"We Cannot Let This Happen Again": Daughter's Plea For Train Station Safety After Dad's Death In Leixlip

She said although she is not blaming Irish Rail, she wants to draw attention to the dangers posed by inadequate barriers at station platforms.

The daughter of a man who died in July after being struck by a train at Louisa Bridge in Leixlip is calling for more safety measures at train stations.

Christy Rock (75), lost his life on July 1st.

According to his daughter Andrea Rock Massey, the circumstances of her dad's death have raised concerns about the safety features at train stations.

"My Dad was tragically killed in July of this year. He was on his way home from work, he fell asleep on the train, missed his stop and woke up in Louisa Bridge, Leixlip. My Dad had dementia, he was at a very early stage but we think that he got a bit confused in his surroundings. He ended up falling, he wasn't on the tracks, he was beside the tracks but still too close and he was struck by the next train that came through."

She said although she is not blaming Irish Rail, she wants to draw attention to the dangers posed by a lack of gates at some station platforms.

She said in the aftermath of her dad's death, she realised that some stations lack adequate gates to prevent people from accessing the tracks.

She said while some stations are equipped with gates, some of them feature rows of triangular-shaped rubber "deterrents" intended to stop people from crossing onto the tracks.

However, Andrea believes these deterrents can be ineffective and, in some cases like her dad's, may even increase the risk of accidents.

She said "i'm not blaming Irish Rail for my Dad's death but I do firmly believe that these rubber pyramids are not fit for purpose, they are a hazard and nothing more.

"They don't prevent people from inadvertently accessing the tracks,  they only serve to cause some people to trip and fall. And if, like my Dad, you are old and vulnerable, you may find yourself unable to get back up before the next train comes," she said.

She has launched a petition calling for Irish Rail to replace the current rubber barriers with locked gates that, she believes, would provide a more effective safeguard for passengers.

In response to the fatal incident at Louisa Bridge, a spokesperson for Irish rail said a formal internal safety investigation is ongoing.

They said "as our own infrastructure personnel need to have safe access to and from the track, we generally do not have platform end gates in place.  At areas where we encounter issues with members of the public accessing the track, we do have anti-trespass mats in place, are a rubberised surface with upturned “pyramid” type shapes." 

The spokesperson said these have been in place at Leixlip Louisa Bridge for a number of years.

However, they said this does not "pre-judge or pre-determine the safety investigation, which will consider all aspects of this tragic accident in making recommendations."