Over 3,400 complaints to Irish Rail in six months

Almost 3,500 complaints were made about Irish Rail in the first six months of 2020, significantly down on the same period last year.

Almost 3,500 complaints were made about Irish Rail in the first six months of 2020, significantly down on the same period last year.

Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that 3,418 complaints were made to Irish Rail between January and June this year.

Documents show that the complaints centred around antisocial behaviour, fares and ticketing, Irish Rail’s website and timetables, service disruption, and other onboard issues.

The documents also revealed that 12 complaints were made about accessibility aboard Irish Rail services and that one complaint was made about racism in January.

The number of complaints during the first six months of 2020 are less than a quarter of the total complaints made in 2019 (14,575), a possible consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic and the reduced travel on public transport.

The latest documents show that, of the 3,418 complaints made earlier this year, 824 centred on "station issues".

As an essential service, we have continued to provide train services throughout Covid-19 to ensure that those who must travel can do so, and have continued to assist customers with queries during that time

A further 707 complaints focused on onboard issues, 537 highlighted service disruption and 445 centred on fare and ticket issues.

Some 248 complaints centred on Irish Rail’s website, 154 focused on staffing issues, 146 highlighted antisocial behaviour and 131 claimed there were issues within timetabling.

Meanwhile, 12 complaints highlighted accessibility issues and one complaint, made in January, centred on racism.

The documents show that the number of complaints declined when Covid-19 lockdown restrictions came into effect in March and that they began to rise again when restrictions eased during the summer.

Almost 900 complaints were made about Irish Rail in January and a further 1,217 in February.

The number of complaints dropped to 799 in March, when restrictions came into effect, before plummeting below 200 in April.

Just 103 complaints were made to Irish Rail in May. However, as restrictions began to lift, the number of complaints began to rise again as people returned to public transport.

In June, almost 250 complaints were made to the Irish train service.

A spokesperson for Irish Rail said: “Customer queries, including complaints, reduced significantly in line with Covid-19 restrictions, particularly from mid-March onwards as the overwhelming majority of customers and the wider community acted in accordance with Government advice.

“As an essential service, we have continued to provide train services throughout Covid-19 to ensure that those who must travel can do so, and have continued to assist customers with queries during that time.

“We remind customers that during level 5, public transport should only be used for essential work and education, and that face coverings are mandatory on board,” he added.