Fellow train passengers can be annoying; shouting into their mobile phones, taking up all the space with their laptops and cramping your leg-room.
But one passenger had no such problems on Sunday evening when he found that he was the only traveller on board when the 6.25pm train pulled out of Heuston Station for Limerick.
A breakdown in communication between the driver and the station controller meant that the driver pulled out believing all passengers had boarded, when in fact only one passenger was on board.
The passenger was visually-impaired and had been escorted on to the train by Iarnród Éireann courtesy staff. The signal was then given that everyone had boarded and more than 200 baffled passengers were left on the platform as the train disappeared down the track.
Adam Long, a mature student in Dublin who was visiting family in Limerick on Sunday night, was among the many passengers who watched as the train pulled away from the platform, without its passengers.
"I arrived in plenty of time for the train. There was a really long queue but no sign of it moving at all while we waited and waited. Next thing a woman standing in front of me said the train was pulling away without us, but nobody believed her. Next thing we discovered to our great bemusement that the train had left without any of his passengers on it, " he said.
According to Mr Long, passengers were eventually directed to platform six where they were accommodated on the 7pm Cork train. "It really was a royal mess up by Iarnród Éireann and there was a lot of confusion as to what was going on. A lot of people in the queue were saying it was almost like something from Candid Camera and I guess you could only describe the atmosphere as a mixture of annoyance and amusement."
Mr Long, who normally travels to Limerick by bus, paid €40 for his single train ticket to Limerick. At no point was he informed that passengers would be reimbursed for the ticket. "I left my ticket on the train as the first I heard about being reimbursed was on the radio today. I normally travel by bus for economic reasons as a return bus ticket costs me €18," he added.
Iarnród Éireann spokeswoman Jane Cregan said yesterday that nothing like this had ever happened before. The mishap came to light in yesterday's Irish Examiner. Ms Cregan said the mistake was quickly noticed but the train could not return to the station because it was a very busy time. "If we were to get that train back in again to the station it would cause congestion for the whole evening," she said.
Ms Cregan said the sole passenger was not alone for the whole journey as people boarded along the route. "It's a very unusual event and it's something we have apologised for," she said.
Iarnród Éireann has offered a 50 per cent refund on the journey to the stranded passengers.