Assaults, drug use and sexual slurs part of an Irish Rail journey, new figures show

With a 60pc increase in the anti-social behaviour complaints made last year, passengers are enduring more drunk and disorderly conduct onboard trains.

The 444 anti-social behaviour complaints received last year far surpasses the 277 received in 2021.

Those relating to the Dublin to Belfast and Dublin to Cork lines have been released under the Freedom of Information Act and reveal how one woman and her husband on the Belfast line witnessed a group of seven or eight drunken youths shouting sectarian, sexual and racial slurs.

One passenger on the Cork train claims a person took out a white substance and snorted it right off the table while a couple claims they were subjected to verbal abuse and threats of violence from a group of sports fans.

Another passenger claims they were verbally and sexually harassed by two drunk men.

One person said they witnessed a woman screaming in a man's face and threatening to kill him.

One passenger says they were kicked in the head by a man as they sat on the floor between two carriages.

In a statement to Newstalk, Irish Rail said: "Anti-social behaviour is a societal issue to which we are not immune.

"However, Iarnród Éireann has been working extensively with An Garda Síochána, our private security personnel and employees to ensure we both proactively put in place measures to address anti-social behaviour and respond to specific incidents to ensure we have as safe a travelling and working environment as possible."