Iarnrod Eireann apologises to passengers left stranded at Offaly station
Iarnrod Eireann has apologised to people who were left stranded at Clara railway station last Saturday night October 2, when a bus which was due to replace the Galway to Dublin train failed to appear.
A statement from the company said: "We are aware of an issue with the replacement bus service on Saturday, October 2nd. We are currently investigating the issue with the bus operator. We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused, and will ensure that such a circumstance does not re-occur."
One person waited up to two hours for the bus to arrive. This person had no form of transport other than an electric scooter which had a low battery.
The bus was scheduled to stop in Clara at 20:59, but it never arrived. At least 5 people at the station were left inconvenienced by the failure.
One person contacted Irish Rail at the communication point located at the station and they were put through to someone in Cork who appeared to know very little.
Eventually through persistence on behalf of the passenger the Irish Rail employee said he had been in contact with the bus driver who claimed he stopped at Clara station but there was nobody there.
However, one man pointed out that the station has CCTV which should be able to prove that there were people waiting.
Eventually, the person with the scooter was forced to plug it in at the station to charge the battery and to make his way along a dark road until he eventually got a lift halfway to Tullamore.
People said it was up to them to find their own way from Clara station; no effort was made to provide a taxi or any other form of transport.