Translink Gets Tough
7 September 2004
Travelling by rail should be a pleasant and safe experience for both passengers and staff, however vandalism, anti-social behaviour and trespassing happen all too often across our public transport network. N I Railways are committed to resolving these issues and in the first six months of 2004 the company has successfully prosecuted 69 offenders who were fined a total of £10,000.
Mal McGreevy Translink’s General Manager – Rail Services explained; “We are pleased with this outcome; we have had 69 successful prosecutions in the first half of this year, however we want to see instances of this nature reduce significantly. This is why we are taking such a determined stance and publicising it to hopefully put a stop to such behaviour.”
“We are increasingly taking a zero tolerance position to activities which may compromise the comfort and safety of our passengers and staff, including those caught trespassing on railway property. The wide ranging nature
of the prosecutions reflect this and include suspended prison sentences, official cautions, penalty points and fines. The fines are being imposed for a range of offences including trespassing on railway property, carrying out graffiti, being intoxicated and abusive. The largest single fine was for over £1,000 for feet on seats, abusive language and threatening behaviour. Together we need to stamp out vandalism, anti-social behaviour and trespassing, because everyone has the right to work or travel on our trains in a pleasant environment and feel safe.”
“Trespassing on rail tracks could lead to the perpetrator being seriously hurt or even fatally injured particularly as the new C3K trains currently being tested and additional trains are running day and night.”
The company attributes much of their success to railway staff and the Translink reward scheme as Mr McGreevy explains; “…the reward scheme, which is currently in operation on N I Railways, Citybus (now Metro) and Ulsterbus acts as an extra incentive for people to come forward and report such incidents. The scheme works on the basis that if a member of the public, or a member of staff witnesses any incident and are prepared to give evidence in court, resulting in a person being convicted, then Translink will make a cash reward payment of up to £1,000 to the witness”.
The company are certainly focused on the future and their message is a quite clear; to those who might be tempted to act improperly… think again as you will be caught and will have to face the consequences. The new C3K trains which
begin limited passenger service later this year promise to make it even easier for N I Railways to prosecute offenders as each carriage will be equipped with the latest digital CCTV recording equipment.
ENDS
Issued by Sarah Stanczyk, Translink’s Public Relations Officer 028 90 899 455
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