Arrests made after group of youths cause mayhem after boarding train in Laois

Irish Rail has apologised to passengers after a group of youths who boarded a train in Portarlington caused mayhem on Tuesday, September 17. 

A number of arrests were made after a group of youths caused issues in one of the carriages on the 19.35 Dublin to Galway train.

Some passengers said the group were obnoxious, boorish and drunk.

''The teens got on at Portarlington and from the moment they embarked on the train they were shouting, yelling and singing. Some of them were banging on the roof of the train while others were holding bottles and cans of alcohol.

''They had no regard for those who were already in the carriage and just did what they liked. They were jumping on the seats and roaring and shouting,'' said one passenger who said they were delighted to be leaving the train at Tullamore.

A spokesperson at Irish Rail said: ''I would like to apologise to the customers that were impacted by anti-social behaviour on this service.

We have deployed extra security and staff to assist with the large numbers travelling, particularly from the West of Ireland.

The security onboard and the onboard customer service officer sustained persistent abuse from this group.

The gardai met the train at Athlone and a number of arrests occurred. The rest of the group were refused onward travel.

We would appeal to all those travelling to act in a way that is respectful of others and not to engage in anti social behaviour.''