The new look Enterprise train but but they are going getting slower and slower, says John Dallat
SDLP Transport Spokesperson John Dallat MLA has slammed changes to the Belfast-Dublin Rail Service.
Under the changes, there will be iucreases to journey times and scheduled inconvenient departure times.
The East Derry MLA said: “The fact that a train will now take longer to travel from Belfast to Dublin than a bus and substantially longer than a car should make for stark reading for Ministers North and South who are tasked with encouraging public transport.
“We have been lead to believe that there is a genuine effort to improve the service, yet discretely they are doing the opposite.
“Our train service can’t deal with over-capacity and doesn’t provide a timetable that suits customers.
“We are hopelessly behind on addressing some issues and the service is laughable when compared to those in Europe or Britain.
“The degrading of the Enterprise service is a step back to the old partitionist attitude that seriously affected transport on both sides of the border. It will adversely affect job creation and investment North and South and is therefore a matter of urgency that must be addressed.
“I will continue to question Regional Development Minister Michelle McIlveen on the Enterprise service and press for immediate plans to cut journey times, deal with overcrowding and schedule trains at sensible times for businesspeople.
“I will also be seeking an urgent meeting with the Minister of Transport in the South, Paschal Donohoe to address this issue and minimise the transport problems caused by partition.”
