Passengers 'stranded' at locked train station

Translink has apologised after rail passengers were left stranded on a platform when a late-night train arrived into a station that was already shut for the night.

A group of about 30 customers were stuck on the platform at Newry Train Station for more than 45 minutes in the early hours of Saturday.

One of the passengers, Anne Greer, told BBC News NI it raised safety questions for the public transport company as the customers had no safe way to exit the station.

Translink said the firm was "looking into the incident" but added its train crew "remained with the passengers to ensure their safety while the issue was resolved".

The train was among a number of extra late-night services which are running to and from Belfast during the Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann (Music Festival of Ireland).

It was scheduled to leave Belfast at 23:59 BST on Friday and it arrived in Newry at about 01:20 BST on Saturday.

"To our surprise the entire station was closed, so we couldn't exit," Greer said.

"So we're all trapped on the platforms for over 40 minutes."

She said the train crew "helped as much as they could, but there was nothing they could do".

"They were completely gobsmacked as to why they've arrived into a completely closed and locked train station."

Greer said she and other passengers tried to contact Translink but they could only find phone numbers for call centres which had also already closed for the day.

She argued it should be a "learning point" for health and safety as she felt there was no safe escape if there had been an injury or any kind of emergency.

"If something had happened.. the only options we had were the tracks in front of us, which obviously nobody was going to try walking on."

Shortly before 02:00 a worker arrived at the station and opened the doors to let passengers out.

In a statement, Translink said: "A group of passengers experienced an operational issue exiting Newry station after the arrival of the last train at 1.20am this morning, we're looking into the incident and apologise to the passengers affected.

"The train crew remained with the passengers to ensure their safety while the issue was resolved."

Translink is experiencing heightened demand for bus and train services to and from Belfast as the city is hosting the fleadh.

The eight-day festival, which runs from 2 to 9 August, is the world's largest celebration of Irish music and culture, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors.

A Translink spokesperson said: "Services have been exceptionally busy this week, with over one million passenger journeys during the first five days of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann – an increase of 275,000 compared to the same period last year."

Attendance numbers at the event has so far exceeded expectations.

The organising hosts - Belfast City Council, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) and Ards CCÉ - had originally predicted about 800,000 visitors over the eight days.

But the Belfast One Business Improvement District has already recorded a total footfall of 900,020 in the city centre from Sunday 2 August to Thursday 6 August.

The Department for the Economy (DfE) had originally predicted a £53m economic boost but on Friday it said that prediction looks set to be exceeded.

Translink has organised hundreds of additional bus services as well as extra late night train services to cater for people travelling to and from the fleadh.

Earlier this week, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmons hailed the fleadh as a "great success" and thanked Translink staff "for their efforts in delivering vital public transport services".

However, there has been some negative feedback from passengers during the past week.

Several people contacted Translink via social media to report problems with packed buses and trains, or to say they could not board services as they were already full.

On Friday, Translink apologised to customers using the 17:54 Lisburn to Belfast train which did not call at seven stops due to a "large number of passengers".

It has also advised the public that seats on many cross-border Enterprise trains between Dublin and Belfast had already sold out by Saturday morning.

Asked by BBC News NI if it was experiencing capacity issues during the fleadh, Translink's spokeswoman said passenger demand was "extremely high and all our available resources are in use".

"A special Fleadh timetable is in place with significantly enhanced capacity and additional services across the network with additional late-night services through to Sunday - and Belfast City Council's Park & Ride options."

She added: "Buses and trains are busy at peak times and, where vehicles reach capacity, customers may occasionally need to wait for planned relief services to arrive.

"We would like to thank customers for their patience and understanding in these circumstances."