Belfast train station ticket system for Dublin passengers slammed as 'partitionist' and 'nuts'
A STORMONT MLA has slammed the ticketing system for Republic-bound passengers in Belfast's new train station Grand Central, calling it 'partitionist' and 'nuts'.
Currently, none of the 12 ticketing machines in the new station, which cost over £350 million to build, sell tickets for the Dublin train, or trains to any stations across the border.
In the case of the Dublin train, which is jointly operated by Translink and Irish Rail, this has resulted in long queues forming at the ticket desk, which is usually operated by one to two people.
The desk is located at the opposite end of the new station to the platforms. Once people get to the platforms, their tickets do not scan at the gates, meaning that they have to be scanned individually by an employee.
Customers have complained that this process has led to them missing the train even when they arrive in good time. Justin McNulty, an SDLP MLA from South Armagh, told
The Journal
that in his view this system is 'partitionist' and 'two-tier approach to cross-border rail services'.
'Lots of people have contacted me because they've missed their trains, and their buses – it applies to bus tickets too – as a result of this baffling system,' he added. McNulty said that it isn't just a ticketing issue, but also a 'fairness' issue.
'We need to see simplified ticketing processes and unified fare structures across the island,' he added. The Minister for Infrastructure in the Stormont Executive, Liz Kimmins, has explained that as main bus and rail cross border services operate under a capacity management system the purchase of adhoc tickets from machines 'is not possible'.
Advertisement
'Regarding those who have purchased their ticket from Iarnród Éireann and are travelling through from Grand Central Station, these tickets require visual inspection at the gate line due to the variety of Iarnród Éireann ticket types which cannot be validated electronically,' she said.
Another issue that is causing those who regularly travel up and down the country ire is that a return from Belfast to Dublin is more expensive than a return from Dublin to Belfast. Kimmins said that this is because Translink and Irish Rail are subsidised in different ways.
'In April 2022 the Irish Government reduced fares on all types of transport by 20%. My Department has been operating in a difficult financial environment for a number of years due to underfunding and austerity by the British Government.
'Consequently, a similar discount is not available for Enterprise tickets for journeys originating in the North,' she explained.
McNulty told
The Journal
that he believes the price disparity is causing a fairness issue.
'People in Newry are expected to pay more than double the fare for a shorter journey to Belfast than those living just a few miles over the border in Dundalk. It just doesn't add up,' he said.
McNulty added that in his view there needs to be cross-border engagement to address the issue.
'If we can put men and women on the moon, then we can align the ticketing services for rail and bus connections north and south of the border.
'It's putting workers and commuters up against the clock, and creating a bad experience for tourists who come here to experience the whole island,' he said.
The Department of Transport in the Republic said it has not engaged with its counterpart in the north in relation to this issue.
The Journal
has asked the Department for Infrastructure in the North for comment, as well as Irish Rail and Translink.
Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article.
Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.
