Athlone train driver given award for his handling of cattle accident

An Athlone-based train driver has been named Iarnród Éireann’s 'Onboard Customer Service Person of the Year' as a result of his professionalism when a train he was driving collided with a herd of cattle last summer. 

Dermot Naughton was given the honour at the Iarnród Éireann Customer Service Awards which took place yesterday (Tuesday). 

The recognition for the local man was prompted by an incident in June of this year. 

A train Dermot was driving struck a herd of cattle in the vicinity of Tullamore, causing significant damage to the train and making it unable to continue on its journey.

Dermot was praised for “his extremely professional manner” in dealing with this serious incident. 

It was a very hot day, and the damage to the train caused the air conditioning system to fail. Dermot succeeded in keeping customers informed about the situation and was constantly reassuring them that a relief train was on the way. 

He also supervised the detraining of all customers in a most professional manner, ensuring that they could continue on their journey, albeit with a significant delay.

The Iarnród Éireann Customer service awards, now in their seventh year are designed to acknowledge those who have excelled in customer service across a range of roles.

The categories for nominations were: Station Staff, Onboard Staff, Internal Customer, Sales Agent and Customer Relations, People’s Choice, Service Excellence and Assistance, Contractor and Overall Customer Service award.

The awards were held at Inchicore Training Centre in Dublin yesterday.