Passengers stranded for several hours on a freezing train complained yesterday they couldn't even buy a cup of tea from the food trolley because Iarnród Éireann did not have enough water on board.
Passengers also told how they put on extra clothing from their suitcases in an attempt to keep warm, walked up to a mile in search of hot food when the engine broke down in Co Westmeath, could not use the toilets and were given no information on what was happening.
Iarnród Éireann spokesman Barry Kenny apologised to passengers and admitted what had happened was "not good".
Elaine McGee, a local radio broadcaster, was among the passengers stranded when the 5.05pm train on Sunday from Connolly station, Dublin, to Sligo broke down at Killucan, near Mullingar.
"We were given no information for an hour and then an Iarnród official went running through the carriage saying there had been a breakdown but he didn't want to stop and explain.
"It was bitterly cold and there was no heat at all . . . It was so cold two old ladies had to be moved up the train in an attempt to find some warmth."
Ms McGee (25), a presenter with Ocean FM, said: "The tea trolley was wheeled through the carriage but we couldn't get a cup of tea. There was no water. They had muffins and snacks and we had to pay for them. They soon ran out."
She said that almost an hour and a half after the breakdown passengers were told an engineer was on the way but was only leaving Connolly station, in Dublin, at that stage and would not arrive for another 40 minutes.
A replacement engine was linked to the train and passengers arrived in Sligo after midnight, more than three hours late.