Ambulance delayed at railway station barrier

Reports claimed that an ambulance emergency response jeep had been forced to wait over seven minutes for a train to leave the station, before it could cross the railway line and travel on.

One witness, who was walking on William Street just before 1pm on Saturday, stated that the vehicle’s lights were flashing blue at the time of the incident, though it was not known whether it was on its way to an emergency.

He reported that the barrier was lowered and, as a train approached the station, the emergency response vehicle came along the road and was forced to stop and wait for the length of time it took for passengers to board the train.

Following the reports, Translink released a statement, addressing Saturday’s events.

A spokesperson from Translink commented: “Once barriers have been completely lowered and locked into place at a level crossing, it is not possible for them to be raised again until the train has safely departed.
“To do so would pose a risk to the safety of our passengers, employees and members of the public.”

A statement was not received from the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service before the paper went to print.