Broombridge station no-go area

realtinh

TalkingGoose wrote: »

It's used more frequently at peak hours, today there were over 20 people got off at 6 coming out from town.

That sounds horrendously unimpressive tbh. Especially for a station in such a built up area so close to the city centre. Its handy because of your situation, but its a disaster in almost every sense otherwise.

AlekSmart

There is something very Father Ted`ish about all of this when one reads the full-page Irish-Rail advert in yesterdays Papers about the company seeking a Railway Works Order to proceed with the Underground Dart and associated Gigantic and stupendously expensive works.

I wonder if there is a possibility of raising an objection to CIE`s application for the Railway Order using the same Company`s proven and long running lack of interest/inability to operate and maintain a small station within a Capital City boundary and on a main railway line ?

My contention would be that the Broombridge Station situation presents clear evidence that the Company does not have sufficient Railway Management acumen or the level of committment to it`s core business and customers to risk the State entrusting it with the responsibility of developing and operating any additional Railway infrastructure.

starfish12

20 people at peak isn't exactly well supported, and for the amount of hassle it causes not worth it imo. I was a heavy user of the maynooth line, and remember drivers frequently refusing to stop there, as people were waiting on the platform to throw things in the doors into the carriage.

I personally witnessed the following items thrown in through the doors;

Bangers
Rocks
Cans
Glass bottles
Used nappies

The soiled nappy was a particular low point. A smashed window as the train passed through resulted in my having to get two stitches in my eyebrow.

Letters and complaints to Iarnroid Eireann and my local TD had no effect so I gave up, and thankfully no longer use the service.

LookingFor

starfish12 wrote: »

20 people at peak isn't exactly well supported, and for the amount of hassle it causes not worth it imo. I was a heavy user of the maynooth line, and remember drivers frequently refusing to stop there, as people were waiting on the platform to throw things in the doors into the carriage.

I personally witnessed the following items thrown in through the doors;

Bangers
Rocks
Cans
Glass bottles
Used nappies

Asides from missile throwing, I've also seen someone's bag being stolen. The train stopped, no one was getting off, but some bastard ran up to the door, hit the button, and grabbed a bag someone had on the ground between their feet.

So...hold on to your bags when you stop at Broombridge.

Moonbeam

Felt the need to add this...
http://www.rpa.ie/en/projects/luas_broombridge/Pages/default.aspx

Maybe if it goes ahead it will upgrade the station or close it down completely.

JHMEG

I think the residents should be given 12 months to get reign in their delinquent children. If they can't, level both platforms, erect 10 foot security fencing on both sides of the track, and provide a quicker/better service to everyone else.

Davidth88

I have been though that station only 5-6 times going to Croke Park for evening Football games.

Scary place

I have seen drinking parties with bonfire on the platform , and motorbikes being ridden up/down the platform.

paulm17781

JHMEG wrote: »

I think the residents should be given 12 months to get reign in their delinquent children. If they can't, level both platforms, erect 10 foot security fencing on both sides of the track, and provide a quicker/better service to everyone else.

Closing the station doesn't fix people throwing rocks at the train. Some form of community / security program is needed.

Rawr

I've used the station myself for a handful of months, to commute to and from work, and for the sake of that particular job it was handier than using Ashtown, or Drumcondra. However, the partronage was never that large. Even during the peak hours that I would use it, maybe 10 people would leave the train with me in the morning, and perhaps 3 or 4 would be there for the afternoon return train.

Davidth88 wrote: »

I have seen drinking parties with bonfire on the platform , and motorbikes being ridden up/down the platform.

The motorbiking issue was something I noticed quite a bit at this station. Sometimes while waiting for the train home, I'd notice them revving up the city-bound platform (with their hairdryer engines), and then speed up the pedestrian gangway up to the canal bridge. They'd then ride down the gangway again, and then back to a starting point near the old Liffey Junction platform (rinse and repeat).

I never used the place at nights, and thus if I had a night-shift, I'd go home via An Lar. It added maybe 15 mins to my journey, but I'd rather that, than Broombridge at night.

I'd like to see the Luas idea for Broombridge go ahead. If they used that derelict land for a small Luas depot, then possibly the constant presence of tram and security staff would put the scumbags off visiting the station (or perhaps the opposite). Then maybe, just maybe, Broombridge could be upgraded to a proper train-station, instead of the 3rd-World halt that it is today.

Craig Fay

For anybody who hasn't seen it in the BXD thread, here is the Luas depot plan for the empty areas around Broombridge station (:

http://www.dublinluasbroombridge.ie/Downloads/PlanofProposedWorks/02-STRUCTURES/21_BXD_DP_30_C-01.pdf

Rawr

Craig Fay wrote: »

For anybody who hasn't seen it in the BXD thread, here is the Luas depot plan for the empty areas around Broombridge station (:

http://www.dublinluasbroombridge.ie/Downloads/PlanofProposedWorks/02-STRUCTURES/21_BXD_DP_30_C-01.pdf

That looks great!
If they went with this, they'd probably have to watch that car-park regularly though. By looks of it, it would make a perfect Moped race-track! (Or a race-track for larger vehicles if the scumbags become that thick.)

