Allister Speaks Up for Ballymena Railway Station
31 October 2012
Statement by North Antrim MLA Jim Allister:
“This week I received a letter from the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association voicing concern around the future of Ballymena rail station and expressing grave concern over plans to reduce the staffing levels. It is feared that this will not only impact upon those who will lose their jobs and their families but it will also have serious ramifications for local people and visitors to the Ballymena area. TSSA are concerned that people will not be able to obtain information about services or process their smartpasses at Ballymena station because it will become a “manned halt”. This means that the station will be without a booking and information office and there would be a single member of staff selling tickets.
“Exactly a year ago I issued a statement warning of the danger of cuts planned for the station. Since then I have been pressing Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy to find reverse gear on this issue. I have tabled a large number of written questions on the subject and just a few weeks ago I challenged the Minister about why a single member of staff was left to cope with ticket sales, information provision, cleaning and operational duties at Ballymena. Understandably this left many customers dissatisfied with the level of service. Not only is this a most unsatisfactory situation for Translink customers but it is a very difficult position for the member of staff to find themselves in.
“It seems obvious to me that the scale of the cuts imposed on Ballymena are unfair to both staff and passengers. It appears that Translink are willing to sacrifice the quality of service provided to customers as part of a short-sighted money saving exercise.
“2012 was supposed to be a big year for tourism with the “Our Time, Our Place” initiative being heavily promoted. However, there is little point in spending money on this promotion if tourists who visit the most beautiful part of the Province are deprived of basic information at stations due to a penny pinching exercise.
“At a time when the public are being encouraged to avail of public transport this sends out completely the wrong message. I would urge Trasnlink to reconsider the cuts they have made in order to maintain a quality service for both local people and the large number of visitors to the area.”
