Buses cancelled and passengers walk along Dart tracks during a day of travel chaos

Social media erupted on Sunday as passengers forced their way off a Dart train halted outside Bray. But that was just part of the transport chaos as 50 bus services were cancelled too. File picture: Stephen Collins

It was a day of disrupted travel across Ireland, as more than 50 buses were cancelled for “operational reasons” and dozens of Dart passengers forced their way off a train and walked on the tracks after lengthy delays.

Bus Éireann was forced to cancel dozens of services across the country on Sunday, with many cancellations being notified at short notice through social media. 

They included routes in Galway, Mayo, and Sligo, as well as services between Cork and Kerry, Waterford and Wexford, and to Dublin Airport.

The company apologised for the inconvenience and advised passengers to check the website or the Bus Éireann Twitter account for updates.

Cancellations arise from challenges in driver recruitment, driver unavailability at short notice, and difficulty in hiring contractors to support services, a statement from Bus Éireann said. 

“Bus Éireann is actively recruiting for drivers throughout the country, and in Cork and Limerick has started to train people with Category B driving licences to gain their Category D driving licence,” the statement said.

“Where it is unfortunately necessary to cancel a service, we manage this to minimise the impact on customers, for example temporarily reducing frequency on higher frequency routes and making every effort to ensure the last service of the day operates.”

Despite the cancellations, the company estimated that 98.6% of Bus Éireann’s approximately 3,250 trips nationwide were operating as scheduled on Sunday.

“We understand and regret the impact of cancellations on customers," the company stated. 

Bus Éireann said it is recruiting more drivers to ensure Sunday's shutdown of services does not recut. Stock picture

"In most cases, advance notice of cancellations is available the day before. For people who have pre-booked their Expressway tickets, they are also notified by a direct email sent to them, typically well in advance of travel."

Meanwhile, chaos broke out on a Dart service to Bray when passengers "forced doors open and walked onto the track" in what was described as a "dangerous act".

Irish Rail said that the train had stopped to wait for a clear platform at Bray when people decided to disembark the train.

Passengers "forced doors open and walked on the track" at 2.55pm, it said.

Videos posted on social media show more than 100 people pouring out of the train and walking along the tracks.

Trains had to be stopped in both directions for public safety, causing delays to other services.

The service resumed around 5pm.