Caution urged at railway lines near Portadown and Lurgan as Translink tests new high speed trains

Three walkthrough trains are already in service with the remaining four due to enter passenger service by end of this summer, bringing an additional 1,600 seats to the train network.

A total of 21 new carriages are being combined with seven refurbished Class 4000 trains as part of the £64 million project which is funded by the Department of Infrastructure.

Translink’s Director of Service Operations Ian Campbell said: “Safety is our top priority at all times. Before the trains enter passenger service, they undergo an intensive period of testing and commissioning which involves day and night-time testing across the network and at speeds of up to 90mph. This assesses each train’s safety, performance and comfort levels.

“Systems including traction performance, braking performance, safety systems, passenger information and heating and air conditioning are among the functions being checked. Each train must operate 1,000 miles fault free before entering passenger service.

“We would appeal to parents and carers to know where your children and young people are and deter loitering or ‘messing’ around train stations or using train tracks as shortcuts”. The lengthened trains will be more energy efficient helping to reduce our carbon footprint.”

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