When Neil Rice took over the franchise of the Paper Train newsagent's in Colbert Station, Limerick in May, he was unprepared for a summer of discontent which would halve the revenues of a normally vibrant business.
After eight weeks of the ILDA dispute, he has been saved, he says, by Limerick Bus Station being part of the same complex. "The only reason I am open there is the buses," he says.
He has noticed a dramatic fall in the number of tourists coming through the station. Passenger numbers in general have decreased by up to 40 per cent.
Outside the immediate area, the effect has been minimal. Taxi-drivers on the rank outside the station have seen no dent on their business. Travellers wanting an assured service appear to have switched to the Bus Eireann services, which run hourly to Dublin, Cork and Galway.
The Limerick fleet of 80 provincial buses has 13 scheduled departures throughout the day to and from Dublin. "We are exceptionally busy, even for the time of the year," a spokesman said.
"We have an hourly service to Dublin, Cork and Galway and they are carrying a lot of auxiliary buses. There is no doubt some extra passengers have come our way because of the uncertainty of the rail service," he added.
Travellers are being advised to telephone before assuming a service is operating. Station staff know the afternoon beforehand what the schedule for the following day will be.
Mr Jim Gallivan, Iarnrod Eireann's business development manager in Limerick, says a pattern has emerged where services most affected tend to be in the late morning and the afternoon. This is mainly due to the dispute, as it affects services leaving Cork.
The knock-on effect hits Limerick services, which depend on connections at Limerick Junction. "As a general rule, 75 per cent of our direct services operate all the time," Mr Gallivan says.
Of about 30 train drivers based in Limerick, 11 are ILDA members. Because the dispute has hit the summer trade, much of the normal business and student traffic is down anyway on the rest of the year.
Many business people switch to their cars because the school traffic is off the roads. The main effect of the ILDA dispute has been on holidaymakers and day-trippers. Tourists can be flexible on travel times, but the numbers of travellers using the Inter-rail tickets, which allow them unlimited travel in EU countries, are down.
Sales of day-trip tickets to families or for GAA fixtures have been hit severely.
Mr Gallivan says very few people travelled to the Witnness festival at Fairyhouse racecourse last weekend, opting for the bus shuttle service instead.
But numbers have recovered in the past four weeks, compared to the previous four weeks, as travellers adapt to the timetable constraints.
"People will either rearrange their day and travel or they will not travel. More and more people seem to be falling into that pattern."
This concludes the series of articles outlining the impact of the rail dispute around the State.