News


Troubles in Northern Ireland spill onto rail network


by Andrew Mourant


Northern Ireland Railways is battling to maintain the upper hand as train services between Belfast and Dublin become disrupted, amid rising sectarian tensions. The main trouble spot has been


a three-mile stretch around Lurgan. Over the year there have been 22 security alerts, with half of these in the last three months. All resulted in closure of the Enterprise Service, linking the two capitals. Some shutdowns have lasted for a day. Hoax bomb alerts and stone-


throwing youths have regularly put the six miles of track between Lurgan and Portadown out of action. Mal McGreevy, Northern Ireland Railways general manager, says there have also been problems in Greater Belfast. NIR’s ‘sister’ companies,


Ulsterbus and Belfast Metro, have provided a stand-in transport link when necessary. ‘We have a well- practised substitute bus service,’


‘Hoax bomb alerts and stone-throwing youths have regularly put the six miles of track between Lurgan and Portadown out of action’


Mal McGreevy


says McGreevy. ‘Normally Belfast to Dublin takes two hours 10 minutes. I’m very disappointed after a security alert if it’s more than three hours. We’re still trying to provide a reasonable continuous service. ‘It’s pretty much business as


usual – our approach is not to make a big issue of security alerts. Security is left to the PSNI [Police Service of Northern Ireland]. We liaise closely – most talks take place at a local level.’ Unlike the rest of the UK, Ulster does not have its own transport police service and nor is there a dedicated rail patrol unit within PSNI. ‘Railways form part of regular patrols for response and neighbourhood police officers,’ a


spokeswoman said. These have been stepped up around Lurgan but at no additional cost. ‘Police and NIR, with their local security staff, work together continuously. NIR staff have a direct line to local police – channels of communication have improved.’ Although at risk of being


intimidated, some residents have come forward with information. No arrests have been made in connection with hoax security alerts, but three men have been arrested and charged with rioting connected to the attempted hijacking of a train in Lurgan in July. The spokeswoman said police were ‘confident’ further arrests will be made in coming weeks.


Scheme to build new Edinburgh station takes shape


Plans have been unveiled for the redevelopment of Edinburgh’s second station to create a ‘transport hub’. The proposals are designed to allow Haymarket, west of the city centre, to cope with an anticipated doubling of demand. More than four million passengers pass through the station each year, and a figure of nine million is projected by 2030. Concerned that the station did not work efficiently as a public space or transport hub, the city council commissioned a study for development. The £100m proposal would see the station extended, connecting the rail network with buses and trams. Meanwhile, officials have conceded that trams will not start running in Edinburgh until 2013, almost three years after the date originally planned. The timescale for the troubled


scheme emerged with the release of a confidential report prepared by Transport Initiatives Edinburgh (TIE), the city council’s development company. It told Transport Scotland in May: ‘The TIE live programme currently predicts an open for revenue service date in early March 2013.’ The scheme remains snarled in dispute, with TIE negotiating with lead contractor Bilfinger Berger. Scotland’s Labour leader, Iain


Gray, has blamed Edinburgh’s Lib Dem-SNP coalition for making a ‘terrible mess’.


Three jailed for ticket machine thefts n


Three men have been jailed for the theft of more than £16,000


from automatic ticket machines on station platforms. Mark Loveridge, 34, his stepson Murphy Loveridge, 19, and brother Albey Loveridge, 42, admitted stealing from stations in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Essex, including Waterbeach, Whittlesford, Foxton, Littleport, Royston, Meldreth, Littleport and Audley End.


The men, from Bedfordshire,


used pick axes, chains and even cars to smash up the machines. Detective Sergeant Craig Payne,


said: ‘This family’s exploits caused misery for thousands of passengers and left a trail of destruction that the train operators had to repair. ‘More than £16,000 went missing from the machines during the period in question but this was dwarfed by a figure of £188,000 in damage and replacement costs.’ The three were caught after


being spotted on CCTV and through forensic evidence recovered from the cars they had been using. Mark was sentenced to four


years in prison, Albey got three years and Murphy received 10 months youth detention.


OCTOBER 2010 PAGE 5


Damaged machine at Waterbeach


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40