Businesses in Kilkenny are threatening legal action against traindrivers in the dispute unless there is an imminent resolution.

But while tourism in Kilkenny has been affected, elsewhere in the south-east the effect of the strike has been minimal.

About 75 per cent of trains on the Dublin-Waterford route, which includes Kilkenny, have been running since the dispute began, according to an Iarnrod Eireann spokesman. The Rosslare-Dublin and Rosslare-Waterford routes have been operating as normal, with no services lost.

Yesterday was a bad day for passengers. The 7.30 a.m. and 3.05 p.m. Dublin-Waterford services were cancelled, but three other trains ran, while two of the four scheduled services from Waterford to Dublin were cancelled.

Business sources in Waterford said the disruption had had little effect on commercial activity as few people in the city used the train for business purposes. The journey time of two hours and 40 minutes, significantly longer than to travel to Dublin by road, has long been a source of frustration.

"With the first train leaving at 7.20 a.m. you have no chance of being in Dublin for a 9 a.m. meeting, so the strike has made little difference in that regard," a source said.

From a tourism perspective, Kilkenny appears to have been worst affected. Ms Alison McGrath, chief executive of Kilkenny Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said many local businesses were suffering as a result of the dispute, especially accommodation providers.

"The workers should return to work and use the internal grievance procedure of Iarnrod Eireann, or face action by companies which are losing business and will start to seek redress through legal channels," she said.

Overall tourism figures, however, remain buoyant. Mr Joe Palmer, manager of the South East Regional Tourism Authority, said he had received no complaints about the strike from tourism service providers. "That's not to say it's not causing difficulty for travellers, but any impact has been minimal," he said.