Delayed passengers offered compensation

Angry rail passengers who spent more than three hours stranded on a broken-down train less than 100 yards from Belfast city centre station were today offered an apology and compensation.

The 50 passengers were on the last cross-border service from Dublin to Belfast, due to arrive at the northern city’s Central Station at 10.30pm last night.

When a fault developed passengers were told the train would instead stop short at the Great Victoria Street Station behind the city centre Europa Hotel.

Unfortunately the train ground to a halt less than 100 yards from the platform.

The passengers sat there as tempers rose. Eventually, after problems with a replacement engine, the passengers were finally delivered to Central Station at 2am today.

Ken McKnight, of Northern Ireland’s bus and rail transport company Translink, apologised for the long wait but said it was deemed too dangerous to allow the passengers to walk down the track to the station.

‘‘Unfortunately it was very, very dark, raining and very windy. It was in the passengers’ interests and safety that we kept them on the train.’’

Translink has offered all the passengers compensation of £100 or a free weekend in Dublin.