Rail transport in Ireland (InterCity, commuter and freight) is provided by

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national Rail transport in Ireland, railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal In ...

in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

and by

Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink (Northern Ire ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

. Most routes in the Republic radiate from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

. Northern Ireland has suburban routes from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

and two main InterCity lines, to

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. Th ...

and cross-

border Borders are usually defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political bo ...

to Dublin. The accompanying map of the current railway network shows lines that are fully operational (in red), carrying freight only traffic (in black) and with dotted black lines those which have been "mothballed" (i.e. closed to traffic but potentially easy to re-open). Some airports are indicated but none are rail-connected, although

Kerry Airport Kerry Airport ( gle, Aerfort Chiarraí; ), often called Farranfore Airport, is an international airport in Farranfore, County Kerry, Ireland. It is north of the Ring of Kerry and southeast of the county's capital Tralee. Passenger services ...

and

Belfast City Airport George Best Belfast City Airport is a single-runway airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated in County Down, it is adjacent to the Port of Belfast and is from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Spirit AeroSystems (fo ...

are within walking distance of a railway station. Both the

City of Derry Airport City of Derry Airport , previously known as RAF Eglinton and Londonderry Eglinton Airport, is a regional airport located northeast of Derry, Northern Ireland. It is located on the south bank of Lough Foyle, a short distance from the village ...

and Belfast International (Aldergrove) are near railway lines but not connected. Ports are marked, although few remain rail-connected.

Dublin Port Dublin Port ( ga, Calafort Átha Cliath) is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on t ...

, Larne Harbour,

Belview Port "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

and

Rosslare Europort Rosslare Europort ( ga, Europort Ros Láir) is a modern seaport located at Rosslare Harbour in County Wexford, Ireland, near the southeasternmost point of the island of Ireland. The port is the premier Irish port serving the European Conti ...

are ports that are still connected. Ireland's only light rail service, named

Luas Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both lin ...

, is in Dublin. No metro lines currently exist in Ireland, but there is a planned MetroLink line which would serve Dublin.

History

Map Rail Ireland Viceregal Commission 1906

The first railway in Ireland opened in 1834. At its peak in 1920, Ireland had of railway; now only about one third of this remains. A large area around the border has no rail service. Ireland's first light rail line was opened on 30 June 2004.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

Diesel traction is the sole form of motive power in both the IÉ and NIR networks, apart from the electrified Howth/Malahide-Greystones (DART) suburban route in Dublin. Apart from prototypes and a small number of shunting locomotives, the first major

dieselisation Dieselisation (US: dieselization) is the process of equipping vehicles with a diesel engine or diesel engines. It can involve replacing an internal combustion engine powered by petrol (gasoline) fuel with an engine powered by diesel fuel, as o ...

programme in CIÉ commenced in the early 1950s with orders for 94 locomotives of two sizes (A and C classes) from

Metropolitan-Vickers Metropolitan-Vickers, Metrovick, or Metrovicks, was a British heavy electrical engineering company of the early-to-mid 20th century formerly known as British Westinghouse. Highly diversified, it was particularly well known for its industrial el ...

which were delivered from 1955, with a further twelve (B class) locomotives from Sulzer in the late 1950s. Following poor reliability experience with the first generation diesel locomotives, in the 1960s a second dieselisation programme was undertaken with the introduction of sixty-four locomotives in three classes (121, 141 and 181) built by General Motors, of the United States. This programme, together with line closures, enabled CIÉ to re-eliminate steam traction in 1963, having previously done so on the CIÉ network prior to taking over its share of the Great Northern Railway. In parallel, NIR acquired three locomotives from Hunslet, of England, for Dublin-Belfast services. The Metropolitan-Vickers locomotives were re-engined by CIÉ in the early 1970s with General Motors engines. The third generation of diesel traction in Ireland was the acquisition of eighteen locomotives from General Motors of 2475 h.p. output, designated the 071 class, in 1976. This marked a significant improvement in the traction power available to CIÉ and enabled the acceleration of express passenger services. NIR subsequently purchased three similar locomotives for Dublin-Belfast services, which was the first alignment of traction policies by CIÉ and NIR. A fourth generation of diesels took the form of thirty-four locomotives, again from General Motors, which arrived in the early 1990s. This was a joint order by IÉ and NIR, with thirty-two locomotives for the former and two for the latter. They were again supplied by

General Motors Electro-Motive Division Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its sub ...

