Ireland's railways ground to a halt today after workers made good on their pledge to shut down the network.
The National Bus and Rail Union (NBRU) kicked off the strike with a two-day walkout today and tomorrow and is planning two 24-hour work stoppages on September 7 and September 21.
Following a long-running row over pay cuts aimed at saving Irish Rail €17 million (£13.5m) on top of years of budget cuts, union members have run out of patience.
NBRU general secretary Dermot O'Leary slammed the government for cutting Irish Rail's subsidy to 1998 levels.
"Expecting a service to be run on those levels of subsidy is just not tenable," he said.
Separately, Siptu railway members will strike at Irish Rail today in a one-day stoppage.
Organiser Paul Cullen said workers had been left with no option.
"Our members do not believe that the cuts they are being asked to take will be the last," he said.
"The solution to this dispute rests with management pulling back from its threat to cut pay and turning their attention to addressing the funding requirements of the company."
Siptu says costs have already been slashed by €73m (£58m) over the last four years. The company wants workers to take pay cuts between 1.7 and 6.1 per cent.
Three other unions swallowed the proposals, but Siptu and the NBRU rejected them.
The pay cuts introduced yesterday are to apply for just over two years, according to Irish Rail.