Roads, transport still affected as cold spell persists

In spite of improving conditions and clear skies in many areas, the Rosslare railway line remained closed last night and temperatures were forecast as low as minus 7 degrees as the cold spell continued.

The worst affected areas of this week's heavy snowfalls, Louth, Meath, Dublin and Wicklow, remained largely under a blanket of snow yesterday as 1,000 members of the ESB's repair service struggled to reconnect outlying households some of which had been without electricity since Tuesday.

In the Cooley Peninsula and other parts of Co Louth the ESB had to use a helicopter to monitor power lines from the air and transport crews to sites cut off by snow.

According to a spokesman, the situation actually worsened yesterday as snow continued in parts of Co Louth and Wicklow. Some 7,000 homes were without electricity at the start of the day but the figure had risen to 14,000 by lunchtime.

By 4 p.m. the numbers were down to 5,000. It was expected that by nightfall only the more remote areas would remain without electricity, amounting to about 500 households.

Iarnrod Eireann said its services were back to normal with the exception of the Arklow and Rosslare line. A bus service was ferrying passengers between Greystones and Arklow and Rosslare.

Stena Line said rough weather on the Irish Sea had damaged its shore facilities causing the suspension of the HSS until further notice. Passengers were advised to contact Stena on 01204 7700.

Irish Ferries' ships on the Irish Sea were in operation yesterday although all sailings on the French routes were previously suspended until March 2nd.

Bus Eireann said all its services were expected to operate normally today.

Aer Rianta said Dublin Airport was open and all services were returning to normal.

A Met Eireann spokesman warned, however, that the recent cold conditions would continue for a few more days.

The Automobile Association said that road conditions were improving, although it warned that extra caution was still needed especially on side roads and during the night.

Monika Unsworth adds from Belfast: Northern Ireland Electricity engineers were working all day yesterday to restore power to a remaining 7,500 customers who were cut off by Tuesday's heavy snow and galeforce winds.

The worst affected county was Down, especially the areas around Kilkeel, Newry and Downpatrick, where crews were lifted in by helicopter to restore power supplies. Earth-moving equipment was used to clear snowdrifts blocking minor roads to enable fault repairs.

At the height of the emergency more than 100,000 homes were without power. An SDLP MLA, Mr Joe Byrne, yesterday criticised NIE saying it was "unacceptable in the 21st century" for households to remain without power for several days. The Alliance Party described NIE's handling of the situation as an "absolute disgrace".

The North's Electricity Regulator, Mr Douglas McIldoon, has asked one of his consulting engineers to prepare a report on NIE's performance during the storms. While the company had handled the crisis significantly better than in 1998, its callhandling system was perceived as weak by many customers, the regulator added.

Last night's weather forecast was for dry but icy conditions with temperatures falling to minus seven degrees overnight.