. IÉ designated their locomotives the GM 201 class; numbered 201 to 234 (the NIR locomotives were later prefixed with an 8). These locomotives are the most powerful diesels to run in Ireland, and are of 3200 horsepower (2.5 MW), which enabled further acceleration of express services. The NIR locomotives, although shipped in NIR livery, were repainted in 'Enterprise' livery, as were six of the IÉ locomotives. The 071 class are now used on freight services. NIR's three similar locomotives are numbered 111, 112 and 113. There is seldom more than one of these serviceable at a time.

Multiple units

NIR and IÉ both run suburban services using diesel multiple units (DMUs) – these are termed railcars in Ireland (see

rail terminology Rail or rails may refer to: Rail transport *Rail transport and related matters * Rail (rail transport) or railway lines, the running surface of a railway Arts and media Film * ''Rails'' (film), a 1929 Italian film by Mario Camerini * ''Rail'' ...

Iarnród Éireann railcars

IÉ DMUs operate all InterCity services apart from Dublin to Cork and Dublin to Belfast (one service per week from

Dublin Connolly Connolly station ( ga, Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile) or Dublin Connolly is one of the busiest railway stations in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides Inte ...

and back is Railcar). Iarnród Éireann 22000 Class InterCity Railcars There are 234 22000 Class carriages in total, being formed into the following sets: *Ten 5-car sets – Each set includes a 1st Class Carriage and a Dining Carriage. They are used on key InterCity services between Dublin and Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Westport and Tralee. *Twenty-five 4-car sets – These mostly operate on their own or with a 3-car unit. They serve lesser-used InterCity services and most Dublin to Sligo and Rosslare services. *Twenty-eight 3-car sets – These mostly operate in pairs. They serve lesser-used InterCity services and many Dublin Commuter services. Features of the InterCity Railcar fleet include: *Automatic PA and information display systems *Electronic seat reservation displays for web bookings *Fully air-conditioned *Internal CCTV system *Sleek carriage design *Advanced safety features throughout

Iarnród Éireann commuter railcars

IÉ introduced 17 new suburban railcars in 1994 as the 2600 Class (built by

Tokyu Car is a manufacturer of heavy rail cars in Japan, formerly known as . The company is based in Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, and a member of East Japan Railway Company (JR East) group. J-TREC manufactures rail vehicles not only for JR East and Tokyu Corp ...

, Japan) for the

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cent ...

'Arrow' suburban service. Further additions to the fleet were made in 1997 (twenty-seven 2700 Class,

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Av ...

built, now withdrawn), 2000 (twenty 2800 Class, Tokyu Car built) and 2003 (eighty 29000 class, CAF built). When the 29000 Class was introduced all Irish railcars were re-branded from 'Arrow' to 'Commuter'. A further nine 4-car 29000 Class trainsets arrived in 2005.

NIR railcars

NIR replaced their ageing DMUs with

Class 3000 A cleanroom or clean room is an engineered space, which maintains a very low concentration of airborne particulates. It is well isolated, well-controlled from contamination, and actively cleansed. Such rooms are commonly needed for scientif ...

and Class 4000 regional railcars built by CAF, which arrived in 2005 and 2011, respectively.

Coaching stock

Mark 4 carriages

's flagship InterCity fleet are the

Mark 4 Mark 4 is the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It tells the parable of the Sower, with its explanation, and the parable of the Mustard Seed. Both of these parables are paralleled in Matthew an ...

Built by CAF of Spain in 2004–2005 they are formed into 8-car push-pull sets. Each set contains (in order): *GM 201 class locomotive *5 Standard class carriages *1 restaurant carriage *1 'Citygold' (first class) carriage *Generator Control Car The Mark 4 trains have blue tinted windows, which help to create a cool journey for the passenger, electronic route maps showing train progress, electronic seat reservation displays and power points for laptops, or recharging tablets, MP3 players or mobile phones. Citygold customers on this fleet have the added features of adjustable seating, greater room and comfort and in-seat audio entertainment. They are used exclusively on the Dublin to Cork route; operating an hourly service each way. The Mark 4 trains are capable of speeds of up to , but are limited by the maximum line speed of and the locomotive.

Enterprise services

The Dublin to Belfast '

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

' service is operated jointly by IÉ and NIR with

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can ...

from

De Dietrich The history of the de Dietrich family has been linked to that of France and of Europe for over three centuries. To this day, the company that bears the family name continues to play a major role in the economic life of Alsace. De Dietrich is a h ...

