It’s Carlow - the town, the county and its people - who will suffer because of the Leinster Council’s scattergun approach, writes Brendan O’Brien.

Especially around the 1:00 mark.

The National Bus and Railworkers Union (NBRU) says it is willing to stall a ballot for industrial action as a vehicle to discuss the ongoing pay row with management at Irish Rail.

Strikes by train drivers could threaten the future of the country’s loss-making rail system, transport chiefs have warned.

One of the unions involved in five days of industrial action at Irish Rail is calling on the Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe to intervene in the dispute.

The number of people travelling by train has increased in the past six months.

Siptu members at Irish Rail have ruled out strike action if the company pushes ahead with cost-saving measures.

Irish Rail is being criticised for linking to a deals website when customers are buying train tickets online.

Investigations are underway following a collision between a passenger train and a postal van in Co Mayo this morning.

SINCE he was a boy, Paddy Mangan has enjoyed running.

Overnight temperatures are to plummet to minus 15C in parts of Ireland this week, but the ice and snow will be replaced by wind and rain from Christmas Day.

Forecasters today predicted the coldest December on record with more snow on the cards and biting temperatures lasting at least six days.

Roads chiefs have ordered local authorities to mix salt with coarse sand so that supplies can be maintained for the next two weeks.

Commuters grappled with treacherous conditions today after fresh overnight snowfalls as the big freeze showed no sign of a let-up.

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN is to scrap its parking charges on the Cork-Midleton line for the month of December — and may remove them altogether.

People must help each other through the big freeze as temperatures are set to plunge even further, it was warned today.

MORE than 100 railway viaducts have been put through new safety checks since the near catastrophic Malahide bridge collapse last year, transport chiefs have revealed.

IT’S no minor matter – in fact a Cork school has three major reasons to get very excited about this weekend’s All-Ireland finals.

A 62-year-old man has been killed in an accident on the Ennis to Limerick railine.

There are moves being made to have the Docklands train station in Dublin named after the late Stephen Gately.

Rail users can make use of free wi-fi internet access on selected Dublin to Cork services, Iarnrod Eireann said today.

The Department of Education was among a list of State bodies which breached laws aimed at providing services in the Irish language, it was revealed today.

The West of Ireland was back on track today with the reopening of a rail line almost 34 years after the last scheduled passenger train.

Iarnród Eireann is rejecting claims that it had been warned about serious erosion at the Malahide Viaduct in Dublin as far back as 2006.

A truck driver who crashed into a Dart line before fleeing the scene was slammed as "reckless and idiotic" today.

A WOMAN who claimed she was given a “dummy job” and a damp basement to work in after returning from a career break at Iarnród Éireann has been awarded €189,000, the biggest award ever made by the Equality Tribunal.

Desperate homeowners across south Galway were at crisis point tonight as floods continued to run off hills leaving farms, villages and towns marooned.

Ireland is tonight bracing itself for more heavy rains as flood relief workers called off a planned strike to deal with the devastation wreaked on parts of the country.

Full services have resumed on the Northern Commuter and Belfast Enterprise line following the collapse of the Malahide Viaduct in Dublin almost three months ago.

IT’S been great to see such a huge level of investment in Irish railways over the last few years, with much-improved services and better-quality trains.

Rail chiefs were today accused of playing with thousands of people’s lives by not closing a busy rail line when safety concerns were raised five days before it collapsed into the sea.

Seabed erosion is suspected of being behind the collapse of a railway viaduct on one of the country’s busiest lines, it was revealed today.

Rail passengers face further travel chaos tonight after a landslide closed the main line between Wicklow and Wexford.

Dublin-bound commuters face more weather-related travel misery as the main rail line to the south-east will stay closed until at least the end of the week.

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN was last night accused of imposing a “stealth tax” on commuters who park at stations.

Controversial park-and-ride charges at nine commuter train stations come into effect from tomorrow.

An investigation is underway into the derailment of a train on the Dublin to Cork line earlier today.

SIPTU and the NBRU have agreed to defer a rail strike planned for this Friday following talks on the matter at the Labour Relations Commission yesterday.

Distressed passengers — including Bruce Springsteen and Munster fans — were bearing the brunt of continuing industrial action by Iarnród Éireann train drivers today.

A track damaged when a freight train derailed will reopen tonight.

The traditional bank holiday exodus is due to get underway today as tens of thousands of people head away for the weekend.

Rail services in the south-west of the country are set to run as normal this morning following a last-minute resolution to a dispute over work practices.