Clampers out at Westport train station

Clampers lock out uninformed Westport train travellers


Neill O’Neill

A Westport native who was home from Chicago to attend his nephew’s wedding arrived off the train in Westport last week to find his car clamped outside Westport Train Station.
The retired man, who did not wish to be named, said he was unaware that he had to pay to park at the train station. He insisted that he did not see the small warning sign when he parked up on what was a dark morning, and was not aware that for the first time in his life he had to pay to park at the front of the train station.
However, having accepted that he had to pay €120 (60 times the cost of parking for one day) to remove the clamp, repeated calls to the clamping company went unanswered and the man had to leave his car at the station and spend the night at his sister’s home outside the town. He said he was lucky that he had that option, and wondered what he might have done if he had to travel on to Achill or somewhere distant, or if he was travelling with somebody who was infirm or ill. The man added that the staff at Westport Train Station were friendly and as helpful as they could be, but ultimately could do nothing to help him as the clamping company operate independently of Iarnród Éireann.
An employee of the company – Nationwide Controlled Parking Systems (NCPS) – eventually returned his calls after 11pm, at which point he was in bed. He called the company again the following morning, and it took over an hour for his car to be de-clamped.
This issue was also raised at last week’s meeting of Westport Town Council, where the small warning signs at the front of Westport Train Station were mentioned by Cllr Margaret Adams.
Cllr Adams also said there was not a long enough grace period for people to become accustomed to the new regime at the station before the clamping started, and added that people were horrified to get off the train last week to see their vehicles clamped.
She suggested writing to Iarnród Éireann to express the feelings of Westport Town Council that the company’s sudden practice of charging for parking is not good enough, a call that was supported by Cllr Declan Dever.
When contacted by The Mayo News last week, a spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann undertook to investigate what had caused this delay, but could not be reached yesterday.