, commissioned in 1997. Four Mark 3 Generator vans were introduced in September 2012. Until then, 201 Class locomotives were required to supply

head-end power In rail transport, head-end power (HEP), also known as electric train supply (ETS), is the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive (or a generator car) at the front or 'head' of a train, p ...

(HEP) for heating and lighting. Iarnrod Eireann Class 201

Previous stock

NIR also had a number of refurbished Class 488 carriages acquired from the

Gatwick Express Gatwick Express is a high-frequency rail passenger service between , Gatwick Airport, and in South East England. It is the brand name used by the Govia Thameslink Railway train operating company on the Gatwick Express route of the Thameslink, ...

service and converted to run on the Irish gauge. These were generally referred to as 'the Gatwicks'. They were in use from 2001 until June 2009.

Passenger services

Below is a list of all passenger routes on the island of Ireland. Please note the following when examining routes: # Services below usually, but not necessarily always, involve a change of trains. Changing points are shown in bold type. # 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.

Republic of Ireland InterCity routes

Dublin to Cork

Stations served on this line are *

Dublin Heuston Heuston Station ( ; ga, Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iar ...

* Portarlington *

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050, which was well above ...

Ballybrophy Ballybrophy (historically ''Ballybrohy'', from ) is a village in County Laois, Ireland. It had a population of 145 as of the 2002 census, and forms part of the Borris-in-Ossory electoral area. It is best known for the Ballybrophy railway statio ...

Templemore Templemore () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. The 2011 Ce ...

Thurles Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles. The cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdi ...

Limerick Junction Limerick Junction ( ga, Gabhal Luimnigh) is the interchange railway station for trains originating in , , , , and stations. The station opened on 3 July 1848. The station was highly noted for its layout which prior to 1967 required every t ...

* Charleville * Mallow * Cork Kent This was known as the 'Premier Line' of the

Great Southern and Western Railway The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The GS&WR grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the l ...

(GS&WR), being one of the longest routes in the country (266 km or 165 miles), built to a high standard and connecting to Galway, Limerick, Waterford and

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

as well as to

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

. 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 2019 the line is receiving a major upgrade focusing this year between Newbridge and Ballybrophy. There are possessions of most sections of the line every night to carry out relaying. There are also disruptions and cancellations on most 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 speed restrictions which are affecting punctuality of trains. A new platform is under construction at Limerick Junction on the down line which will reduce conflicts and reduce journey times by 3–5 minutes. A fourth track is planned between Park West-Cherry Orchard and Heuston which is also intended to further reduce journey times. As of 2019, 13 out of 29 services on the route daily are delivered in 2 hours 30 mins or under. 11 trains operate the service in between 2 hours 30 mins and 2 hours 35 mins, with all services 2 hours 40 mins or less. An early morning express service from Cork to Dublin makes the non-stop journey in 2 hours 15 mins.

Dublin to Limerick

Stations served on this line are: *

* Sallins and Naas *

Newbridge Newbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Newbridge, New South Wales *Newbridge, Victoria * Newbridge Heights Public School England * Newbridge, Bath, electoral ward *Newbridge, Cornwall, three places in Cornwall with the same name * Newbridge, ...

Monasterevin Monasterevin (), also Monasterevan, and Mevin is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. The town lies on the River Barrow and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. The population was 4,246 at the 2016 Census. Location and Access Si ...

* Portarlington *

* *

* 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 The Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway (WL&WR), formerly the Waterford and Limerick Railway up to 1896, was at the time it was amalgamated with the Great Southern and Western Railway in 1901 the fourth largest railway in Ireland, with a mai ...

(W&LR). The former two hourly timetable operated by 22000 Class railcars was cut back in November 2009 when the number of direct trains was reduced to three from Dublin to Limerick and four from Limerick to Dublin. On Sunday there are 6 trains in each direction. The remaining Dublin-Limerick-Ennis services involve a change at 'Limerick Junction' from a Dublin-Cork or Dublin-Tralee service onto a

local train Regional rail, also known as local trains and stopping trains, are passenger rail services that operate between towns and cities. These trains operate with more stops over shorter distances than inter-city rail, but fewer stops and faster serv ...

for the remaining 30 minutes of the journey.

Dublin to Galway

Stations served on this line are: *

* Sallins and Naas (peak times only) *

* Portarlington *

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...

Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-c ...

* Woodlawn * Attymon *

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virtu ...

Oranmore Oranmore ( or ''Úarán Mór'') is a town near the city of Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib bet ...

