Weekend travel: Major disruption to road transport expected

FREEZING OVERNIGHT temperatures and more snowfall this weekend are likely to further disrupt road transport.

AA Roadwatch has warned motorists that secondary routes remain “icy and treacherous” and urges people not to make unnecessary journeys and to avoid driving on inclines or higher ground.

Spokesman Ronan Gilligan said conditions may be particularly poor across Leinster and Munster, especially in rural areas where icy roads and dense, freezing fog is likely to make driving dangerous.

Bus Éireann said the majority of its services would be operating with some delays this weekend. It said some local services on secondary roads in the east had been cancelled and people intending to travel should consult its website, www.buseireann.ie

A Bus Éireann spokesman said services this weekend were dependent on weather and road conditions. He said the company would try to maintain as many of its services as possible while operating safely.

Dublin Bus said last night it would attempt to operate a full service today and tomorrow on the main routes into the city, with curtailments in areas where conditions were poor. It said its weekend Nitelink service would not be running. Details of services can be found on www.dublinbus.ie

Iarnród Éireann advised customers that all rail services, including the Dart, would operate normally this weekend.

A spokesman said they were expecting intercity routes to be busy due to the road conditions and advised people to book online and allow extra time to get to train stations. Any disruptions would be posted on www.irishrail.ie

A Dublin airport spokesman said last night that crews were working on a 24-hour basis to clear the runways and taxi-ing areas. The airport planned to operate normally but passengers are being advised to consult airline websites or their airline before travelling to the airport. Cork and Shannon airports said they would operate normally, subject to 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,” the party’s road safety spokesman Shane McEntee said yesterday, “but with many secondary roads still in a dangerous condition, large numbers of commuters have no choice but to use tolled motorways.”