A DART passenger has beaten a prosecution for fare-evasion after telling a judge of archaic ticket sale conditions at his local rail station.
Mr Bertrand Boisse, Portmar- nock, Co Dublin, told Dublin District Court yesterday of his astonishment at receiving a €25 bill and being accused of fare- evasion after he was unable to buy a ticket at Portmarnock DART station because the only ticket outlet was a small wooden hut operated by one man.
He was travelling to work at 7.15 a.m. on May 26th when a large queue had formed at the hut and the train was arriving.
"I had the choice of being an hour late for work by waiting for the next train or getting on board and paying at the other end," said Mr Boisse, who added that the DART serving Malahide and Portmarnock was much more infrequent than those between Howth and Bray.
He decided to get on board without a ticket and went to an Irish Rail guard in Pearse Street to pay the fare and explain what happened. He was told he would receive a bill in the post for the "standard fare".
"I thought this meant I would receive a bill for €1.80 but I was astonished that it was for €25. When I rang up the only person appointed to deal with complaints in Irish Rail, a Phyllis Elder, I was twice told she was on another call and would ring me back.
"She never did and I forgot all about it until I got the summons to come to court."
Mr Boisse said in the last few years, the number of people using Portmarnock station had more than quadrupled due to the amount of housing development around it, but with no commensurate improvement in facilities for passengers.
"The man in the hut is there with his hands almost covered by his sleeves because there is only a small heater to keep him warm." Only now was Irish Rail in the process of upgrading the station, Mr Boisse said.
He also claimed that people were daily having to abandon the queue for tickets at Portmarnock. On previous occasions when he was unable to get a ticket because of the queue, he had been allowed to pay at the other end.
Mr David Cannon, an Irish Rail inspector, said there was a spot-check for fare-evaders in operation that day. He said Mr Boisse could have bought a seven-day ticket in advance if he wanted to avoid queuing.
Mr Boisse said there was no point in doing this as he did not use the train every day and sometimes got a lift to work.
Judge Michael O'Leary dismissed the case against Mr Boisse.