PASSENGERS witnessed drinking, drug-taking and selling, smoking, men exposing themselves, as well as individuals shouting at passengers and people throwing things on trains serving Cork.
Antisocial behaviour complaints from services to and from Cork from January 1, 2023, to May 1, 2024, were released by Iarnrod Éireann to under the Freedom of Information Act.
No alcohol is allowed on the train, yet intoxication and subsequent antisocial behaviour made up the vast majority of the complaints.
“There’s a group of lads on my train drinking and yelling profanities about sex,” one person wrote, while another complained about “a group of hooligans chanting and shouting on the train while drinking cans of beer.”
Another complained that an intoxicated man got on the train “and he continued to consume alcohol throughout the extent of his journey which he attempted to conceal under the table.
Another passenger was collapsed on by an intoxicated person: “He was keeled over for some time and swaying, abnormal behaviour. I was concerned.
“After a few minutes I was about to leave when he moved over and collapsed on top of me, making it difficult for me to escape. This was very distressing. I scrambled over the seats to get away. He sat back up as if nothing had happened.”
One passenger said they had to move from their pre-booked seat due to a group of intoxicated young men: “One of the lads, since he was very warm, decides the best thing to do was pull his pants around his ankles and expose himself, only in his boxers.”
Another said that they had to move seats “as the noise was unbearable due to a group of around 8-10 middle aged men, out of their minds with drink. Upon walking to coach D, we saw one of the men absolutely polluted, using the bathroom with the door wide open.” They noted: “There was not one member of staff visible implementing the no drinking on the service rules.”
One woman who also witnessed a man using the bathroom with the door open and exposing himself wrote: “I am never travelling with Irish Rail again after this traumatising experience and this has not been the first unfortunately.”
Drug use was also complained about, with one person saying that two people “were taking tablets, selling drugs to one another and also smoking weed in the bathroom which left me not able to bring my child to toilet.
Others also reported that several of the people causing trouble on the train did not have tickets, with one complaint stating: “A group of rowdy individuals boarded the train and sat on our table, were screaming the whole train journey (also didn’t have tickets as they kept saying to hide in the bathroom every time a member of staff approached) and were throwing sweets all over the carriage which were sticking to the carpet.”
There were multiple calls for security on the trains, with one person witnessing an assault and writing “a man assaulted another man. Security is required… I did not feel safe on this journey.”
One train passenger wrote that a man sitting two rows away “was fondling himself on the train,” and said that two other male passengers intervened, contacting the gardaí and getting the man escorted off the train.
“This male tried to move to the seat directly across from me. This man was staring at me when he moved seats and I felt extremely uncomfortable and unsafe as I was travelling alone.
“I did not feel safe on this journey and the train staff did nothing to reassure us that the issue had been solved,” the person wrote.
Another complaint was made about a “rude and obnoxious” group of men, saying: “not once was there any rail worker checking tickets and controlling this rude behaviour. I was tormented by these men and asked numerous times about my ‘relationship’ status.”
One person wrote: “I witnessed an older man begin recording a woman without her knowledge and consent,” saying that after passengers intervened “he reluctantly put his phone away,” but noting that he did not delete the recording.
A complaint about “six rowdy teenagers” notes: “They were throwing food at each other and hit a few passengers on the train with items that they were throwing. There was a train steward who saw them and didn’t say anything to them.” Another passenger wrote a complaint about “a group of kids who were roaming around freely and were throwing a Coke bottle at us which made us felt threatened, and were using racism harassment to us.
A spokesperson for Iarnrod Éireann told : “Over four million journeys were made on the Dublin to Cork route in the time period covered by the FOI request. The vast majority of journeys occur without incident.
“However, anti-social behaviour is a societal issue to which we are not immune, and it is regretted that any customers have to experience this.
“We have significantly increased security resources and proactive partnerships with An Garda Síochána in recent years to ensure as safe a travelling and working environment as possible for customers and staff respectively.”
This has included a doubling of security resources in five years, extensive national and local cooperation with gardaí, including regular on board and in station patrols and specific protocols and plans with gardaí for major events and known higher-risk times.
They have also established, with gardaí, “a network of rapid response hubs for on board Intercity personnel to directly liaise with gardaí should incidents arise which require intervention,” and a security management team within Iarnród Éireann, headed by a former Garda Chief Superintendent.
They added: “All our Intercity services on the Cork to Dublin route have staff on board to assist customers, who pass through the train regularly throughout the journey.
“Obviously they may not always be in a specific carriage if an issue arises, but are available, and have the opportunity to liaise directly with gardaí through the rapid response hubs.”
