Irish Rail has apologised for train delays that “ruined” people’s day out to Co Wicklow for the Bray Air Display and caused some passengers to exit hot and crowded carriages onto the railway tracks.
There were nine additional Dart services operating to accommodate people travelling to Bray for the air show on Sunday, which returned this year after the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, problems unfolded as a southbound Dart was waiting just outside Bray station for a platform to become available. It was waiting about five minutes when a small group forced open the door and went onto the track, according to Irish Rail. This meant trains could not move in either direction as people were on the track.
“That then caused other people to do the same. And it also happened to the Dart behind as a result because there were people on the track. It’s obviously a dangerous place to be,” Irish Rail spokesman Barry Kenny said.
Passengers on one of the southbound trains reported waiting on Dart trains in the heat without air conditioning, open windows or enough information on how long the delays would be.
Mr Kenny told RTÉ's Liveline programme Irish Rail was “very sorry” for the distress people felt. He added Irish Rail would not be pursuing any passenger who forced open the doors or exited onto the line. “We absolutely accept that the overwhelming majority of people who went onto the track did so because they made a decision in a very difficult situation.”
Mr Kenny said: “We are very sorry it happened. It shouldn’t have happened, it should have been a straight forward family day out for people. People shouldn’t have felt in such a state of distress that they felt the need to go onto the line,” he said. “Obviously things went wrong. Obviously it’s easy for me to say we wish people hadn’t gone onto the track but we accept people did not do that lightly we will be reviewing every aspect of this.”
Callers told LIveline presenter Joe Duffy of extreme heat on carriages and a lack of communication from staff.
“My two children were severely distraught, and not just my two kids, other kids and elderly people,” said one passenger who added “the sweat [was] running off the people” on board.
Another passenger said the emergency phone line in the carriage went unanswered. “All you could hear was the emergency phone ringing, and ringing out. We were ringing for help.” At this point, she said, a passenger with two young children broke the emergency glass to open the doors of the carriage.
A caller then told Liveline he had opened the carriage doors. “We have a six-week-old baby. Obviously with hindsight, knowing how packed it was and how hot the day transpired, it was probably not the smartest idea to bring a two-year-old and six-week-old, but the two-year-old is obsessed with planes,” he said. “After half and hour to 40 minutes of fanning the baby... I broke the glass to open the door.”
Mr Kenny said it was 2.55pm when people began leaving the Dart, and it was 5.15pm when the line reopened.
Dermot O’Leary, general secretary of the National Bus and Railworkers Union, said that the incident on the Dart between Shankill and Bray on Sunday highlights a number of issues that have been of concern to his members for some time.
Mr O’Leary told RTÉ Radio’s Today show that aircon on Darts, staffing levels at stations and policing on trains were issues that could have had an impact on the events on Sunday.
“It was a horrible experience for people”, he acknowledged. However, once the doors were forced open and there were people on the line, then it was standard procedure that services should stop, he said. Mr O’Leary added he did not want to indulge in “finger pointing” but that once doors are opened “all bets are off”. — Additional reporting PA
