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A NEW CAMPAIGN by Irish Rail is aiming to highlight the dangers of people trespassing and crossing train tracks.
A video released by the train service shows people at Kilbarrack Dart Station in Dublin crossing the tracks when they believed no trains were nearby.
People walk down a slip ramp near the end of a platform and cross over to the other side.
In one case, a man narrowly avoids being hit by the Dublin to Belfast Enterprise train by a split second in December of last year. The Enterprise regularly speeds through Kilbarrack Station at speeds of 140 km/h.
Other clips show a couple and a man carrying a small child across the tracks.
The footage was released in order to highlight how dangerous trespassing on train tracks can be.
For Dart driver Aidan Martin, people crossing tracks at stations is one of the biggest worries he faces while working. He said driving through Kilbarrack Station in particular was one of the worst parts of the job.
“Kilbarrack for drivers is becoming a nightmare,” Martin told TheJournal.ie.
“Without being dramatic, it’s an absolute nightmare.
Every time you’re coming into the station… you just don’t know what’s going to happen.
He thinks that the easy access to crossing the tracks at Kilbarrack is likely the reason for so many incidents at the station. But he also said he can’t understand why people would put their lives at risk.
“I’m from the area myself and it’s a great area.
But there’s some minority that cross. It’s so dangerous.
Near miss
Martin (42) has been a driver on the Dart line for 10 years. His daily route stretches from Greystones in Wicklow to Howth and Malahide.
He said he’s had a number of near misses over the years, where his train has been close to hitting people.
“From a driver’s perspective, it’s really difficult,” he said.
“If you see someone too late, there’s nothing you can do.
It can get to you after a while, and you can question that aspect of doing the job. Every day it goes through your mind.
Martin said he knew of one driver who had left the job as he couldn’t handle the stress of potentially hitting someone.
Martin also said that anti-social behaviour along the Dart line is a big issue for drivers.
According to Irish Rail, there were 32 ‘category 1′ near misses on train lines in 2016 which required drivers to hit the brakes to avoid hitting a person.
I hope she never sees the light of day again
The sickening thing is , she will .
Will she even do time I wonder
I doubt it. It’ll be a Suspended sentence
This is Ireland.
She’ll most likely, get a fully furnished new house to add to her previous portfolio of 3.
A new car.
A raise in her benefits.
New clothes.
And hundreds of thousands of Euro in medical and counselling expenses.
This woman does not deserve to call herself a mother. She’s nothing but a disgusting human. Fair play to those kids for going through with this case and sorry to hear this was allowed to carry on for so long.
How did she get bail? Vile human being, I hope she gets a proper sentence and the kids get the love and help they need.
How could this continue over time without something being done? Neighbours aware, school aware of issues. What did social services do here? This is madness.
Yes, Greg, I wonder what Social Services did here, and what the ISPCC did here, too.
It seems to just have been allowed to continue for 5 years.
It’s astounding, with Child Abuse supposedly being taken so seriously.
I can’t understand what makes someone do that to kids, any kids. I just hope that they get the love and attention that they deserve now as young adults.
Her defense team? Who paid for that I wonder?
Where is/are the father(s)?
How is this tolerated in the 21st century?
She may not even know who the fathers are.
Disgusting! Poor children, God love them
Why didn’t the neighbours report her?
What a twisted bitch
I heard some of the mothers defence evidence reported on the radio today in relation to the two boys having their hair pulled out by her…….
“She said the boys were exaggerating, yes, she said, she had to hold them forcibly in a headlock and it took some power to force the neck of the Fairy washing liquid bottle past their clenched teeth as they struggled and won’t allow her to pour the washing up liquid in their mouths because they said a rude word but she didn’t pull out clumps of hair”
That was her defence on that charge alone.
She didn’t see anything wrong with it, that was her defence………What an evil woman.
She is evil, I hope that she never gets out.
It wasn’t just her that failed the children, why were they left in her care for so long, why did it take so long to bring her to court?
Why was there a delay of 5 years from when social services got involved until the kids were taken from this vile evil woman
The poor kids. I hope they can go on to lead normal happy lives.
This evil piece of sc#m should be fed on bread and water for the rest of her miserable life
I hope she gets the help she needs, and for the children’s sake that she is able to establish a normal relationship with them in time.
Joe, I would say that the relationship is way beyond repair.
‘The help she needs’?!! Are you for real Joe?
Why is every perpetrator of horrific crimes given the tag of ‘victim’? Some people are just evil, nasty, deplorable animals and should be disposed of.
After witnessing first hand similar events above I can say from my own experience that forgiveness comes in time. May be a few years, may take decades, the child will still want to be loved / accepted by the parent. They may have a chance at a relationship of some sort depending on the child or no relationship at all depending on the child. The child will also feel a degree of guilt and responsibility even though the child is 100% innocent the guilt is still there.
The child’s want/need to be loved and wanted is huge if they can get that of the fosters career they may never look for their mothers love, but if they are shipped from home to home and only used by the foster career for money (some foster careers not all) then I feel the child future will be hard.
Exactly Colin some people are beyond help, evil will always be evil unfortunately the human race churns out the odd one every now and then, and unfortunately that evil can spawn innocent children.
Well said
Poor kids
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