COMMENT: DART overcrowding was unacceptable

EARLIER this month, we decided to go for a Sunday drive to Howth, still one of the shiniest jewels in Dublin’s tourism crown. No matter what part of the city you live in, a visit to the scenic peninsula is always an enjoyable experience.

Traffic in an out of Howth, particularly at Sutton Cross, is generally heavy when the sun is shining. Still, it was worse than normal on this particular afternoon, with tailbacks starting as soon as you came off the M50 at the N32. I had forgotten that the popular Dublin Bay Prawn Festival was underway in Howth and the good weather had brought people out in their droves. We crawled along for the best part of 30 minutes before deciding to abandon the car and catch a DART.

It sounded like the perfect plan. With excited kids in tow, we waited on the platform as our train approached. As the doors opened, we were shocked to realise how packed each of the four carriages was. We had to split up in order to muscle our way on board, much to the distress of our younger children. We could have done with some of those ‘stuffers’ that you see pushing passengers onto trains in Japan.

Mercifully, we were only two short stops away from Howth but the train felt dangerously overcrowded. In fact, the driver apologised over the PA system for the situation and said he had reported the matter to Iarnród Éireann. He sounded justifiably annoyed.

When we arrived in Howth, it took a long time to disembark from the train as the platform was full of people waiting to board for the return journey. Nobody checked if we had bought tickets, leading me to wonder how many fare evaders had taken advantage of Iarnród Éireann’s self-service stations along the way. It was the same on the way back; a virtual free train service if you were so inclined. Even if you had wanted to pay, the queues for the ticket machines didn’t bear thinking about.

There was a great atmosphere at the festival, with live music, food stalls and amusements. There seemed to be a strong Garda presence in the area and I saw no evidence of the anti-social activity that has blighted day trips to Howth in the past.

The DART is a valuable service and we are lucky to have it. But as a fare-paying Irish Rail customer that day, I felt badly let down. Hopefully the company will learn from the experience and plan better for major events and festivals in the future. And who knows? If they put human staff back into the stations instead of machines during these busy times, they might even make a few bob.