Rail passenger services in Ireland

Some services below usually, but not necessarily always, involve a change of trains. Changing points are shown in bold type. Usually services at different times of day will serve a different subset of the stations shown below. The "stations served" lists all possible stops for any train on a given route. As an example, some services to Limerick do not involve a change at Limerick Junction, and some services to Cork may stop at Limerick Junction, Charleville and Mallow only. With the re-opening of the Western Corridor line it can be seen that Ireland despite its apparent paucity of rail lines in fact has the possibility of having the best railway network in Europe (in terms of journey possibilities between important centres, either directly or with a single change). With an extension of the Western Rail corridor to Sligo and the re-opening of the derelict (but intact) line between Athlone and Mullingar, almost all journeys between important centres could be made by rail.

Dublin to Cork

 * Stations served - Dublin Heuston, Kildare, Portarlington, Portlaoise, Ballybrophy, Templemore, Thurles, Limerick Junction, Charleville, Mallow, Cork Kent

This was known as the 'Premier Line' of the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR), being one of the longest routes in the country (272 km or 170 miles), built to a high standard and connecting to Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Kerry as well as to Cork. These other destinations all have their own services, although connections are offered to/from the Cork service at Limerick Junction (for Limerick) and Mallow (for Kerry).

As of 2010 the line is getting a major upgrade. There are possessions of most sections of the line every night to carry out relaying. There is also major disruption & cancellations many weekends. All relaying is using a much heavier rail to give a much smoother ride on trains. The new track at 60 kg, is the same that is used on the TGV in France. As the upgrading continues there are many speed restrictions which is seriously affecting puncuality of trains. However it is hoped when the upgrading is finished to provide a much faster & comfortable journey for customers.

Dublin to Limerick
Stations served - Dublin Heuston, Newbridge, Kildare, Monasterevin, Portarlington, Portlaoise, Ballybrophy, Templemore, Thurles, Limerick Junction, Limerick Colbert

This service follows the Cork route as far as Limerick Junction. Limerick services leave the main line via a direct curve built in 1967, onto part of the former Waterford and Limerick Railway (W&LR). The former two hourly timetable operated by 22000 Class railcars was cut back in November 2009 when the number of direct trains between Dublin and Limerick was reduced to just three in each direction. The remaining Dublin-Limerick services involve a change at 'the Junction' from a Dublin-Cork or Dublin-Tralee service onto a local train for the remaining 30 minutes of the journey.

Dublin to Galway

 * Stations served - Dublin Heuston, Newbridge, Kildare, Monasterevin, Portarlington, Tullamore, Clara, Athlone, Ballinasloe, Woodlawn, Attymon, Athenry, Galway Ceannt

The present route, built by the GS&WR in competition with the MGWR, leaves the Cork main line just after Portarlington. The River Shannon is crossed at Athlone. Athenry, the last station before Galway, became a junction once again in 2010 with the reopening of the line to Limerick and will do so again if the planned reopening of the line to Tuam proceeds in accordance with Transport 21. In February 2011 planning permission was obtained for a station at Oranmore but since a timetable is not yet published it is unclear whether any intercity services will stop there.

All services are operated by 22000 railcars.

Dublin to Tralee

 * Stations served - Dublin Heuston, Portlaoise, Thurles, Limerick Junction, Charleville, Mallow, Banteer, Millstreet, Rathmore, Killarney, Farranfore, Tralee Casement

This relatively indirect route runs along what is in essence a branch line connected to the Cork–Dublin mainline at Mallow. Trains run to/from the south of Tralee. From the January 2007 Timetable there are now a record nine trains in each direction a day between Mallow and Tralee, up from eight trains each way in the previous timetable, including an early morning commuter service between Killarney and Tralee. All services are operated by 22000 railcars, with the exception of the very early morning service from Tralee to Cork and some Sunday services (From Tralee to Cork via Mallow) which are operated by a 2 carriage 2600 commuter set.

Dublin to Waterford

 * Stations served - Dublin Heuston, Newbridge, Kildare, Athy, Carlow, Muine Bheag (Bagenalstown), Kilkenny, Thomastown, Waterford Plunkett.

Since Kilkenny is a stub station, reversal is necessary. Non Passenger trains such as the DFDS Freight train from Ballina - Waterford avoid Kilkenny by using Lavistown loop which joins both lines going into Kilkenny. All direct services are operated by 22000 railcars. There is a service every 2 hours.

