Walkout to stop buses and trains

Thousands of bus and rail passengers face major disruption tomorrow when CIÉ staff walk off the job in protest at the Government's plans to break up the transport group.

In their first confrontation with the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, over his reform plan, workers in the National Bus and Railworkers' Union (NBRU) and SIPTU will stage a four-hour protest beginning at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

While Bus Éireann and Iarnród Éireann, which service the regions, said it was impossible to predict how many of their services would stop, services on the entire Dublin Bus network are expected to halt. DART services are also threatened.

The unions said the stoppage was timed to avoid rush hour. But disruption to inter-city rail and regional bus services is likely to continue into the evening because trains and buses on long-distance routes will be hours behind schedule.

Urging the CIÉ workers to reconsider their action, Mr Brennan said last night that he would not be changing his plan to break up CIÉ. "I don't want confrontation, I want change," he said. "This action is not necessary. What we are talking about here is in the programme for Government." But the NBRU and SIPTU accused Mr Brennan of ignoring the findings of a special forum set up under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness.

Disruptions to DART services between Bray and Greystones are likely until the weekend as Iarnród Éireann deals with "mud and debris" which fell on the rail at Bray Head on Sunday. The company said it hoped to reopen the line for today's rush hour traffic but would close it between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. for repair work.