The interchange looks very good too. A handful of meters between modes, and a new footbridge to the city-bound platform. The plan seems to have 4 Luas TVMs on the tram platforms. I wonder if they would make 1 or 2 of them into Irish Rail TVMs? (assuming that Integrated Ticketing doesn't appear before this proposed line ever materializes).

Zebra3

JHMEG wrote: »

I think the residents should be given 12 months to get reign in their delinquent children.

Not much point considering a lot of those casuing trouble in and around the station aren't children.

One question I'd love answered is who owns the land to the south of the station?

Judgement Day

Zebra3 wrote: »

Not much point considering a lot of those casuing trouble in and around the station aren't children.

One question I'd love answered is who owns the land to the south of the station?

CIE.

JHMEG

paulm17781 wrote: »

Closing the station doesn't fix people throwing rocks at the train. Some form of community / security program is needed.

No, the 10 foot security fence solves it.

paulm17781

JHMEG wrote: »

No, the 10 foot security fence solves it.

I guarantee that would solve nothing. It would make it a bigger target.

JHMEG

paulm17781 wrote: »

I guarantee that would solve nothing. It would make it a bigger target.

I'll believe you if you quote me an example where a big security fence made things worse for passengers!

foggy_lad

JHMEG wrote: »

I think the residents should be given 12 months to get reign in their delinquent children. If they can't, level both platforms, erect 10 foot security fencing on both sides of the track, and provide a quicker/better service to everyone else.

shut the station now and dont stop a single train there until order is restored! and stop all busses out to broombridge also as the scum will target them when they are denied the trains as targets! the only thing that will stop these scum is their own families and neighbours who cant get to work etc they will soon sort out the skangers!

paulm17781

JHMEG wrote: »

I'll believe you if you quote me an example where a big security fence made things worse for passengers!

I never said worse, I said a bigger target. If you genuinely think a fence will solve Broombridge's social issues (and related train issues) you are living in a very shut off naive world. Until the area is cleaned up (community / gardai based initiative) this will continue.

JHMEG

paulm17781 wrote: »

I never said worse, I said a bigger target. If you genuinely think a fence will solve Broombridge's social issues (and related train issues) you are living in a very shut off naive world. Until the area is cleaned up (community / gardai based initiative) this will continue.

No, it won't solve social issues, like unemployment or joyriding, but it's not in IE's remit to solve social problems. And the travelling public shouldn't be subjected to Broombridge's social problems either.

Anyway, what's it they say - good fences make for good neighbours. I'm a big fan of fences.

paulm17781

JHMEG wrote: »

No, it won't solve social issues, like unemployment or joyriding, but it's not in IE's remit to solve social problems. And the travelling public shouldn't be subjected to Broombridge's social problems either.

Until these are fixed, trains at Broombridge will have stones thrown at them. It happens in far less socially deprived areas as it is. Fixing this in an area like Broombridge is far more complex than a fence, which would probably get ripped down anyway.

JHMEG

Part of Network Rail's answer to stone throwing is palisade fencing. It's used extensively here too, including on the up side of Broombridge.

Believe me, as long as the fence is big/strong enough, it'll work.

IE has a duty of care to its passengers. It has no obligation to provide solutions to social problems.

paulm17781

JHMEG wrote: »

Believe me, as long as the fence is big/strong enough, it'll work.

One morning a few years back, every single item in the station was unbolted, the benches, the lights, the fencing and everything that could be unbolted, to be honest, I was kind of impressed, that takes a lot of organisation. With nearly any other place, I would agree however this will not work in Broombridge. Changing their culture, which is beyond the remit of IE is the only way to sort this out. It is naive to believe a fence will fix this.

foggy_lad

here in carlow in a socially deprived estate the scum kept breaking down a fence so a metal fence was erected and they kept taking off slats on that to create escape/rat runs to evade the guards etc so finally the council repaired the fence and welded all the slats onto the frames and also replaced all the bolts and welded the nuts so they cant be removed, they also welded the nuts on the anchor bolts. a days work with a welder and the fence has not been touched since!

there is scum-proof fencing available for these areas and it should be used.

JHMEG

paulm17781 wrote: »

Changing their culture, which is beyond the remit of IE is the only way to sort this out. It is naive to believe a fence will fix this.

Why do you keep telling us a fence won't fix the social problems around Broombridge? No-one said it would, and this is Commuting & Transport, not Social Science.

