Into the West have complained that during the recent Belsonic series of concerts at Belfast’s Ormeau Park special trains were organised to ferry people to gigs from Larne, Bangor, Portadown and Coleraine but that Derry – the North’s second city – was left out. Belsonic trains running from Belfast to Derry line started and ended at Coleraine with concert goers from Derry offered the option of using a bus service by Translink to get to Belsonic, the rail lobby said. They further complain that during The Open Translink have decided to cancel trains that would normally run directly between Belfast and Derry across the five days of the competition – amounting to 140 services in total – to replace them with trains that run directly between Belfast and Portrush instead. This, said Into the West, will force thousands of regular rail users from Derry, Castlerock and Bellarena to change trains and wait at Coleraine to continue their journey onwards, with the risk of missed connections and the long delays which that can entail. The campaigners acknowledge the need to get spectators to and from The Open quickly and safely, but argue that some of the usual direct services between Derry and Belfast should have been maintained during the event. And they believe there should also be at least one direct morning and evening rail service between Foyleside and Portrush too, to help meet the needs of Open attendees based West of the Bann. Chair of Into The West, Steve Bradley, commented: “Major sporting and music events like Belsonic and The Open attract large crowds - and large crowds need transport options with a big carrying capacity. "Buses are unsuitable due to their low capacity, lack of toilets and poor disability provision. And buses also get stuck in traffic at busy events, so offer an unreliable journey time and poor overall experience. "Only rail has the kind of capacity that events of this scale require - which Translink acknowledged by running special trains to Belsonic from towns across the East of NI. "But in doing so they chose to exclude NI’s second-largest city – with a population of 105,000 people – whilst towns four or five times smaller had their own special train services. It highlights a troubling attitude within Translink when it comes to the needs of passengers West of the Bann. "This is echoed again in the way that the company is treating rail users in the West throughout the five days of the Open golf tournament. The needs of thousands of regular rail users West of the Bann are being sacrificed so that those in the East can have an easier life getting to and from Portrush.” In response to the group’s claims Translink said: “We are looking forward to supporting a busy summer of events, using all available resources to offer a wide range of public transport options for people to choose from. This included a range of special buses from Derry~Londonderry to Belsonic concerts in Belfast, tailored for the start and end times of these events. “We have worked closely with strategic partners to organise suitable transport options for The 153rd Open, which is based on anticipated travel demand and on our extensive experience of delivering a highly successful transport plan for the previous championship in 2019. “All scheduled timetabled services, rail, coach and bus, will run throughout tournament week, with additional special coach provision available at 5.38am from the North-West Transport Hub (Wednesday, July 16 – Sunday, July 20). "An additional late evening service will also operate at 11.05pm (Wednesday, July 16 – Saturday, July 19) and 10.05pm (Sunday, July 20) from Portrush back to the North-West Transport Hub. “This will ensure that passengers are in position on the course in time for the first tee-offs on competition days. Enhanced rail capacity to meet passenger demand will also be available on the final day, Sunday, July 20, including from/to the North-West Transport Hub in Derry~Londonderry. “We appreciate our customers patience and support as we look forward to delivering thousands of additional passenger journeys across Northern Ireland during the championship week for this world class sporting event." Into the West pointed out that Derry has been the fastest growing station on the North’s rail network for the last decade, with annual journeys there reaching almost 1 million last year (making it the North’s seventh busiest station). "Derry has been the star performer for rail passenger growth in NI over the last decade - with rail journeys from the city rising by 78 per cent compared to pre-Covid, and now standing at almost a million trips a year. In contrast, most stations in Belfast and the East are carrying significantly fewer rail passengers now than they were before the pandemic – with public habits having changed due to things like ‘Working From Home’. "Translink and DFI do not appear to have caught up with the changed reality of rail demand across NI, and are still running an outdated pre- Covid rail service in a post-Covid world. "As a result - whether it’s music events, sports or just their everyday timetable, Translink’s instinct is to always ensure that the needs of rail users in Belfast and the East have primacy over those in the West. It’s unacceptable and it needs to change,” said Mr. Bradley.