Although members of the Irish Locomotive Drivers' Association (ILDA) returned to work yesterday following their 10-week dispute, train services are not expected to return to normal until tomorrow or Thursday.
A spokesman for Iarnrod Eireann said this was because railway service standards have to be met when drivers return to work after long periods of absence. "We're working to get services back to normal as quickly as possible," said the spokesman. He said that the returning drivers will be updated today on any information and changes relating to safety, as well as on route knowledge and other details. He also confirmed that Iarnod Eireann is considering offering discounted fares on all main routes (except Dublin to Belfast inter-city services) in an effort to win back customers who may have found alternative methods of transport during the dispute. There should be improved services today on the Drogheda and Dundalk suburban lines, and Waterford, Limerick and Westport inter-city routes.
There will be a full service in place today on the Waterford, Galway, Belfast, Rosslare and Sligo routes. Of the commuter services, the DART, Maynooth and Arklow services will operate as normal, while half-services will be in place for Kildare. Seventy-five per cent of the Cork/Cobh services will be operating today.
The cost to Iarnrod Eireann of the 10-week ILDA dispute was estimated at £8.5 million, the spokesman said.
Representatives of SIPTU and the NRBU said there were no reports of any intimidation yesterday against members of the ILDA as they returned to work. The SIPTU president, Mr Des Geraghty, said he was very pleased to see the ILDA members returning to work and added that his members understood the concerns of the ILDA drivers.
When asked if he was confident that SIPTU could succeed in winning some ILDA members over to SIPTU, he said that while he would certainly welcome them, he "won't be exerting pressure" on them. Mr Geraghty said it was important to build on the agreement reached between SIPTU, the NBRU and Iarnod Eireann.
Mr Joe McGrath of the NBRU said his union was happy to welcome the returning drivers back into "the family unit". He also said his union was confident it could re-recruit some of the remaining ILDA members.
The ILDA apparently remains committed to its Supreme Court appeal against its failure to win union recognition. The organisation says its members are returning to work "under protest" and will not work rosters that it believes to be unsafe.