Freezing conditions to disrupt weekend travel

Freezing overnight temperatures and more snowfall this weekend are likely to further disrupt road and rail transport.

AA Roadwatch warned motorists that secondary routes across the country remained “icy and treacherous”, and urged people not to make unnecessary journeys and to avoid driving on inclines or higher ground.

Spokesman Ronan Gilligan said conditions were forecast to worsen across Leinster and Munster, especially in rural parts where icy roads and dense freezing fog is likely to make driving particularly dangerous.

Bus Éireann said the majority of its services would be operating with some delays this weekend.

The company said some local services operating on secondary roads in the east of the country had been cancelled and people intending to travel should consult its website at www.buseireann.ie.

A Bus Éireann spokesman said services this weekend were dependent on weather and road conditions which were being assessed on an hourly basis.

He said the company would endeavour to maintain as many of its services as possible while operating safely.

Dublin Bus said tonight it would attempt to operate a full service this weekend on the main routes into the city, with curtailments in areas where conditions were poor.

The company said its weekend Nitelink services tonight and tomorrow night would not be running due to extreme weather conditions. All details of services can be found on www.dublinbus.ie

Iarnród Éireann advised customers that all rail services, including Dart services, across the network would operate as normal this weekend despite the freezing conditions.

A spokesman said they were expecting busy numbers on intercity routes because of the road conditions, and advised people to book online and allow additional time to get to their train stations. Any disruption to services will be posted on www.irishrail.ie/news_centre.

A Dublin airport spokesman said tonight that snow and ice crews were working on a 24 hour-basis to clear the runways and taxi areas.

The airport plans to operate as normal over the two days, but passengers are being advised to consult airline websites or their airline directly before travelling to the airport.

Cork and Shannon airports said they would be operating normally subject to weather conditions.

Fine Gael has called for motorway tolls to be lifted during the bad weather.

“Tolled motorways are supposed to be an option for motorists, but with many secondary roads still in a dangerous condition, large numbers of commuters have no choice but to use tolled motorways,” the party’s road safety spokesman Shane McEntee said today.