Travelling By Train FAQ
Following feedback through our Disability User Group from customers with a disability, particularly those customers with Autism, Asperger’s, Brain injuries, Alzheimer’s and Dementia, a Quieter coach was requested to offer an enhanced experience when travelling on Mark IV, Iarnród Éireann intercity services.
No, the Quieter coach is available for all customers.
Iarnród Éireann has a nationwide rail network. The Intercity routes cover major cities and towns around the country. Commuter Rail covers commuter routes to Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick. DART serves Greystones to Howth/Malahide.
There are no plans at present to introduce the Quieter coach on other routes.
Priority Seating is available on all our services and are available for those who need them most, like customers with a disability which can often be hidden, a customer who is pregnant and elderly customers.
Hidden disability, sometimes termed invisible disability, is defined as a disability that is not immediately apparent. 80% of disabilities are invisible.
The Priority Seating area is located close to the entrance on all our train sets to make it as easy as possible for customers.
Most people are happy to give up their seat to someone more in need of it. Simply show your JAM card or Please Offer Me A Seat badge to someone sitting in a priority seat and they’ll see that you have a need for one of these seats.
Our customers have told us that this helps to avoid embarrassment. You are not guaranteed a seat if the priority seats are already taken by others with priority cards or who otherwise needs to sit down.
Go to our Travelling with Animals section for information.
In the Quieter coach, the noise should be kept down. Music through headphones should be kept quiet enough as to not disturb other customers and conversations should be conducted quietly.
Route: Dublin to Cork, Fleet: Mark IV, Coach G.
Yes. There are a limited number of wheelchair accessible spaces on each train, it is important therefore that you book your space in advance.
You can book this space by contacting your local station and advising them of the date(s) and service(s) you intend to travel on. They will then record this and make sure that a staff member is available to assist you on the day(s) of travel.
Alternatively, you can reserve the wheelchair space on a number of Dublin/Cork services. To do this you need to do the following;- Input your travel criteria and click 'Go'
- Select the service(s) you wish to travel on
- Choose the number of tickets required and click 'Buy Ticket' (If you are in possession of a DSP pass then you need to select 'Reserve Seat Only'.)
- Input name(s) of passengers
- Click 'Select Your Own Seat'
- Click the wheelchair icon if available and proceed with booking.
Trains with wide, power- operated doors and dedicated wheelchair spaces operate on most of our services. It should be noted that some stations there is a gap between the platform and the carriages which may create difficulty for people who are visually impaired or have mobility impairments and assistance may be required when boarding or alighting from the train.
We can accommodate wheelchair or powered scooters up to 700mm in width and 1200 mm long (including footplates) height 1435mm including occupant a maximum weight of 300kg including occupant and a turning radius of 900mm.
For safety reasons if your wheelchair or mobility scooter is larger that the permitted dimensions, we cannot accept it as the wheelchair or scooter may not be able to turn corners on board the train.
If your train is delayed, any assistance booked will still be available unless otherwise communicated. Through the app, you will be able to cancel your own attendance as well as receive notification regarding changes to service.
A Master Hub will be notified of any disruptions that occur that may mean a break in service for an individual requiring assistance (prior to boarding or during journey). An operative from this Master Hub will then contact you directly to come to the best resolution.
300,000 with the disabilities listed above could potentially benefit from using the Quieter coach.
- Online
- Printable timetable
- Talking Timetable 1890 77 88 99
- Contact your local station
From the 7th October 2024, the carriage of e-scooters on-board rail services is prohibited for safety reasons and to help prevent the risk of on-board combustion. This includes those that can be folded or carried, as per the guidance document published by the National Transport Authority (NTA). Further information can be found on the NTA website.
On-board catering resumes on the Cork to Dublin route from the 24th April. A limited service will operate initially with more services being added over the following weeks. From the 15th May a full trolley service will be in place on all Dublin to Cork and Cork to Dublin services.
Customers please note, all catering services are cashless and cash will not be accepted on board.
On-board catering is available on the Dublin - Belfast Enterprise services.Retail / catering facilities are available at many of our stations.
Go to our Catering section for more information.
For your own comfort it is best to avoid rush hour times. These are approximately between:
- 07:00 hrs and 09:00 hrs and between
- 17:00 hrs and 19:00 hrs weekdays
Friday afternoon and evenings are very busy on Intercity routes. Intercity trains are also very busy on Sunday evenings returning to Dublin.
The door of Coach G will be branded as Quieter Coach.
Inside the Quieter coach there will be internal decals advising customers that they are sitting in a Quieter Coach. The PIS scroll will state that Coach G is the Quieter coach.
When the customer clicks into Coach G, the Quieter coach header and purple seats will appear as per display below.
Yes, London North Eastern Railway have been operating a Quieter coach and feedback from customers has been positive.
Nearly 90 per cent of respondents to a Transport for New South Wales in Australia survey on the quieter coach trial said travelling in quieter carriages had improved their overall travel experience.
For more information on bicycle carriage, please click here for our Bicycle Information section.
Yes you can
The Quieter coach will commence from Monday 7th November