Is it an early bird, is it an early train?

Is it a bird, is it a train?


Passengers on the inaugural early bird train service from Westport to Dublin could have been forgiven for rubbing their eyes in disbelief yesterday (Monday) morning.
There had been much speculation about whether the service would come into being and when the time came this morning, there was no sign of the train.
But doubters hadn’t serious cause for complaint. The problem was meteorological rather than financial. The Early Bird train service was going ahead. But by bus as far as Athlone.
Flooding had held up the arrival of the early train carriages in  Westport so passengers were bussed to Athlone before embarking on the train. All passengers arrived on schedule in Heuston Station in Dublin around 9am.