28 trespassers on Larne Line in a month

Translink NI Railways has recorded 28 incidents of trespassing by pedestrians on the Larne line since the beginning of June.
Passengers have come up with an array of excuses for not paying for their ticketsPassengers have come up with an array of excuses for not paying for their tickets
Passengers have come up with an array of excuses for not paying for their tickets

Lynda Shannon, communications manager for Translink revealed that many of the trespassers were adults and one of them was a senior citizen.

“Safety, while always at the top of the agenda for Translink, particularly comes to the fore at this time of year,” she said.

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“While we always appeal for parents and carers to remind young people to stay away from tracks, they are not the only ones who decide to use the rail network as a shortcut.

“Sometimes people don’t think about what they could be up against if a train came along at the wrong minute.

“When you take into consideration that the fastest man in the world at last summer’s Olympics, Usain Bolt, can cover just over 10 metres per second, while one of our trains travelling at 90 miles per hour covers 40 metres per second, it’s clear that when it comes to man versus train, there’s no contest.

“We changed our timetable at the beginning of January this year to increase the number of services we operate and r eopened the Coleraine-Londonderry line in March, so there are up to 60 services more operating each week on our network than there were this time last year.

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“The impacts of trespassing range from delays to services on the line where a trespasser has been reported, which can severely impact passengers, through to the risk of serious injury or death.

“Our trains have CCTV both inside and out and there are cameras located in several areas around the network which clearly captures footage of trespassers.”

Lynda warned that if prosecuted, trespassers risk being fined if convicted at court.

Over the summer months, Translink will be running its annual ‘Deadline’ campaign to remind pedestrians and motorists alike to stay safe around railway tracks and facilities.