents concerns and in a reply, Richard Fearn, Chief Executive of Irish Rail, expressed disappointment to hear of anti-social behaviour on the train.
Mr Fearn said that the company is taking steps to curb such behaviour on its trains, including the deployment of security personnel at main stations and training staff to deal with anti-social incidents.
“I wish to apologise for the discomfort that some of our customers have experienced and I am particularly disappointed to hear that this has been as a result of anti-social behaviour taking place.
“We have implemented a number of initiatives on trains and in stations to improve personal security, including CCTV and help points on train carriages and in stations, a dedicated phone line for reporting and monitoring anti-social behaviour incidents, the deployment of security personnel at main stations and training for our front-line staff in dealing with anti-social incidents.
“We are committed to addressing anti-social behaviour on our services and we will continue to monitor and take the appropriate action required including the removal of disruptive customers from our trains and stations,” he wrote.
The apology and reassurances by Mr Fearn were welcomed by Deputy O’Mahony, who said he feels the moves will help allay fears of those who travel by train.
“It’s important that people feel safe when they are using our trains, and I only raised this issue recently on foot of a number of representations from constituents.
“Many will be relieved to hear about plans by Iarnród Éireann to deal with the issue. Irish people, particularly those who live in rural areas, have a great affinity with the rail service, and it would be a real shame if they felt unable to use it because of fear of anti-social behaviour. These moves by Iarnród Éireann should help,” said the Fine Gael TD.

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