Learn More
Support The Journal
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
an hour ago
- Irish Independent
Gerry Adams to donate €100,000 from BBC defamation trial to Irish language and Palestinian charities
Mr Adams took the BBC to court over a 2016 episode of its Spotlight programme, and an accompanying online story, which he said defamed him by alleging he sanctioned the killing of former Sinn Féin official Denis Donaldson, for which he denies any involvement. Last Friday, a jury at the High Court in Dublin found in his favour and awarded him €100,000 after determining that was the meaning of words included in the programme and article. The BBC will also have to pay Mr Adams's legal costs. During an eight-minute video posted on the official Sinn Féin YouTube channel, Mr Adams accused the BBC of showing 'arrogance' when it did not resolve the dispute after he issued legal letters nine years ago. In Putting Manners On The BBC – The Gerry Adams Blog, Mr Adams said that the BBC has been held accountable for the content it broadcasts. Mr Adams said: 'As for the money that the jury awarded me in damages, I will donate this to good causes. 'These will include the children of Gaza, groups in Ireland involved in helping the homeless, Cumann Carad, the Irish language sector and other projects like this in west Belfast. 'When the case began six weeks ago, the BBC's legal strategy was evident very quickly. Their narrative was that pursued by successive British and Irish governments for years. 'They blamed everything during the conflict on Irish Republicans and by extension, during this trial, on me. 'The BBC lawyers embarked on a Jesuitical presentation of the case that tried to convince the jurors that the words broadcast and published by the British Broadcasting Corporation, that I had sanctioned the murder of Denis Donaldson, did not, in fact, mean that I sanctioned the murder of Denis Donaldson. ADVERTISEMENT 'They were, they said, that's the British Broadcasting Corporation, not defending the truth of the accusation. 'Instead they were defending, they claimed, their journalism, which they said was fair and reasonable, in the public interest and made in good faith. 'They concluded their case by trying to exert moral pressure on the jurors by claiming that a defeat for the British Broadcasting Corporation would be a blow to freedom of speech and a setback to victims. 'In the end the jury didn't buy in to any of this. 'On all the key issues the jurors unanimously accepted that the script used by the Spotlight programme did mean that I had sanctioned and approved the murder of Denis Donaldson.' He said that after the BBC's decision to air the Spotlight programme, he decided to sue the broadcaster. Mr Adams said the BBC could have resolved the dispute there and then. 'They chose not to. Why? That's a question to be asked. Why did they not resolve this issue when they could have? 'Was it arrogance? Yes, that's part of it. But I also suspect political interference. 'In January, the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded to a decision in the High Court in Belfast, which included that I and, by implication, up to 400 other former internees, were wrongfully detained and that we were entitled to compensation. 'Mr Starmer told the British Parliament that he would look at every conceivable way to block compensation being paid.' Mr Adams also urged the Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan to met Denis Donaldson's family. He signed off by saying 'slan agus tog go bog e', which means goodbye and take it easy. Earlier this week, the BBC was granted time to consider appealing against the jury's decision. The broadcaster was granted a stay on paying the full costs and damages to allow it time to consider whether to lodge an appeal. The stay was subject to paying half the damages €50,000 and €250,000 towards solicitors' fees.
The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Gerry Adams to donate €100k libel payout to charity and defends claim he 'put manners on the BBC'
GERRY ADAMS HAS announced that he will donate the €100,000 in libel damages from the BBC to 'good causes', including 'the children of Gaza', Irish-based homeless support groups and Irish language organisations. Adams was awarded the significant cash sum on Friday after a High Court jury ruled that the BBC defamed him in a 2016 programme, which alleged his involvement in the murder of British spy Denis Donaldson. The court found the broadcaster had falsely implicated Adams in sanctioning the 2006 killing of Donaldson, a former senior IRA member later exposed as an MI5 agent. Adams denies any involvement in the murder. In a video shared on social media today, Adams said that the money would go to various charities and community groups – including Gaza charities, Irish homeless organisations and An Cumann Cabhrach, which supports republican prisoners and their families. In the video, Adams also defended his comments outside the court on Friday, where he told reporters that he had 'put manners on the BBC'. The comment was widely criticised, with the Irish secretary of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) describing Adam's line as 'chilling'. Adams rejected this, claiming today that the success of his case was a 'very important and very significant breach' in the BBC's 'monopoly on how it broadcasts 'news' especially in Ireland'. Advertisement 'As I said outside the Four Courts, I took this case to put manners on this institution – I stand over that comment,' Adams said in a video shared to Youtube by Sinn Féin. Sinn Féin / YouTube 'I reject the over-the-top responses to it.' He added: 'Journalism was a victor, not a loser, but only if the lessons are learned and acted upon. 