Iarnrod Éireann has defended the reliability of its DART services despite a third major disruption to operations in three months.
Scheduled services between Bray and Dalkey were suspended on Wednesday evening after 250 metres of overhead wiring fell on the tracks. Services resumed yesterday shortly after 2 p.m., but only after 10,000 commuters had been forced to make alternative travel arrangements.
The company said the damage appeared to have been caused by a technical fault - possibly resulting from a problem with the tension of the wires - rather than vandalism.
The incident follows disruption last month due to landslides between Bray and Greystones, and Port Tunnel-related subsidence in December near Clontarf DART station which halted northside services for a time. A spokesman for the company said: "People have a right to be frustrated. But major disruptions like these are quite rare. The last major overhead line problem we had was two years ago."
He claimed 92.7 per cent of DART trains arrived at their city centre destinations within 10 minutes of schedule last year, and this was the most accurate illustration of the punctuality of services.
He added that the company had invested heavily in recurring infrastructural problems, including €11 million on coastal defences and embankments around Dalkey, Greystones and Malahide.
However, Labour Party TD for Dún Laoghaire, Mr Eamon Gilmore, urged the Minister for Transport to take "immediate steps" to ensure disruption like that this week did not happen again.
"While the safety of those using DART and other rail services must be paramount, it surely must be possible, through proper monitoring and co-ordination, to avoid incidents like this occurring on what is the busiest rail line in the country," he said.
Calling for better supervision of overhead wires, Fianna Fáil TD Mr Barry Andrews said: "We must be ready to accept the increased potential for serious accidents if our infrastructure, regulation, training, supervision and safety systems are not up to standard."
In a separate development yesterday evening, DART services were temporarily delayed when a truck struck a rail bridge on Amiens Street. Services were halted for just over 10 minutes.
