Traffic was lighter than expected yesterday morning as tens of thousands of children returned to school. The increased numbers travelling on the first day after the Christmas break made things "no more busy than usual", according to Ms Morag Maxwell of AA Roadwatch.
She said the main problem in the morning had been black ice on the roads which slowed traffic badly, especially in Limerick city and in Cork city.
Black ice slowed traffic around the Phoenix Park in Dublin as well as at the River Road in Cabra, Dublin. On the N4 and the N6, from Dublin to Mullingar and the west, traffic was slowed to about 20 to 30 miles per hour also because of hazardous driving conditions, she said. Traffic was also badly affected around Kerry.
Meanwhile, in its continuing problems with the DART service from Greystones to Dublin city centre, Iarnrod Eireann confirmed that its 8.04 a.m. service from Greystones was delayed by 15 minutes yesterday. The 9.40 a.m. service ran on time.
Acknowledging the substantial gap in the morning timetable on the Greystones-Dublin route, Iarnrod Eireann spokesman Mr Barry Kenny said new carriages were being tested and that there would be an increased service "come the springtime".
