Rail service sends out all the wrong signals

ON Friday, March 26, all went well on the 07.35 Enterprise to Belfast until we got to Lisburn where we were informed that there were signalling problems.

After a 40-minute delay we were told that there was little likelihood of the train continuing.

We were advised to take a waiting bus to Great Victoria Street Station. We protested that our tickets were for Belfast Central where our friends would be waiting.

We were told that we could pick up a Central link bus at Great Victoria Street at no extra charge. We eventually arrived at Belfast Central at 11.40, two hours late. We arrived back at Belfast Central for the 16.10 to Dublin. There was a long queue and information was minimal. We eventually left for Dublin at 17.40 and arrived at Connolly at 20.30, two hours and 20 minutes late.

The trip was two hours late in one direction and two hours twenty minutes late in the other. The return journey involved nearly two and a half hours of standing either in queues or on a crowded bus.

I will not bore readers about the added inconveniences experienced as a result of this systems failure. They were personal and considerable. Surely there is a better way to run a train service?

Louis O’Flaherty,

43, Lorcan Drive,

Santry,

Dublin 9.