IRELAND’S RAILWAY REGULATOR has issued a prohibition notice on a new train from Belfast to Dublin after concerns about safety.

The three upgraded De Dietrich Enterprise trains, which were launched in Belfast in November and due to be in service by the end of last year, are now off-track until safety issues can be addressed. As was first reported in The Irish News, concerns were raised after two instances of the doors opening while the train was in motion.

“The wrong side door failures posed an immediate and substantial risk to the safety of persons,” the Railway Safety Commission (RSC) said in a statement.

The prohibition notice was issued on 6 January.

“NI Railways is addressing our safety concerns and has made a submission in this regard which the RSC is currently reviewing,” the RSC said. “The prohibition notice will remain in place until such time as NI Railways has demonstrated to the satisfaction of the RSC that the risk to the safety of persons is being managed.”

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