Iarnrod Eireann denies `near miss'

Iarnrod Eireann has denied that there was a "near miss" on the Dublin-Sligo rail line on Wednesday evening when a lorry jackknifed…

Iarnrod Eireann has denied that there was a "near miss" on the Dublin-Sligo rail line on Wednesday evening when a lorry jackknifed at a level crossing close to Edgeworthstown.

A train with more than 200 people on board was leaving Edgeworthstown station, about a mile from the level crossing, when the incident happened shortly after 7.30 p.m.

A spokesman said the crossing was in view of the station and that the train may have started to move but it hadn't left the station when the driver was made aware of the problem.

"It wasn't a near miss. There was never any chance of a collision. Even if the driver hadn't been alerted he would have been travelling very slowly and could have stopped," he said.

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The spokesman said the train was three quarters of a mile from the lorry when it came to a halt. He said the gatekeeper at the level crossing followed procedures in putting detonators on the track to alert any oncoming train that the line was blocked.

A crane removed the lorry from the line and passengers on the train were put on buses instead. Services returned to normal yesterday morning.