'Massive overcrowding' on Translink trains since opening of Grand Central Station says MLA

Lagan Valley MLA David Honeyford of the Alliance Party said passengers have been facing “massive overcrowding” and late-running services on the Lurgan-Lisburn-Belfast line.

He said the woes have all arisen since the new Grand Central Station opened to rail passengers on October 13.

It comes one day after Translink staged a PR event at the station, aimed at encouraging more people on to public transport.

Mr Honeyford said: “This is affecting commuters from Lisburn and Moira, but also from Lurgan and beyond.

“Since the opening of Belfast Grand Central station, passengers have been experiencing massive overcrowding and delays on their commute.

"The station is supposed to operate on a hub-and-spoke basis, but if the incoming trains are delayed then people will miss those connections.

“Also, platforms have been extended to allow for six-carriage trains, but I’m hearing from constituents that there are now more three-carriage trains than previously, which simply isn’t enough to meet demand.

“Since I first raised these issues personally I have been inundated with messages from people across my constituency who have been impacted by similar problems.

"It’s particularly concerning to hear reports that healthcare workers at the City Hospital are missing connecting trains and are ending up late for work, as well as schoolchildren also being affected.

“Whilst I’m glad to hear from Translink that they are now looking at procuring additional carriages, this really should have been considered alongside the building of the new station, rather than afterwards.

“Alliance is a consistently strong and vocal advocate for public transport, and we want to see even more people availing of our train network where possible.

"For this to happen though, the service has to be efficient, comfortable and on-time, and we will continue engaging with Translink and the Department for Infrastructure on this.”

Translink responded: “The vast majority of our passengers experience safe and comfortable journeys and where possible we seek to provide additional capacity where we can.

“The new railway timetable has been developed as part of the opening of Belfast Grand Central Station which has been designed to be a terminus station offering increased connectivity and integration with the wider public transport network across Northern Ireland.

“Since these changes, there has been a significant increase in rail services on the Belfast, Lisburn and Portadown rail corridor, compared with the same time last year. To address this growing demand, the number of six-car trains operating between Portadown/Lisburn/Belfast has doubled from seven to 14 per day, to provide increased capacity.

"Additionally, our Enterprise services have increased daily from 16 services to 30 services and are all operated by larger capacity six or eight-carriage trains. This has greatly enhanced the service provision for Translink customers travelling from both Portadown and Newry to Belfast throughout the day.

“During peak times, Translink operates all available trains and regularly reviews service demands. Some peak services do experience periods when customers may be required to stand and our trains are designed to be fully safe when this is required.

“We apologise to any passengers impacted by delays. Passengers are advised to check the website www.translink.co.uk or Journey Planner for live updates before they travel.”