* 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 The River Shannon ( ga, Abhainn na Sionainne, ', '), at in length, is the longest river in the British Isles. It drains the Shannon River Basin, which has an area of , – approximately one fifth of the area of the island of Ireland. The Sha ...

is crossed at Athlone. Athenry, the second last station before Galway, became a junction once again in 2010 with the reopening of the line to Limerick and would do so again if the planned reopening of the line to

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bronz ...

proceeds in accordance with

Transport 21 Transport 21 was an Irish infrastructure plan, announced in November 2005. Its aims were to greatly expand Ireland's transport network. A cost estimate of €34 billion was attached to the plan at the time. The plan included continuing inve ...

. In February 2011 planning permission was obtained for a station at

and opened 28 July 2013. All services are operated by 22000 Class railcars. As of 2019, journey times range between 2 hours 11 minutes to 2 hours 37 minutes. 8 services operate in 2 hours 20 mins or less Monday to Friday. There are 9 direct trains in each direction Monday–Thursday. On Friday the 07:35 express Heuston goes to Westport instead of Galway but there is a connecting train to Galway from Athlone. For the college term there is an extra service from Galway to Dublin at 15:35.

Dublin to Tralee

Stations served on this line are: *

* (1 train on Sunday) * Portarlington,

* Charleville * Mallow *

Banteer Banteer () is a village in north County Cork, Ireland located in the Civic Parish of Clonmeen in the Barony of Duhallow. It is near the town of Mallow. Banteer is within the Cork North-West Dáil constituency. History In 1651, the Battle of K ...

Millstreet Millstreet () is a town in north County Cork, Ireland, with a population of 1,555 (as of 2016). Millstreet is within the civil parish of Drishane, and within a Poor Law Union also called Millstreet. The Millstreet Union encompasses the civil ...

* Rathmore *

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross ...

Farranfore Farranfore () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. It lies on the N22 road approximately midway between Tralee (10 miles or 17 km) and Killarney (9 miles or 15 km) and on the railway line connecting the two towns. Farranfo ...

* 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. As of 2017 there were eight trains from Mallow to

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in Coun ...

and nine trains the other way around. All services are operated by 22000 Class 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 Class Commuter set. There is one service a day from Dublin Heuston to Tralee in each direction Monday to Friday. On Sunday there is two trains from Heuston to Tralee and three from Tralee to Heuston. Journey times range from 3 hours 40 minutes to 3 hours 53 minutes. On this line, Farranfore railway station provides a direct connection with

Dublin to Waterford

Stations served on this line are: *

* Hazelhatch and Celbridge * Sallins and Naas *

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Ki ...

Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...

Muine Bheag Bagenalstown ( ), officially named Muine Bheag (), is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland. History and name The town grew within the townland of Moneybeg, from Irish ''Muine Bheag'' or ''Muinebheag'' (meaning "small th ...

* Kilkenny MacDonagh *

Thomastown Thomastown (), historically known as Grennan, is a town in County Kilkenny in the province of Leinster in the south-east of Ireland. It is a market town along a stretch of the River Nore which is known for its salmon and trout, with a number of ...

* Waterford Plunkett Since Kilkenny is a stub station, reversal is necessary. Non Passenger trains such as the DFDS Freight train from Ballina to Waterford avoid Kilkenny by using Lavistown loop which joins both lines going into Kilkenny. Some passenger trains use the loop to reducing the journey time.

Dublin to Westport/Ballina

Stations served on this line are: *

* Portarlington *

Roscommon Roscommon (; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The name Roscommon is derived from Coman mac Faelchon who bui ...

Castlerea Castlerea (; ) is the third largest town in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and had a population of 1,992 at the 2016 Census. Roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea is generally thought to mean 'brindled ca ...

Ballyhaunis Ballyhaunis () is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is at the crossroads of the N60 and N83 National secondary roads and on the railway line linking Dublin to Westport and Ballina. It is thought that the town grew up around St Mary's Augu ...

Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. It is the fastest growing town in the county. There was a 31% increase in the town's population between 2006 and 2011 an ...

Manulla Junction Manulla Junction railway station is a transfer point for train passengers in County Mayo, Ireland. Description Passengers cannot enter or leave the station; it is only for passengers travelling to or from Foxford or Ballina, who transfer to ...

(

Foxford Foxford () is a village 16 km south of Ballina in County Mayo, Ireland. It stands on the N26 national primary route from Swinford to Ballina and has a railway station served by trains between Manulla Junction and Ballina. Foxford lies ...

– Ballina or

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wit ...