'The British Broadcasting Corporation is supposed to be a public service provider. It is paid from public funds. It upholds the ethos of the British state in Ireland, that goes without saying, but it should be publicly accountable for its broadcasting content. 'It rarely is. That's what this court case did. That's what the jury did. The BBC lost.' Later in the video, Adams said that journalists 'bear an onorous responsibility not to make false accusations based on unreliable and or nonexistent supporting evidence'. 'There's also been predictable responses from all the usual verdicts to the verdict in this cae. This is not the time to defend bad journalism. This is the time to learn the lessons. 'They too should stop whinging – this is senior hurling.' Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Dublin school 'devastated' to lose children who were deported, principal says
THE PRINCIPAL OF a school that was attended by two of the children who were deported to Nigeria last night has said that staff and pupils have been left 'devastated'. Five children and thirty adults were removed from Ireland on a chartered flight last night as part of the Department of Justice's new crackdown on enforcing immigration rules. Ciarán Cronin, the Principal of St James Primary school in Dublin 8 today told The Journal that two of the children who were removed from the state had been pupils at his school for three years, and have in that time become an integral part of the community there. 'They've been part of our football team, part of our school fabric, part of our school lives,' he said. Cronin said that the youngest child didn't speak when he arrived at the school for the first few months. 'Once he started to speak, when he was comfortable enough, he became the most beautiful young fella,' the Principal added. Families left feeling 'unsafe' The families of the children were removed from the Red Cow IPAS centre in Dublin. Cronin said that other pupils at his school witnessed their deportation and have been distressed by it. 'They are all wondering, will they be next? Their own feeling of self worth is just through the floor now,' he said. Cronin said that the atmosphere in the school now is 'As if someone has passed away.' 'That's amongst staff and children. We've had to explain to all the friends that their two friends won't be back, that unfortunately, they didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but that hopefully, when they settle back in, we'll be able to do a Whatsapp video call with them to say hello,' he added. Cronin said that the school has advocated for the children to the Minister of Justice and local politicians, and that St James has had 'no support' as a school in relation to dealing with the deportation of two of its students. At the Red Cow IPAS centre, a mother who is a resident there today told The Journal said that her children were 'in tears' on their way to school after witnessing their two friends being removed from the centre by gardaí. 'My daughter asked me, 'Can we got out of the hotel and look for another place before they deport us? What do we tell them?' she said. The woman added that she and her family no longer feel 'safe' at the centre. Gardaí were carrying out Ministerial order A garda source has told The Journal that the families of the two children 'were given a date and time and were ready to leave when gardaí arrived there'. Advertisement The source further said that all of the men who were due for deportation were picked up in advance, and were placed in custody for a number of weeks. They said that a decision was made to not pick up mothers and children in advance so as to 'limit the trauma'. They added that the deportees were offered financial assistance previously to leave the State voluntarily 'but did not avail of it'. 'The gardaí were then executing the order issued by the Minister for Justice,' the source said. Speaking on RTÉ News at One Justice Minister Jim O'Callaghan said that this is the third chartered flight in the lifetime of this Government. He said that deportations 'aren't a very pleasant part of the job,' adding, 'I'll be frank with you'. 'The first two came into Georgia, the last one went into Lagos, it went late last night and landed early this morning. There were 23 men on board, seven women, five children,' the Minister said. He added that in order to ensure Ireland's immigration system is 'rules based', it is important to ensure that people who have been served a deportation order who do not comply with it are met with 'a response and a consequence'. He said without deportations the system becomes 'meaningless', and it won't make a difference whether people are granted asylum or not. O'Callaghan said that deportation flights will now be 'fairly frequent and regular'. He said that the cost of the flight was €324,714. Speaking to The Journal today, the Minister for Children Norma Foley also said that immigration in Ireland needs to be 'rules based'. She went on to say that parents of children who are to be deported should consider leaving voluntarily, with an offer of assistance 'as an option'. 'It would be in the best interest of everyone if you would do that voluntarily, this measure of being compelled to leave, that's a measure of last resort,' Foley said. However, the Minister also said: 'I absolutely accept it's a really, really challenging space and very difficult'. With reporting from Niall O'Connor, Eoghan Dalton, Jane Matthews and Christina Finn. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
