In the wake of yet another failure by rail infrastructure to withstand typical Irish weather conditions, this time on the Dublin to Rosslare line, Jim Higgins Fine Gael, MEP for Ireland North West, said that the Government must act now to ensure safer railways, not wait for a serious accident on a mainline rail service.
Every day thousands of people use our rail network to travel to work or school. “At a time when we are trying to make public transport a more viable and attractive option to commuters, the minimum passengers should be entitled to expect is a decent level of safety.”
“Commuters will recall the collapse of the Malahide Bridge in August, just days after Iarnród Éireann supposedly carried out an inspection on the same bridge. At the time of the bridge's collapse, trains packed with passengers were only moments away from what would have been a very tragic accident.
“I have no doubt that on that faithful day it was good fortune and a vigilant train driver that saved the lives of those passengers and not Government supervision or the Iarnród Éireann inspections that prevented a disaster,” said Mr Higgins.
As a matter of great urgency, Mr Higgins called for motion and flow sensors to be installed on all 83 bridges and viaducts in the state. At present very few bridges have such sensors. Motion sensors highlight changes in the structure and environment of the bridge and are useful in the detection of flooding-related railway problems.
“I am calling on Minister Noel Dempsey to take immediate action to provide the Irish people with the safe rail infrastructure to which they are entitled. The current system of rail inspections in Ireland is completely inadequate and I sincerely hope that the Government will not wait for lives to be lost before it is shunted into action,” Mr Higgins stated.
“I am calling for an end to the situation whereby Iarnród Éireann engineers are effectively being paid to go and inspect their own work. This type of crazy situation would not be tolerated in the private sector and should not be tolerated by a State owned company,” said Mr Higgins.
“Each winter, train lines become flooded because the necessary action has not been taken to ensure that in periods of heavy rainfall, the infrastructure is capable of withstanding the elements. We are all familiar with the harsh weather to which Ireland is susceptible - flooding in winter is far from unusual. It’s about time our Government adopted a proactive, not reactive, approach to transport infrastructure safety in Ireland,” added the MEP.