– Westport) The line is served primarily by a 22000 Class DMU on Dublin–Westport. On the Manulla Junction – Ballina section a 2800 Class diesel railcar operates. There are 3 services a day from Heuston to Westport and 5 From Westport to Heuston Monday to Thursday and on Friday the 07:35 Heuston to Galway goes to Westport and the 09:08 Athlone to Westport goes to Galway and then the 17:10 Heuston to Athlone is extended to Westport and there is 5 trains from Westport to Heuston. There is also 1 service daily from Athlone to Westport Monday to Thursday. Journey times range from 3 hours 6 minutes to 3 hours 44 minutes.

Dublin to Gorey/Rosslare Europort

Stations served on this line are: *

Tara Street Tara Street is a major traffic route in Dublin, Ireland, partly due to the current one-way traffic flow in the city centre.

* Dublin Pearse * Dún Laoghaire Mallin * Bray Daly *

Greystones Greystones () is a coastal town and seaside resort in County Wicklow, Ireland. It lies on Ireland's east coast, south of Bray and south of Dublin city centre and has a population of 18,140 (2016). The town is bordered by the Irish Sea to ...

Kilcoole Kilcoole () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is three kilometres (2 miles) south of Greystones, 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of Wicklow, and about 28 kilometres (17 miles) south of Dublin. It was used as the set for the Irish tel ...

(limited service) *

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; ga, Cill Mhantáin , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; non, Víkingaló) is the county town of County Wicklow in Ireland. It is located south of Dublin on the east coast of the island. According to the 2016 census, it has ...

* Rathdrum *

Arklow Arklow (; ; , ) is a town in County Wicklow on the southeast coast of Ireland. The town is overlooked by Ballymoyle Hill. It was founded by the Vikings in the ninth century. Arklow was the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the 1798 r ...

Gorey Gorey () is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland. It is beside the main M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the railway network along the same route. Local newspapers include the ''Gorey Guardian''. As a growi ...

Enniscorthy Enniscorthy () is the second-largest town in County Wexford, Ireland. At the 2016 census, the population of the town and environs was 11,381. The town is located on the picturesque River Slaney and in close proximity to the Blackstairs Mounta ...

Wexford O'Hanrahan Wexford O'Hanrahan railway station is a railway station located in Wexford Town in County Wexford, Ireland. Description The station is part of the Dublin–Rosslare railway line. It is staffed and fully accessible. It consists of a single ...

Rosslare Strand Rosslare Strand, or simply Rosslare ( or 'middle wood'), is a village and seaside resort in County Wexford, Ireland. The name Rosslare Strand is used to distinguish it from the nearby community of Rosslare Harbour, site of the Rosslare Europort. ...

There are four end to end journeys in each direction Mondays to Fridays inclusive, the first of which from Rosslare Europort extends beyond Dublin to Dundalk. An early morning Gorey to Connolly commuter service which, on its evening return, extends to Wexford also operates. On Saturdays and Sundays there are three end to end journeys each way plus a Gorey to Dundalk Commuter service. The 16:37 Dublin Connolly to Rosslare Europort Mondays to Fridays journey offers connectional opportunities into ships to Wales and France. Some peak services also stop at Lansdowne Road station as well and some services skip Kilcoole. This service has the slowest average speed at roughly 53 kilometres per hour. Services are either ICR's of 29000 commuter trains. A resignalling project in Dublin increases the ability of Iarnród Éireann to run 12 to 20 trains per hour in both directions through the Howth Junction to Grand Canal Dock line, which caters for Howth DARTs, Malahide DARTs, Northern Commuter trains, Belfast Enterprise services, Sligo InterCity and Maynooth Commuter services, as well as other services in the

Connolly Connolly may refer to: People * Connolly (surname) Places * Connolly, Western Australia, a suburb in Perth, Western Australia * Connolly, County Clare, Ireland * Connolly Park in Collooney, County Sligo, Ireland * Dublin Connolly railway station ...

to Grand Canal Dock area.

Dublin to Sligo

Stations served on this line are: *

* Drumcondra (peak times only) *

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick ...

Kilcock Kilcock () is a town and townland in the north of County Kildare, Ireland, on the border with County Meath. Its population of 6,093 makes it the ninth largest town in Kildare and 76th largest in Ireland. The town is located 35 km (22 ...

* Enfield *

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmea ...

Edgeworthstown Edgeworthstown or Mostrim () is a small town in County Longford, Ireland. The town is in the east of the county, near the border with County Westmeath. Nearby towns are Longford 12 km to the west, Mullingar 26 km to the east, Athlone 4 ...