Dublin to Arklow/Rosslare Europort

 * Stations served - Dublin Connolly, Tara Street, Dublin Pearse, Bray Daly, Greystones, Kilcoole, Wicklow, Rathdrum, Arklow, Gorey, Enniscorthy, Wexford O'Hanrahan, Rosslare Strand, Rosslare Europort. There are 7 daily services to Arklow of which 5 go to Wexford and of which 3 go to Rosslare.

Dublin to Sligo

 * Stations served - Dublin Connolly, Maynooth, Kilcock, Enfield, Mullingar, Edgeworthstown, Longford, Dromod, Carrick-on-Shannon, Boyle, Ballymote, Collooney, Sligo McDiarmada. All services are operated by 22000 railcars with a service every 2 hours.

Dublin to Westport/Ballina

 * Stations served - Dublin Heuston, Newbridge, Kildare, Tullamore, Clara, Athlone, Roscommon, Castlerea, Ballyhaunis, Claremorris, Manulla Junction, (Foxford, Ballina) or (Castlebar, Westport).

The line is currently served primarily by a 22000 class DMU on Dublin - Westport, on the Manulla Junction - Ballina section a 2700 class diesel railcar operates from Manulla to Ballina.

Cork to Tralee

 * Stations served - Cork Kent, Mallow, Banteer, Millstreet, Rathmore, Killarney, Farranfore, Tralee Casement

This is a three times daily service with two trains departing in the morning and one in the evening. The service is run by IE 22000 Class.

Limerick to Waterford

 * Stations served - Limerick Colbert, Limerick Junction, Tipperary, Cahir, Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir and Waterford Plunkett.

The Limerick–Waterford route is the only true non-radial (from Dublin) route still open in Ireland that is not a branch line. The route was commenced in 1848 by the Waterford & Limerick Railway and finished in 1854.

Current timetabling requires passengers travelling from Limerick to Waterford to take two trains, transferring at Limerick Junction. As of March 2011 there are three services from Monday to Saturday between Waterford and Limerick Junction (departing 0640, 1240, 1645) and the same number returning (0850, 1500, 1850), with no service on Sundays. Services are operated by a single 2700 class diesel railcar set, and while stated line speed is 50mph the service is operated to a timetable reflecting 40mph limits. Delays between the Limerick and Waterford section services can be lengthy resulting in end-to-end journey times between the cities of 2.5 hours on a journey of 76.5 track miles.

Limerick to Galway
This service commenced 30 March 2010 with the reopening of the Ennis - Athenry Line. Direct trains now travel from Limerick - Galway. The Ennis Commuter services have been subsumed into these. There are also reopened stations at Gort, Ardrahan and Craughwell between Athenry and Ennis with Sixmilebridge reopened between Limerick and Ennis. All of the new stations are unstaffed. Gort has 2 platforms with lifts, bridges, ticket machines and a loop while Sixmilebridge, Ardrahan & Craughwell have just one platform each. In Gort the signal cabin has been restored and relocated and there is a small depot for permanent way crew. This reopening is Phase One of the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor. It involves the relaying of 58 km of track, rebuilding bridges, installation of signalling systems, level crossing upgrades and building the stations. The journey time between Limerick and Galway is just under 2 hours and there are 5 trains each way daily. The service is provided by two sets of 2700 railcars, one is from better utilisation of the existing Limerick - Ennis set and the other comes from the Cork - Tralee line, as it was replaced by a 22000 Railcar in May 2009. It is a long term objective to have three 3-car 22000 Class railcars to operate the line.

Limerick to Nenagh & Ballybrophy
This line is subject to many speed restrictions due to the need to replace several old sections of track. Stations served from Limerick Colbert are Castleconnell, Birdhill, Nenagh, Cloughjordan and Roscrea, terminating at Ballybrophy. The line branches from the Waterford line just outside Limerick at Killonan Junction. All trains on this line connect with Dublin trains at Ballybrophy. Current services on the line consist of two return passenger trains a day from Limerick. Following a campaign by The Nenagh Rail Partnership founded by local politicians and community representatives and assisted by the Internet news group Irish Railway News, a market research survey was funded by local Government. The market research was carried out in the summer of 2005 and showed there existed a market for improved services on the line. As a result of this study IÉ has committed to allocating additional rolling stock to the line as part of its ongoing fleet replacement programme. In October 2007, following a meeting between Iarnród Éireann management and The Nenagh Rail Partnership, it was confirmed that the new commuter service will be introduced between Nenagh and Limerick on 1 September 2008. This was launched as planned on 1 September 2008.

Waterford to Rosslare
Stations Served:Waterford Plunkett, Campile, Ballycullane, Wellingtonbridge, Bridgetown, Rosslare Strand, Rosslare Europort.

