Irish Rail apologises to train users for week of hold-ups

Irish Rail has issued an apology to the scores of weary passengers who experienced horrendous delays on the Galway to Dublin train service this week.

Tuesday in particular was a public relations disaster for the company as a series of events caused delays of almost four hours on the evening train from Dublin Heuston to Ceannt Station.

The 17.30 hours train from Dublin to Galway, which normally takes two hours 20 minutes, didn’t arrive into Ceannt Station Galway until around midnight.

A spokeswoman for Irish Rail said the delay of almost four hours was caused firstly by a track machine breaking down between Sallins and Newbridge in Kildare. Once the train got moving again, another delay was caused at Cherryville where there was a signal failure. To cap it off, just as passengers thought they were nearly home, a further delay was caused because a truck struck the bridge at Lough Atalia in the city.

The bridge had to be inspected before it was deemed safe for the train to pass into Ceannt Station. It was one of the hottest days of the year and passengers complained of a lack of air conditioning in the sweltering heat of the stuffy carriages. The spokesperson said other services between Galway and Dublin were also delayed due to the machine break down and signal failures, but the 17.30 hrs train was the worst affected.

Meanwhile, passengers’ and Irish Rail’s woes continued on Wednesday when a fire broke out at Athenry Station causing more delays. A spokesperson confirmed that 19.15 hours service from Galway to Heuston on Wednesday was delayed by two and a half hours. The earlier evening train that usually departs at 17.35 hours was also delayed by hours.

For more on this story, see today’s Galway City Tribune