Gardaí have arrested two men who pulled the emergency cord and smashed windows on the Longford to Pearse station train this morning.
Commuters travelling from Longford on the 5.40am train were held up in Blakestown, about 250 metres outside Leixlip station, when three men, believed to be under the influence of drugs, pulled the emergency handle.
The train automatically ground to a halt, but when the driver attempted to restart the engine the men pulled the emergency cord again. They then smashed a number of train windows.
Gardaí were alerted at about 7.05am by the centre of control at Iarnród Éireann. A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said the three men were believed to be on drugs.
“It would have been a very intimidating atmosphere for the people on board the train,” said the spokesman, who explained that normally there would be about 200 commuters on the 5.40 am train.
Two of the men, aged 18 and 19, jumped from the train and escaped in the direction of Maynooth. They were later arrested by gardaí and are being held at Leixlip Garda station. The third man disembarked the train at Ashtown station and fled the scene.
“We’ll be providing the gardaí with CCTV footage to help identify the third man,” said the spokesman.
The incident delayed passengers on the train by about 35 minutes.
All train services were suspended between Maynooth and Clonsilla following the incident, and there were significant disruptions between 7-8am. Dublin Bus services were accepting valid rail tickets for people travelling between Maynooth and Leixlip following the incident.
“Services are back running but there will be some knock on delays,” explained the Iarnród Éireann spokesman. “In the meantime, we will give gardaí any assistance they need in their investigation into the incident.”
