TRAIN TERROR AS TODDLER (2) FALLS ONTO THE LINE AT SHANKILL
MOTHER FOREVER GRATEFUL TO THE ‘HEROES’ WHO CAME TO RESCUE
A MOTHER whose child fell onto train tracks at Shankill Dart Station last Thursday has praised the actions of a young man who jumped down to lift her daughter to safety.
Kirsten Murphy, who lives in Wicklow town, was travelling to Dublin and had driven as far as Shankill to get the Dart.
She was at the platform with her 10-month-old baby and two-year-old daughter. As the train came to a stop, she rolled her buggy towards the door to press the button on one of the last carriages.
‘In a split second, my toddler fell and landed on the train line,’ she said. The door of the train was open and a family on board came running towards her. Kirsten screamed for someone to push the emergency button to alert the driver and prevent the train moving.
A young man who was getting off the train, closer to the front, bolted down the platform, jumped down and lifted Kirsten’s daughter Sarah up, handing her to another man. ‘That train had started its journey in Greystones and every hero who helped us that day was already on board the train,’ said Kirsten.
‘There’s no words to do justice to the gratitude I feel for those folk,’ said Kirsten. She said they included a lady called Susan and a man called Alan, as well as the young lad who jumped down, and the family who came to them.
‘I will forever be so incredibly grateful to you all. You are all my heroes.’
She said that the whole think happened quickly, but at the time it felt like ages.
‘I heard a cry, looked down and she was lying right beside the metal track,’ said Kirsten. ‘I just started screaming.’ She described sobbing once she had Sarah back in her arms.
She said she doesn’t know who the young man is who lifted her daughter up. Remarkably,
he jumped down a second time to retrieve the little girl’s hat from the track. ‘I got on the train and people onboard were looking after us, but he was gone,’ she said.
A woman on the train phoned Kirsten’s husband for her, and he met her in Dublin. Another man, Alan, was supposed to be getting off at Grand Canal Dock for his last day in work, but accompanied Kirsten to Tara Street, where she was getting off.
‘Someone on Greystones Open Forum knew Susan, so we think we will be able to speak to her to thank her,’ said Kirsten.
‘People really looked out for us,’ she said. ‘In every case where a horrible incident has occurred, you will always have people who will be your heroes.’ Kirsten said that the gap at Shankill station between the platform and train is too large. ‘It’s incredibly dangerous,’ she said, urging people to be extremely careful at the station. ‘I was nearly sick with the shock,’ said Kirsten. ‘Even now I feel a lump in my throat just thinking about it. I was absolutely hysterical.’
Sarah has a large bruise on her hip from landing on the line but is otherwise uninjured, and doesn’t seem to be troubled by what happened.
Kirsten’s husband Tim has contacted Irish Rail and submitted an incident report. He has also reported the incident to gardai.
Deputy Jennifer Whitmore said that she will raise the incident with Irish Rail and the Minister for Transport. ‘This is an extremely concerning incident and must have been very frightening for Kirsten and Sarah,’ said Deputy Whitmore. ‘I would like to thank those passengers that immediately jumped to their aid - their quick action and bravery may have prevented a tragedy. Kirsten said that since Sarah’s fall, she has heard stories of other similar falls have occurred, including two people on the same frosty morning the previous week, and a woman who reported falling into the gap 30 years ago at the same station.
The Murphy family moved to Wicklow from Killiney last year. Kirsten said that the reason she went to Shankill station was that she was familiar with the station.
I HEARD A CRY, LOOKED DOWN AND SHE WAS LYING RIGHT BESIDE THE METAL TRACK... I JUST STARTED SCREAMING