LAST UPDATE | 7 Dec 2021

STORM BARRA ARRIVED on Irish shores today, with heavy rain and strong gusts being experienced across the country.

Some flooding occurred in coastal areas and tens of thousands of people are still experiencing power outages nationwide.

Red, orange and yellow weather warnings remain in place in different parts of the country with western and southern coastal counties continuing to be worst affected today and into tomorrow.  

Here’s how transport has been impacted by all of this.  

Trains 

Iarnród Éireann said that most services are continuing to operate as normal this evening across the country, but some delays may still occur due to the storm.

Waterford Station has reopened after flooding on the line led to bus transfers between Waterford and Kilkenny earlier today. 

• The service asked people to consider if their journey is necessary before boarding. 
• Reduced speeds are in use on trains between Mallow and Cork/Tralee in Kerry as a precaution. Delays of up to 20 minutes are expected on these lines. 
• Speaking to RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, communications manager with Irish Rail Barry Kenny said rail crews are out monitoring lines with crews ready to clear any issues like fallen trees if they occur. 
• Dart services are operating as normal once again, but some minor delays can be expected. 

Buses

Bus Éireann cancelled all services in Cork and Kerry today. Buses in Clare have been cancelled from 1pm today until 1am. This cancellation also applies to routes operating in or out of the county.

• Sligo Town service route S2 services have been withdrawn from Second Sea Road from 7pm to 10am tomorrow.
• Galway City routes 401 and 424 are not serving Salthill Promenade from 6pm this evening until to 6am tomorrow morning.
• A number of route 303 and 304 services in Limerick have been cancelled this evening.
• In Waterford, services are unable to operate via Ballybeg due to power lines being down.
• All services on routes 13, 14, 40 and 51 have been cancelled for the day. 
• The service has also advised people to expect delays across all routes today due to the storm. 
• School transport services from Bus Éireann have also been cancelled for counties covered by Status Red and Orange warnings, including Cork, Kerry, Galway and Dublin.
• Other cancellations on specific routes can be found here.

All scheduled services on Dublin Bus are currently operating as normal.

Planes

Shannon Airport has cancelled a number of flights this evening due to “severe gusts currently being experienced” due to the storm, a spokesperson said. 

• The Ryanair Malaga service due to depart at 5.15pm has been cancelled.
• The Ryanair London Stansted inbound and outbound services have also been cancelled, while the inbound Ryanair Tenerife flight due to arrive at Shannon at 4.25pm diverted to Dublin.
• Aer Lingus services from and to Heathrow Airport scheduled for this evening have also been cancelled.

A spokesperson for Cork Airport said that as a result of aircraft being out of position due to the storm, tomorrow’s early morning KLM flight to Amsterdam has been cancelled.

Cork Airport remained open today, but several flights were cancelled including all Aer Lingus flights from Cork. 

A KLM flight from Cork Airport to Amsterdam this afternoon was cancelled. Cork Airport advised any passengers impacted to check with their airline for further information. 

A Delta airlines flight en route from New York to Dublin was forced to divert to Amsterdam after failing to land twice due to high winds.

Head of communications with the DAA Kevin Cullinane said there were two flight diversions from Cork Airport to Shannon this morning, 

He told RTÉ radio’s News at One that the schedule in Dublin Airport has “largely operated to plan” with some cancellations to Paris, New York and Munich 

Alongside cancellations, he said there have been some delays with flights getting in or out of the country party due to changing wind patterns. 

Roads

People are advised to only take necessary journeys in Status Orange counties. Those in Status Red counties are advised to fully stay indoors. 

Any road users should be aware of hazardous travel conditions. Motorists should slow down and be aware of dangers such as falling trees and debris. 

For live updates on transport check our latest liveblog, see the home page for more details.