Strike leads to rail disruption

Connolly Street station in Dublin - deserted because of strike

Cross-border rail services between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were disrupted on Tuesday by a one-day strike.

Tens of thousands of rail passengers faced chaos as 130 signal staff in the republic joined in industrial action.

Among the services affected were the cross-border Dublin to Belfast Enterprise service. Passengers had to be bussed between Newry, County Down, and Dublin.

The republic's national rail network shut down from midnight on Monday, though Dublin had a limited service of urban DART trains.

It meant that freight services were also affected.

Enterprise express halted at border in NI

The stoppage came after more than three years of negotiations between signalling staff unions, the NBRU and SIPTU, and the management of Irish Rail over working hours and pay.

Both the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court have been involved, but the talks broke down.

Catering staff

The management of Irish freight company, Iarnród Eireann, issued a last-minute appeal to the signal personnel to defer their strike.

However, the unions involved said it was too late. They accused management of doing nothing since they issued their strike notice a month ago.

The signalling staff are also threatening to strike on two days next week and three days the following week unless their demands are met.

Meanwhile, the travel disruption continues later in the week with catering staff from the Irish airline, Aer Lingus, planning to continue with their industrial action on Wednesday.