Warning of trespassing on railway lines

Translink are warning people to be aware and revealed that almost 100 people have been caught trespassing on rail lines since the beginning of June.

Lynda Shannon, Communications Manager, Translink said: “Safety, while always at the top of the agenda for Translink, particularly comes to the fore at this time of year. 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. Of the trespassing incidents we recorded in the past month, many of the trespassers were adults and one of them was senior citizen!

“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 reopened the Coleraine-Londonderry line in March, so there are up to 60 services more operating on our network than there were this time last year.

“These incidents have included a member of public being reported by a resident close to tracks in Whitehead, a group of five youths being spotted under a bridge at Finaghy and a trespasser being removed from the line at Greenisland, as recently as last week.

“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. If prosecuted, trespassers risk being fined if convicted at court.

“Over the summer months we will be running our annual ‘Deadline’ campaign to remind pedestrians and motorists to stay safe around railway tracks and facilities.”

For further information on how Translink is helping passengers, employees and members of the public to ‘Go safe’, go to www.translink.co.uk