LISBURN'S Mayor has accused Translink of 'intransigence' in its attitude towards the transportation needs of the second largest city in Northern Ireland'.

Councillor Ronnie Crawford, who said a Translink representative was to be asked to attend a council meeting to discuss the matter, highlighted two issues which he felt demonstrated Lisburn was receiving a 'third rate' transport service - Translink's refusal to include Lisburn as a stop on the Enterprise rail service to Dublin and the by-passing of Lisburn by Goldliner coach services between Belfast and Enniskillen. The Mayor said he felt the matter was 'a serious equality issue.

"For some time we have been requesting Translink to factor in stops at Lisburn station for the Belfast - Dublin Enterprise. This was refused on the grounds that CIE would seek an extra stop on the other side of the border, thus extending the time for the journey," he added.

"I then suggested the eight or nine stops at Portadown should be shared with Lisburn but this has also been given the thumbs down by Translink.

"Now we find that Lisburn passengers wanting to go to Enniskillen by bus have to take the bus to Belfast, board the Enniskillen bus there, drive up past Lisburn again on the way to Enniskillen and repeat the entire ridiculous charade for the return journey.

travel was recently extended for the over sixties, but it is also damaging Lisburn's economic prospects by deterring visitors wanting to stop off in Lisburn from other parts of this island."

A Translink spokesperson said the 'flagship Enterprise service' needed to maintain the best possible journey times to fulfill passenger demand and expectations.

"The City of Lisburn is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the excellent internal connections linking with the Enterprise at Portadown. We look forward to working closely with Lisburn City Council to jointly promote these regular connections," she said.

"The Goldin Express Service between Belfast and Enniskillen is a high frequency service with a journey time of 2hrs and 15 minutes. This popular service operates via the Ml with stops at main towns in order to maintain such an attractive journey time.

Ulster Star
28/11/2008