Translink anticipating rise in train passengers

But Rail Minister Conor Murphy does not believe over-crowding on the line is currently a problem.

Mr Murphy acknowledged that two Monday to Friday morning trains and two Friday afternoon trains are frequently busy due to the level of usage by commuters and students respectively.

However, the Minister stated he believed the passenger load on these trains was in line with Translink’s Passenger’s Charter commitment.

The Minister was asked what steps he has taken to address the over-crowding on the rail service by East Londonderry SDLP MLA John Dallat.

He explained that NI Railway experiences a degree of standing passengers on peak morning and evening services but would not consider these trains to be over-crowded.

He stated: “Taking the Derry line specifically, Translink have indicated that levels of standing on Derry line trains were reported as generally in line with the Passenger’s Charter commitment.

“Currently loadings are similar to the same time last year. Two Monday-Friday morning trains are busy i.e. the 0656 and 0726 ex Coleraine to Belfast where passengers frequently stand from Antrim to Belfast Central, a journey of some 25 minutes.

“On Friday afternoons two trains are particularly busy during term time i.e. the 1420 and 1610 services to Derry, with the 1610 train having been recorded with up to 300 passengers (200 seated and 100 standing).

“These numbers are generated by weekly students travelling home in addition to commuters and will frequently result in standing as far as Ballymena.”

Mr Murphy advised that NI Railways continues to monitor train loadings on a regular basis across all lines and endeavours to deploy larger trains when additional trains are available.

“On occasions, usually in response to special events, the normal 3-carriage trains on the Derry line are increased to 6-carriage trains to meet passenger demand,” he stated.

“Again, this very much depends on train set availability. However most events are at weekends when peak vehicle requirement is lower than during the week and therefore additional trains are readily available,” he added.

The Minister continued: “In the medium-term Translink anticipate continuing increase in ridership on the Derry route. Following the arrival of new trains in 2011/12, planned track re-lay and re-signalling between Coleraine and Derry in 2013/14, NI Railways will be in a position to further increase frequency of service provision on this line and thus enhance capacity (seats available per hour), in addition to increasing train size on key selected services.”