Public transport services all over the State will be affected again today and many services will not be operating.
Rail services will be disrupted again today because lines have not been inspected for the past two days. Although a resolution to the line maintenance crew dispute seemed likely last night, fears for the safety of train lines have caused a further halt to rail transport, which could continue in some parts until tomorrow.
The 5.20 a.m. train from Cork to Dublin has been cancelled and a number of lines will definitely be closed. These closures include the lines between Cork and Cobh; Kilkenny and Waterford; Greystones and Rosslare; Athlone and Westport, including the connection to the Ballina branch; Limerick and Ennis, and Rosslare and Waterford. There will be delays on most train lines in operation, as speed restriction will be imposed.
Dublin Bus is on the third day of its strike and no buses will be operating. DART services will run if the civil engineering staff dispute is resolved and if secondary pickets by Dublin Bus workers are lifted.
Bus Eireann was hopeful last night that all its services would be running today if the dispute involving train workers was resolved. Mr Cyril McIntyre of Bus Eireann said there could be problems in some areas where the buses were in garages in areas beside train stations.
There were few trains running yesterday and no Arrow services ran. About 12 trains ran between Belfast and Dublin, as the Northern Ireland drivers were not affected by the dispute. There were also some trains operating between Dublin and Maynooth and Dublin and Drogheda-Dundalk.
Two trains ran between Kilkenny and Dublin, one between Dublin and Mallow, Carlow, Longford and Greystones. In these areas, drivers ignored the dispute and carried on working.
About three DART trains operated yesterday but Mr Barry Kenny of Iarnrod Eireann had advised people not to go to the DART stations.
All Bus Eireann services were halted yesterday, including Bus Eireann school buses. Private school buses continued to provide a service. Bus Eireann last night advised passengers wishing to use its service today to ring their local depots in the morning before travelling out.