I want to see a solution to the vandalism of trains and terrorising of commuters.

thebman

TalkingGoose wrote: »

As an occasional user of the station for many years I feel it is a very valuable asset to the local area and I believe recently it has only been realised. My family have used the station for the last twenty years since we moved here. My mother uses it to get to work out to Sydney Parade, and for the last three years my brother uses to get to college in Maynooth. It is also used by the majority of my friends studying in Maynooth as it is by far the easiest way to get there.

It's used more frequently at peak hours, today there were over 20 people got off at 6 coming out from town. I've been lucky as the most that has ever happened to me at the station is to feel a bit intimidated, but there is a major problem at the station with scumbags and antisocial behaviour, you just have to look at the place. It is a complete embarrassment to bring friends to the area by train. When there were talks about it closing down/being moved there was good local support for it to remain open and many people have now started to use it more often.
There have been some attempts to get a ticketman and security there, I’ve seen them a couple of mornings with the bag that like the man who would sell tickets to you on the train. I'm not how sure how long they were there for but no sign of them there throughout the day. Another morning there were 2 IE staff there and we filled out forms and got little cards saying we boarded the train at Broombridge and were suppose to carry them with us every time we travel from there.

Anyway sorry for the long windness of this post and dragging up the topic again, i just wanted it to be konkn that the station is being relatively well supported, just a 19 year old kid trying to make a difference, jesus that was a bit cheesy. Well we definately won't be winning station of the year anytime soon but I always wondered what would happen if a few pots of flowers were put up on the station, how long would they last and would we get most improved station?

I think the station should be closed and trains not stopping there until the community sorts is social problems out among themselves TBH. I have no problems with it opening afterwards but it isn't that far to the next station for the few people that use Broombridge and at the moment, it is a money pit and a threat to the safety of passengers from other areas.

It must go until the community gets its act together IMO. If nothing else, it might act as incentive for the community to start an initiative if they really want the station.

At the moment, I rarely use the train as I have a car now but don't like using it because of Broombridge station.

paulm17781

JHMEG wrote: »

Why do you keep telling us a fence won't fix the social problems around Broombridge? No-one said it would, and this is Commuting & Transport, not Social Science.

Because until you fix the social issues, they will continue throwing stones etc. A fence will not help in an area like this. It may come as a shock to you but a fence is little deterrent to folks like this, the presence of it will probably encourage vandalism. Now, you can keep living on your cloud where fences are solutions to all problems, I'll stay here where I know how folks like that operate. It's a shame this isn't social science, you'd probably learn why a fence for Broombridge is pointless if it was.

foggy_lad

paulm17781 wrote: »

Because until you fix the social issues, they will continue throwing stones etc. A fence will not help in an area like this. It may come as a shock to you but a fence is little deterrent to folks like this, the presence of it will probably encourage vandalism. Now, you can keep living on your cloud where fences are solutions to all problems, I'll stay here where I know how folks like that operate. It's a shame this isn't social science, you'd probably learn why a fence for Broombridge is pointless if it was.

take the train from them then and take all services and do not return them until the scum learn a bit of respect for their comminuty and society and other peoples property and if they cant do this i say build a big high wall around them!

monument

The idea of fencing everything up is pointless given the plans for Luas BXD.

Hungerford wrote: »

RPA plans Kiss and Ride for Broombridge:

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/kissandride-facilities-planned-for-tram-stations-2230812.html

I suspect it would have been park and ride but for the local joyriders. :rolleyes:

Or that there's no room after the inclusion of a stop, bus stop, "kiss and ride" (sic), a tram depot, and staff parking?

paulm17781

foggy_lad wrote: »

take the train from them then and take all services and do not return them until the scum learn a bit of respect for their comminuty and society and other peoples property and if they cant do this i say build a big high wall around them!

If you take the train from Broomridge, you take away the Dublin to Sligo line. Having a station isn't the issue, having a train through an area with a lot of bored "people" who think throwing stones at trains is fun is.

I'd like to think there is a quick fix for this but there isn't, the Luas BXD extension may help (or turn out the same way) but unless there is a gardai / community based initiative, this problem isn't going away.

Judgement Day

Vandalism/crime/petty violence (stone throwing) is a major bugbear of mine and you'll have to forgive my Guinness impaired brain for not remembering this before: http://www.btp.police.uk/passengers/issues/route_crime.aspx

Q trains have operated in the UK for decades and while they still have a serious problem with crime and trespass on the railway at least they don't just sit on their arses, helplessly wringing their hands as we specialise in doing in Ireland on a whole range of issues. I have repeatedly written to Dick Fearn about vandalism on the DART lines and despite all sorts of assurances nothing has happened.

Why can we not have Q trains here? Why can we not have a Transport Police? Why can we not have an all-out campaign against railway trespass, with high profile prosecutions? The reason - this is Ireland and we never do anything until it is too late. This used to be the British way but we now carry the torch. :mad: