Broombridge station no-go area

Harpie

Anyone here know why 'under Garda advice' trains were not stopping in Broombridge this afternoon? Not sure how long this was in place, I was on the 16:04 from Maynooth anyway. There were a few Gardaí at the station. Travelling from there in the morning and at a loss as to whether the trains will be serving the station.

Judgement Day

There was another so-called tiger kidnapping this morning - that apparently went wrong - and the loot ended up thrown onto the track from the overbridge at Broombridge. Close the place for good!

mikemac

Wait until next summer and the local kids start stoning the trains again

I've seen it done as they hit the windows and also as they drop rocks from the bridge onto the trains that don't stop. Brave men!

Harpie

It's an absolute disgrace that the station is the way it is. A ticket office, usual barriers and constant security presence would be a start. Any of the rail security I see in connolly in the evenings are usually standing around in groups of 5 scratching their arses, could be better utilised imo.

godtabh

Train just stopped there now. Still a garda presence. What's the story?


The station was to be closed down and replaced by one in Royal Canal Parker. Developer to built it. Irish Rail to run it.

Irish Rail changed their minds and the developer would be lucky to put a roof over his head these days

lostexpectation

free money? whats that word gooshee?

LilyCullen

That station is a joke, I used to have to get a train to maynooth from there when I stayed with my friend. He was a local so the kids never went near him...but I've seen them spit/thrown stones/throw anything at the train. A few times I've been standing there waiting and the train will would just fly by. And the lack of tickets..you're supposed to just say when you get into connolly that you got on a broombridge and sometimes they don't believe you and try to fine you.seriously.

lucernarian

They wouldn't believe you?! Get a hold of a supervisor/manager or the station master. If that doesn't work, put manners on them:rolleyes:. They should know their own regulations.

I've never had the chance to say it to someone, as when I arrived in the Docklands station the one time, I had to slip in past a stranger through the automatic ticket readers. There was no one around to man the area...

Scrambled egg

Judgement Day wrote: »

Close the place for good!

Please don't, I use it regularly. Its not a nice place, but during the day its alright, at nighttime avoid at all costs.

godtabh

LilyCullen wrote: »

That station is a joke, I used to have to get a train to maynooth from there when I stayed with my friend. He was a local so the kids never went near him...but I've seen them spit/thrown stones/throw anything at the train. A few times I've been standing there waiting and the train will would just fly by. And the lack of tickets..you're supposed to just say when you get into connolly that you got on a broombridge and sometimes they don't believe you and try to fine you.seriously.

Not all trains stop there

fh041205

This station appears to be more trouble than its worth. Especially with no ticket machines which I can understand tbh. There are frequent incidents at this place and how long will it be until a driver or passenger gets injured by something being thrown at a train? Personally, I duck whenever I pass it just in case;)

icdg

If there is a worst-kept mainline railway station in Western Europe, I'm open to anyone to tell me where it is. Platform name signs on the ground. Station vandalised to pieces. The original bricked platform surface was used as ammo to aim at trains. The place is a disaster. Either Irish Rail do up - and **secure** the station - or they should close it. Particularly as AFAIK the only completely unmanned station in Dublin, it is a threat to their own revenue protection policy.

Sponge Bob

most of their stations will be like that in two years time .

Pineapple stu

Irish rail did do it up but it got vandalised to bits. Its just a waste of money doing anything else to it. They tried to burn out the ticket office once while the the chap was still in it as well as the track walker's hut at liffey junction while he was still in it as well. Close the place down would be the best option.
Its a shame that decent local people have to suffer because of some mindless lowlife scumbags who have respect for nothing.
Barriers was put up to stop robbed cars getting into the back of it but they came back and burned the barrier open and made up some improvised ramps.
In the end the only option was to dig up the concrete.
Ive seen drug parties there around their little fires, one lad trying to pimp a young one onto one of the per way staff who was working nights there. Ive seen countless horses on the tracks and this was around 12 years ago and its not changed.
In all honestly, what can irish rail do to improve the quality of this station and maintain it as so? CCTV'S monitered directly buy the garda? Any money spent doing the place up now is a serious waste of money.

Pineapple stu

Sponge Bob wrote: »

most of their stations will be like that in two years time .

No they wont

karlr42

I'm a bit confused- I personally have never seen any of these types of incidents, passing through the station 10s of times in the average week for the last two years. Sure, it's not the kind of station I would like to visit at night, but I have never seen horses or barricades on the track, or been hit by a missile, and only seen the motorbike-on-platform incidents twice. Maybe I'm lucky, but maybe people are overstating the problem or basing it on old information?

Our man in Havana

Not at all. Missiles being hurled at the trains are a daily occurrence. I was on a train in the last few months where a window was put thru.

The station should be locked up and abandoned.

thebman

Yeah I've seen crap thrown at the windows too, was half asleep so just heard a loud noise smack of the window and saw something flying away.

Station should be closed, even the shelters at the place have burn marks. They are made of metal smartarses, you can't burn it with lighter or whatever they are trying to use.

Scrambled egg

I like to view it as an adventure, either the train comes or you die

DWCommuter

Anyone want to join me in a campaign to have the station kitted out like Adamstown? Im sure I can convince IRN and Railusers Ireland to row in behind it.......Just look at this photo and visualise the potential and all the lovely people using the new facility that YOU helped achieve.

3053893987_d739fdeb61.jpg

thebman

I don't understand why Broombridge area was in such decline during boom time, its perfect for offices considering the number of commuters on the train route.

They could have done a proper revitalisation job on it during boom.

triple-M

is there any point in doing it up ,the particular type of scum there are very persistent in making their local area complete ugly no go area mess,if they id do it up it would have to have better security than fort knox!I have family living near the station mostly older,and they rather walk all the way to ashtown rather than get the train at broombridge because of fear of intimidation or harassment

Oliver1985

triple-M wrote: »

is there any point in doing it up ,the particular type of scum there are very persistent in making their local area complete ugly no go area mess,if they id do it up it would have to have better security than fort knox!I have family living near the station mostly older,and they rather walk all the way to ashtown rather than get the train at broombridge because of fear of intimidation or harassment

I have never been up that way? Whats the next place up Ashtown like?

AlekSmart

is there any point in doing it up ,the particular type of scum there are very persistent in making their local area complete ugly no go area mess

A very valid point Triple-M as is strongly evidenced by the goings on in the most recently completed parts of the "Regenerated" Ballymun Town Centre.

It is a sad fact but over the past two decades this State has invested in and completed many such projects with an equally sad outcome.

Even during the boom years we had a large section of our community who simply prefer to live-outside-the-pale of civilized behaviour and unfortunately our administrations have felt it more appropriate to placate this savage grouping rather than confronting them.

Broombridge is merely an example of this in action,witnessed for a few seconds each day by commuters,but remember there are people living in and around these places who have been ABANDONED by the Authorities who now feel such pressing need to "rescue" failed bankers and developers.

The answers are few and essentially simple BUT they are most certainly NOT Politically Correct.

europhile

My brother was hit by a stone a few weeks ago at Broombridge. He was on the train and standing near the doors. Just as the doors were closing, a gouger threw the stone and it him hit on the thigh. He was lucky to get away with a bruise.

The walk from Reilly's Bridge (the dogleg bridge between Finglas and Cabra) to Phibsboro would scare the living daylights out of you. It's a very isolated stretch.

AlekSmart

The walk from Reilly's Bridge (the dogleg bridge between Finglas and Cabra) to Phibsboro would scare the living daylights out of you. It's a very isolated stretch.

This sort of isolation was,and in some cases still is,one of the major elements which mitigates against full utilization of DART services.

Given the age of the original DART line,it`s stations were soon located far away from their catchment area`s.

It always mystified me that Iarnrod Eireann managed to get away for so long with having stations located at the end of unlit,dank laneways a situation which was not attended to until very recently.

JHMEG

I was on a train stopped in Broomebridge a few years ago when a stone came through the window and missed my face by about an inch. I have also been on trains where other passengers were injured by stones.

I also remember when the place was full of burnt out cars. I counted 23 one morning on my way to work, and number 23 was still burning. The plume of smoke could be seen from Connolly.

Bulldoze the station and put up security fencing either side of the track with mesh above the track at the bridge.

JHMEG

Oh, and whoever came up with Droichead na Scuab as a translation for Brougham Bridge should have been disciplined.

Judgement Day

Broombridge is like Windscale/Sellafield i.e. a place has a bad name but don't fix it rename it. Liffey Junction/Broombridge has been notorious for scumbags/cider parties/stone throwers since I can remember and CIE/IE seem prepared to wait until somebody is killed before addressing the matter and even then......:mad:

foggy_lad

stations like broombridge will not change. all public transport in these areas including taxis should be withdrawn untill the decent people drive out the scumbag hooligans and restore order on their streets as it appears the guards and courts are unable to do the job. if your neighbours scumbag children are stopping you from getting to work etc it wont be long till they are put on the right track!

darkman2

I know it OT but the amount of graffiti on the DART line North of Connolly is getting really bad. IE really should clean it up or else the businesses should do something. A tourist would be forgiven for thinking that they were about to be mugged on they're way into Connolly, also Howth Junction etc (really bad just North of there). I remember seeing images of the new Howth Junction before it was built. Shiney with lots of glass. The place, in reality, looks like Mountjoy.

paulm17781

JHMEG wrote: »

I also remember when the place was full of burnt out cars. I counted 23 one morning on my way to work, and number 23 was still burning. The plume of smoke could be seen from Connolly.

I counted 23 one morning, the next day I saw a truck in removing them. Two days later, there were 16! :eek:

Clare Bear

I remember after a match in Croke Park with all the rushing myself and my parents got on the Maynooth train outbound instead of inbound to go to Connolly so we had to get off at Broombridge and wait for the next train. Longest 10 minutes of my poor parents' lives. It was their first day in Dublin in years so standing in a burnt out shelter while a load of kids were running up and down the tracks with sticks hitting eachother wasn't exactly the safest place to bring them! We weren't there long enough for them to get down to where we were standing but if we were there any longer (three culchies in our Cork jerseys!!) it could have been dodgy.

When I lived in Maynooth the train often got hit by stones when it was passing through there. People rarely got on or off so I really don't see the point of keeping it open.

It's a damn shame. Although the scum of Cabra is a political issue and shouldn't be mentioned in Commuting and Transport, we're not going to get any improvement till that gets sorted. Apparently that bridge has some mathematical formula on it, anyone no?

Riskymove

yep i am another victim of stone throwing at Boombridge.

myself and my mate were lucky insofaras the stone came right through the middle of the window so niether of us were hit but we were covered in glass and alittle shocked.

the scumbag jumped down onto the track beside the train, calmly picked up a stone and threw it full force from a few feet as the train pulled away

JHMEG

Deleted User wrote: »

Apparently that bridge has some mathematical formula on it, anyone no?

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broom_Bridge

MJohnston

The state of Broombridge is really irritating for many reasons already stated, but another I've noticed is that it falls within a much cheaper ticket zone compared to Ashtown station, both of which are equi-distant from my apartment. However, I feel like I can't *get on* the train at Broombridge because theres no way to buy a ticket there. It'd save me around €2.50 a week to go from there instead of Ashtown.

Also, I despair at the thought of the Luas extension finishing at Broombridge, couldn't they just extend it another Km or so and put the station in an area where it will be (a) welcomed by the locals and (b) not burned down by the locals?

europhile

I think most people in that boat get on the train at Ashtown and when they get to their destination station, say they got on at Broombridge and pay.

eoineen

MJohnston wrote: »

Also, I despair at the thought of the Luas extension finishing at Broombridge, couldn't they just extend it another Km or so and put the station in an area where it will be (a) welcomed by the locals and (b) not burned down by the locals?

Surely one of the reasons why Broombridge was chosen as the proposed terminus for the planned Luas BXD line is because it needs renovation and it has ample derelict, IR owned land around it? Or would that be giving far too much credit to RPA planners?

And how do you know it is 'locals' defacing the station? What is a local on a transport line anyway?

paulm17781

eoineen wrote: »

And how do you know it is 'locals' defacing the station? What is a local on a transport line anyway?

They tend not to use the train yet are at the station. That makes them somewhat local in my eyes.

JHMEG

eoineen wrote: »

And how do you know it is 'locals' defacing the station? What is a local on a transport line anyway?

They can be seen arriving and leaving on foot/moped.

MJohnston

eoineen wrote: »

Surely one of the reasons why Broombridge was chosen as the proposed terminus for the planned Luas BXD line is because it needs renovation and it has ample derelict, IR owned land around it? Or would that be giving far too much credit to RPA planners?

And how do you know it is 'locals' defacing the station? What is a local on a transport line anyway?

Sorry, yes, my language may appear like I'm generalising, but its true, they aren't getting on the trains, they're from neighbouring Cabra and to a lesser extent, Finglas. This is not me trying to stereotype an entire neighbourhood, its just the truth. If it wasn't locals, how can you explain the non-vandalisation of Ashtown, Drumcondra or Phoenix Park stations?

As for the Luas BXD, perhaps I'm wrong, but couldn't they have the depot in Broombridge but extend the line out a bit further? I would just imagine that places like Rathbourne and Royal Canal Park contain a lot of potential passengers who would not bother if they had to walk down to the rather unsafe Broombridge area.

kravmaga

Harpie wrote: »

It's an absolute disgrace that the station is the way it is. A ticket office, usual barriers and constant security presence would be a start. Any of the rail security I see in connolly in the evenings are usually standing around in groups of 5 scratching their arses, could be better utilised imo.

Here is the name of the security company Irish Rail use.

http://www.stt.ie/

Why dont you contact Irish Rail Management if you think the security are not being utilised correctly.

In fairness Connolly Station is not exactly crime free especially in the evenings. Plenty of drunks, beggers, anti social behaviour to be dealt with by the security staff.

What do you suggest they do at Broombridge, stand on platform eaiting for something to happen.

thebman

blueeyedboy wrote: »

What do you suggest they do at Broombridge, stand on platform eaiting for something to happen.

That would be the general idea of a security presence on the premises yeah. Same as any private security for an area. It is their property and abuse is less likely to occur if staff are present.

At the very least they maybe able to get enough evidence to report to gardai about those involved.

BostonB

Broombridge looks like a war zone. You need the army there, not a security guard. be good practise for them. Some real combat experience.

Some people on the cycling forum have suggested using the canal paths as cycle lanes, but its a non runner when you have no go areas (well almost) like Broombridge

In generally Irish stations have very poor facilities. No toliets, or poor access, no cover from wind/rain etc. No wonder people take their cars.

JHMEG

blueeyedboy wrote: »

Here is the name of the security company Irish Rail use.

http://www.stt.ie/

Why dont you contact Irish Rail Management if you think the security are not being utilised correctly.

The horse has bolted! There's nothing left in Broombridge to vandalise!

patrickbrophy18

In my honest opinion, Broombridge is the poorest excuse for a suburban station I think I have ever seen. The lack of a ticket office on the premises is an absolute farce. In a time of recession, Irish Rail should know better than to allow this potential money making opportunity go to waste. As for the vandals who throw stones or other damaging objects at trains, higher security measures are needed to counter-act this. Also, install cameras on the bridge and other areas in the vacinity so that vandals can be identified. Thirdly, facilities such as the platform needs an overhaul and overhead displays be replaced with ones that work!. I can assume that the above measures will be addressed while electrification of the line is carried out.

markpb

patrickbrophy18 wrote: »

Thirdly, facilities such as the platform needs an overhaul and overhead displays be replaced with ones that work!. I can assume that the above measures will be addressed while electrification of the line is carried out.

IIRC None of the platform displays on the Maynooth line work because of a mix-up with the size of the CTC room in Connolly.

paulm17781

patrickbrophy18 wrote: »

Also, install cameras on the bridge and other areas in the vacinity so that vandals can be identified.

How long do you think the cameras would last?

Broombridge's problems are largely outside the remit of IE. What is needed is better policing / community spirit. Most thrown stones don't come from the station, they come from outside the station. That's up to the Gardai / locals (the good ones) to deal with, not IE.

KC61

patrickbrophy18 wrote: »

Thirdly, facilities such as the platform needs an overhaul and overhead displays be replaced with ones that work

This will be addressed as part of the Maynooth line resignalling project which ties in with the city centre resignalling.

JHMEG

paulm17781 wrote: »

Most thrown stones don't come from the station, they come from outside the station. That's up to the Gardai / locals (the good ones) to deal with, not IE.

Better fencing would sort out the problem of stones coming from outside the station.