Train services throughout the State were affected by yesterday's stoppage. In counties Cork, Limerick and Kerry, the extra cars on the roads as a result of the stoppage led to traffic tailbacks on the major roads into Cork, Tralee and Limerick.
Extra gardai were on duty to cope with the situation. A Garda spokesman said the traffic build-up dissipated fairly quickly.
The 1,500 people who normally use the commuter rail service between Cobh and Cork during the morning rush hour had to find alternative transport. Rail commuters from Mallow in north Cork were also affected.
Employers said levels of absenteeism rose in Munster yesterday because of the rail disruption. This was to be expected, they added.
Commuters in Galway, Westport and Ballina who usually travel by train had to switch to road transport. But, perhaps surprisingly, Bus Eireann in Galway reported business was quieter than usual. "We are presuming that many customers thought that the buses were out as well," a spokeswoman said. Bus Eireann runs an hourly service between Dublin and Galway from 7.30 a.m. daily, and there are also private bus services.
Several tourists who were unaware of the industrial dispute turned up at train stations in the west during the day and were directed to buses.
Ironically, Iarnrod Eireann was yesterday due to announce expansion plans for the Galway-Dublin rail service. The announcement was rescheduled due to the industrial action.
Commuters from Dundalk and Drogheda travelling to Dublin were not as badly hit as rail passengers in the rest of the Republic. The route is part-served by the Belfast-crewed Enterprise service, which ensured that the express service from Dundalk, which stops only at Drogheda and Connolly Station in Dublin, ran on time.
But only half the usual number of passengers got on in Dundalk and Drogheda - apparently people thought the train would not be running. Two suburban trains as well as the Enterprise left Dundalk on time. But no drivers reported in at Drogheda, and no trains originated from there.
Four trains - two Enterprises and two suburban services - served Connolly-Drogheda during the evening commuting period.
In Waterford city, the early morning Dublin train sat idle at the platform. Mr Frank Hogan, business development executive with Iarnrod Eireann in Waterford, said the nationwide nature of the dispute and the volume of passengers involved made it impossible to put on replacement buses.
In the mid-west, 50 trains were affected by the dispute, including 14 passenger trains in and out of Colbert Station in Limerick.
The stoppage disrupted commuters from towns such as Thurles, who come to work in Limerick by train.