There was a single service each-way between Waterford-Rosslare stretch, operated by 2700 railcars taking just over 1 hour.

The service closed for passenger services on the 18th of September 2010.

The line is still open for stock transfers. 22000 and 29000 DMU's operated on the line on the 5th of November 2011.

Northern Ireland Routes
Services in Northern Ireland are sparse in comparison to the Republic or other countries. A large railway network was severely curtailed in the 1950s and 1960s (in particular by the Ulster Transport Authority). The current situation includes suburban services to Larne, Newry and Bangor, as well as services to Derry. There is also a branch from Coleraine to Portrush. On Northern Ireland Railways distances are quoted in miles and metres.

Belfast Suburban
Three suburban routes run on 20 minute frequencies in and out of Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station, these routes then pass through Belfast Central railway station before continuing onto destinations at Bangor, Derry, Larne and Newry.

Belfast to Derry

 * Stations served: Great Victoria Street, City Hospital, Botanic, Belfast Central, Yorkgate (partial service), Whiteabbey (partial service), Mossley West, Antrim, Ballymena, Cullybackey, Ballymoney, Coleraine, Castlerock, Bellarena, Derry.

The service to Derry has suffered greatly from a lack of funding over recent decades. The existing line is not continuously welded and has speed restrictions in parts. For some time the threat of closure hung over this route but its future was assured in December 2005 with a funding package of some £20 million. The same month saw the introduction of the new CAF railcars on the line and despite the fact that the service remained slower than the Derry-Belfast Ulsterbus service, the improvements saw a rise in passenger numbers to over 1 million per annum. However, these optimistic signs that the line would be retained and possibly upgraded rather than wound down, suffered a blow in 2007 when it was revealed that the £20 million earmarked had not been spent while there had been a £20 million overspend on the Belfast-Bangor line. While the "Into the West" rail lobby group had proposed extending the line cross border into Donegal to Letterkenny and then on to Sligo thus releasing EU funding Currently, the Department has put a plan in place for Regional Development, for relaying of the track between Derry and Coleraine by 2013, which will include a passing loop, and the introduction of two new train sets. The £86 million plan will reduce the journey time between Belfast and Derry by 30 minutes and allow commuter trains to arrive in Derry before 0900 for the first time. There are also calls for Train halts to be located at Limavady, Ballykelly and possibly Eglinton.

Coleraine to Portrush

 * Stations served: Coleraine, University of Ulster, Dhu Varren, Portrush.

Belfast to Larne Harbour
Stations - Belfast Great Victoria Street, City Hospital, Botanic, Belfast Central, Yorkgate, Whiteabbey, Jordanstown, Greenisland, Trooperslane, Clipperstown, Carrickfergus, Downshire, Whitehead, Ballycarry, Magheramorne, Glynn, Larne Town, Larne Harbour.

Belfast to Dublin / Dublin to Belfast

 * Stations served - Belfast Central, Lisburn, Portadown, Newry, Dundalk, Drogheda, Dublin Connolly

This service, named Enterprise, is jointly owned and run by Northern Ireland Railways and IÉ. Despite having some of the most modern intercity rolling stock on the island, it has been dogged by numerous problems. An historical problem on this route has been disruption to services caused by security alerts (devices on the line, hoax devices, threats and warnings). These continue to the present day.

The punctuality on this service remains poor for other reasons also. The intercity route, despite being mostly high quality continuous welded rail, is shared with suburban services outside both Belfast and Dublin. Unfortunately these are the busiest suburban routes on the island while only double-track is provided; hence very little mishap is required to disrupt the Enterprise service. In theory the trip should take 2 hours and 10 minutes – there have been occasions where this has become almost 5 hours. To drive between the cities (which is nearly all motorway/dual carriageway) can take under 2 hours, although congestion can be expected, especially at peak times.

A further problem is due to the locomotive and rolling stock arrangements. Unlike most other locomotive-hauled rolling stock in Ireland, generator vans are not part of the train – even the DVTs do not supply power. Thus the General Motors-built locomotives must supply head-end power for lighting and heating throughout the train. Although many types of locomotive are well designed for this purpose, these particular locomotives have struggled under the extra strain. The wear on the locos and time out of service are unusually high. On at least two occasions locomotives have burst into flames while shuttling along the route.

A more recent problem has been the collapse of the Malahide viaduct, which temporarily stopped all Enterprise services from Dublin to Belfast for 3 months in 2009, The viaduct has since been repaired and the line re-opened.

Following the extension of platform 2 to accommodate the longer Enterprise, Lisburn has recently been added as an additional stop on some services.