Disruption to some DART trains in Dublin this morning was not part of any unofficial industrial action taken due to the last-minute cancellation of a 24-hour transport stoppage, Iarnród Éireann believes.
Seven trains did not run this morning after two drivers did not turn up for work, the company confirmed.
However, a spokeswoman said Iarnród Éireann believed their failure to show for work was not part of any unofficial action, as the two drivers are members of the National Bus and Railworkers' Union and not SIPTU, the union involved in the aborted strike.
The spokeswoman said although seven DART trains did not run, passengers had not had to wait long for an alternative train during the morning rush hour. She added that the numbers travelling this morning appeared to be lower than usual, possibly because commuters had taken an extra day off work or made alternative arrangements due to the expected stoppage.
"All our services are now running normally, as of about 10 a.m. There were no disruptions to our Inter City services," she said.
A spokeswoman for Dublin Bus also said the company was satisfied all its services were running as normal today and that all drivers had turned up for work.
Mr Bill McCamley, chairman of the CIÉ strike committee, told RTÉ radio this morning he believed some workers may not be aware that the strike has been called off.
The strike, due to begin at midnight last night, was called off at the 11th hour after marathon talks between senior SIPTU officials and the CIÉ strike committee. The union leadership infuriated the strike committee by ordering it to call off the strike, despite workers' concerns that assurances from the Taoiseach on the CIÉ talks process did not go far enough.
Last night's events have prompted an acrimonious split between shop stewards and their SIPTU leaders, with one strike committee member referring to the leadership action as "treachery".
Workers at CIÉ were taking the 24-hour action in protest at the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan's plans to break up the company and to privatise some bus routes. They were unhappy at the progress of talks and at the level of consultation with workers over the future of the company.
Mr Brennan welcomed the decision by SIPTU to step back from the action, saying it would come as "a welcome relief" for the travelling public, the majority of whom are customers of CIÉ transport companies.
"It is regrettable that this decision could not have been reached sooner in order that the hundreds of thousands of people affected would have been informed earlier," he said.
Mr Brennan said the decision allowed for the talks process to be resumed "within days". The talks would be concluded "within a tight timeframe" and would address all areas of concern, including the protection of the terms and conditions of existing employees, he added.
"As is clear from recent events, there is now an onus on all involved to bring about as a matter of urgency the reforms in public transport that will provide the public with greater choice and with more and better services," he said.
Speaking from Washington last night, the Taoiseach also welcomed the late decision to halt the stoppage, saying he looked forward to working with Mr Brennan and the unions to resolve the issues.
The cancellation of a six-hour stoppage by SIPTU workers at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports following the late intervention by the Taoiseach has also come as a relief to the Government, which had feared huge embarrassment if the strike disrupted travel plans of senior EU officials and ministers taking part in EU presidency events today and tomorrow.
Talks on the future of Aer Rianta and CIÉ will resume shortly, but future industrial action cannot yet be ruled out. Ryanair has also indicated it may proceed with legal action to attempt to prevent SIPTU taking action that will close Dublin airport.