Longford Longford () is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It has a population of 10,008 according to the 2016 census. It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meet ...

Dromod Dromod () is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland. Dromod is a noted fishing village beside Bofin and Boderg, which are threaded by the River Shannon. Built along the River Shannon, this is a Tidy Towns winner with a modern harbour frequented ...

Carrick-on-Shannon Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of County Leitrim in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is ...

Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...

Ballymote Ballymote () is a market town in southern County Sligo, approx. 24 km south east of Sligo town in the province of Connacht, which is located in the north-west of Ireland. Ballymote lies in the barony of Corran. A commuter town with a ...

Collooney Collooney or Coloony () is a town in County Sligo, Ireland. Toponymy Collooney is thought to derive from . Reverend Terrence O'Rorke has previously also suggested ''Culmaine'', as Collooney is designated this way in such works as '' the annal ...

* Sligo Mac Diarmada All services are operated by 22000 Class railcars with a service every 2 hours until 7 pm. The first Sunday service from Dublin is operated by 29000 Class railcars. This returns from Sligo at 6 pm. Only peak services call at Drumcondra.

Cork to Tralee

Stations served on this line are: * Cork Kent * Mallow *

* Rathmore *

* 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 a 22000 Class.

Farranfore railway station Farranfore railway station serves the village of Farranfore in County Kerry, Ireland. It is located a short distance away from Kerry Airport. History The station opened on 18 July 1859 as part of the Tralee & Killarney Railway which opened on ...

connects with

Limerick to Waterford

Stations served on this line are: * Limerick Colbert *

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

Cahir Cahir (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the barony of Iffa and Offa West. Location and access For much of the twentieth century, Cahir stood at an intersection of two busy national roadways: the Dubl ...

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Drogheda and Wexford. With the exception of the townland ...

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on th ...

* 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 completed in 1854. Timetabling, as of 2019, requires passengers to change at Limerick Junction. There are two services per day, each way, with no service on Sundays or Public Holidays. Timetabled journey times vary between 2hrs35mins & 2hrs43mins.

Limerick–Ennis–Galway

Stations served on this line are: * Limerick Colbert *

Sixmilebridge Sixmilebridge (), is a large village in County Clare, Ireland. Located midway between Ennis and Limerick city, the village is a short distance away from the main N18 road. Sixmilebridge partly serves as a dormitory village for workers in the ...

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, ...

Ardrahan Ardrahan () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall contains the remains ...

Craughwell Craughwell (historically ''Creaghmoyle'', from ) is a town and townland in County Galway, Ireland. Name The name Craughwell is also used as a surname, properly '' Ó Creachmhaoil'', though often anglicised as ''Craughwell'', ''Croughwell'' and ...

* Galway Ceannt This service started 30 March 2010 with the reopening of the

–

line. Direct trains now travel from

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

with the Ennis commuter services have been subsumed into these. All of the new stations are unstaffed. Gort has two platforms with lifts, bridges, ticket machines and a loop while Sixmilebridge, Ardrahan and 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 was the Phase One of the reopening of the

Western Rail Corridor The Western Railway Corridor is a term, used since , for a partly disused railway line running through the west of Ireland. Currently two sections of the line, from Limerick via Ennis to Athenry and from Collooney to Sligo, see regular services ...

. It involved 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 line has seen some growth, with the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' reporting that from 2013 to 2014, "the western rail corridor saw a 72.5 per cent increase from 29,000 to 50,000 journeys through the Ennis–Athenry section of the line", which was partly attributed to the introduction of online booking and promotional fares.

Republic of Ireland commuter routes

Dublin Suburban Rail

* ''

Dublin Area Rapid Transit The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (stylised as DART) is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. The service makes up the core of Dublin's suburban railway network, stretching from Gre ...

(DART)'' –

Howth Howth ( ; ; non, Hǫfuð) is an affluent peninsular village and outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The district as a whole occupies the greater part of the peninsula of Howth Head, which forms the northern boundary of Dublin Bay, and include ...

Malahide Malahide ( ; ) is an affluent coastal settlement in Fingal, County Dublin, Ireland, situated north of Dublin city. It has a village centre surrounded by suburban housing estates, with a population of over 17,000. Malahide Castle dates from th ...

. * ''Northern Commuter'' – Dublin Pearse to

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is hal ...

* ''South Eastern Commuter'' –

. * ''South Western Commuter'' –

Grand Canal Dock Grand Canal Dock () is a Southside area near the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. It is located on the border of eastern Dublin 2 and the westernmost pa