A picket by two drivers on Sligo railway station for just over an hour yesterday morning resulted in the cancellation of all train services to and from the station during the day.
The picket lasted from about 10.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. to coincide with the time another driver was due to start work at 11 a.m. The striking train drivers declined to comment to the media.
A notice on the door of the station apologised to travellers for the inconvenience and stated there would be no service due to industrial action. Apart from a woman staffing the ticket desk, the station was deserted. The sweetshop shutter remained down and an empty train stood at the platform.
Trains on the Sligo line ran as far as Mullingar and Edgeworthstown and then returned to Dublin. Ironically, the full train service from Sligo to Dublin resumed last Friday after the section from Sligo to Boyle had to be closed for a month after an embankment subsided.
Services to Westport, Castlebar and Ballina were also cancelled and business leaders throughout the region said they were outraged.
Mr Peter Shanley, the chairman of the Western Region Chamber of Commerce, said that given the difficulties many businesses were already experiencing due to foot-and-mouth, the rail strike was "the last straw".
A 10-week rail strike last year had been disastrous for the region and businesses could not afford a repeat.
If tourists could not reach Mayo by train they would go elsewhere. "Last year people turned up at Heuston station and were told there was no train to Mayo, so they just went to Killarney instead," he said.
Many people requiring medical treatment in Dublin also relied on the train, and the strike caused a lot of hardship for them, he said.
The president of Sligo Chamber of Commerce, Mr Jim Lawlor, also condemned the actions of the striking drivers. He said he believed regulations should be introduced to prevent such strikes by people providing essential services.