At least 10,000 rail commuters in Cork and Kerry were left stranded yesterday as the one-day stoppage by signalmen hit passenger and freight services. Nine inter-city and suburban routes affected by the stoppage included Cork-Dublin, Cork-Tralee, Cork-Limerick and Cork-Cobh.
On the mainline connection between Cork and Dublin, some 3,000 commuters had to make alternative arrangements and hundreds of people turned up at Kent Station in Cork unaware that all services had been cancelled due to the stoppage.
On the Cork-Cobh line, another 1,500 commuters had to find their own way to work by private car or taxi, and this led to a huge increase in road traffic. Congestion was eased somewhat by the closure of secondary schools due to industrial action by the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland.
Due to the industrial action by signal staff, passengers travelling between Dublin and Belfast yesterday had to make the journey between Newry, Co Down, and Dublin by bus, adding an average of 30 minutes to their trip.
A spokesman for Translink, the North's bus and rail operator, said he hoped Enterprise services between Belfast and Dublin, which are run jointly with Iarnrod Eireann, would return to normal today.
The number of passengers was well down on normal levels for what is one of busiest periods of the year on the route.
Many cross-Border travellers either made alternative arrangements or postponed their journey.
Rail services within the North were unaffected by the action.