Iarnród Éireann passengers in Tullamore, Co Offaly, were forced to travel to Dublin by bus yesterday when unexpectedly high numbers filled the early morning train from Westport to Dublin.
Passengers waiting on the platform in Tullamore at 9.35 a.m. had to take the buses provided by Iarnród Éireann when they realised the train was full.
"My family were travelling to Dublin to get a flight back to London and they only made the flight by the skin of their teeth," one caller told The Irish Times last night. "It was ridiculous - they had to make the journey by bus.
"The reason given to them was that there were not enough carriages on the train," he said.
A spokesman for Iarnród Éireann said it was "just a very busy day".
"The train did stop at Tullamore, people got off and some people got on," he said.
"We realised at Athlone that the train was full and laid on buses in advance, before the train got to Tullamore, to take passengers to Dublin."
Asked if sufficient carriages were provided, the spokesman replied that for all major events and occasions extra carriages were put on but that yesterday's traffic was "quite unusually heavy".
"There were a lot of family groups travelling, doing pre-back-to-school shopping," he said.