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Yes, Annual cards are available on Leap cards in Cork.

Yes, see our Cork Smart Card section for further details on products available and applicable routes.

When you get close to a Daily or Weekly Cap you will only be charged the amount to bring you up to the Cap. After you have reached a Cap you will be charged €0.00 for subsequent travel that day or over the Week (Mon-Sun). Make sure you still 'touch-on' and 'touch-off' your Leap Card even when you have reached the daily or weekly cap.

Yes. You can reserve a seat where available by selecting a Reserve Seat Only

Each year Iarnród Éireann carries over 38 million passengers on its Intercity, DART and Commuter trains. If even a small percentage of passengers failed to pay for their tickets, the revenue lost to Iarnród Éireann would be substantial.

Fare evasion is a criminal offence. You must purchase a valid ticket for the journey you are making before you get on any train. If you do not have a valid ticket or validated Leap/Smart card when asked to produce your ticket, you can be prosecuted in the District Court under the Railway Safety Act 2005. A passenger who travels without a valid ticket faces a fine of up to €1,000 on conviction in the District Court as well as legal costs.

If you cannot produce a valid ticket when requested to do so by an authorised officer, you may be issued with a Fixed Payment Notice. This means that if you wish to avoid a court appearance and the possibility of receiving a criminal conviction, you may pay a fine of €100 plus your unpaid fare. The Fixed Payment option is only available for a period of 21 days as set out in the Railway Safety Act. If the fine is not paid within that period, a summons will issue and legal costs will be incurred.

If you have been issued with a Fixed Payment Notice you can pay it online.

• Pay Online Now using a credit/ debit card
• By telephone - Call the Customer Contact Centre
• By Post - Postal Orders and Bank Drafts will only be accepted if made payable to Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail and should be forwarded to the Revenue Protection Unit, Irish Rail, Connolly Station, Amiens Street, Dublin 1.

You are responsible for ensuring that you buy a ticket that is valid for your entire journey before travelling.  If you cannot produce a valid ticket when requested to do so by an authorised officer, you will be issued with a Fixed Payment Notice.

No. It is your responsibility to allow yourself reasonable time to buy a ticket before travelling. Ticket Vending Machines are provided at stations. Tickets can also be bought in advance of travel from ticket offices or on line at www.irishrail.ie 

Step by Step guide to setting up a new account

An Irish Rail account will allow you to view your recent bookings, save and edit your personal details as well as see important news and special offers from Irish Rail.

If you set up an account with Irish Rail on our old website it is likely that you will now need to create a new account. Accounts can only be set up through the booking process.

• Step 1 - Book a journey on the Irish rail journey planner, selecting the departure and arrival locations, dates, number of passengers and seats as normal

• Step 2 - After the seat selection page you will be brought to the account page. Here you will be given the choice to log in with your Irish Rail account or 'Proceed as Guest'. Click Proceed as Guest

• Step 3 - Enter your customer details as normal. Below this there are two checkboxes. The second of which is 'Yes, I wish to create an Iarnód Éireann account'. Check this box

• Step 4 - Complete booking as normal

• Step 5 - You will receive an email with a temporary password shortly after. You can change the password by following the instructions in the email
  

You will now be able to access your Irish Rail account.

Ticket Vending Machines are in operation throughout our network. These machines are monitored and regularly maintained to ensure that they are operational.  Irish Rail is automatically notified if the TVMs are out of order.  In the unlikely event that the booking office is closed and all the Ticket Vending Machines are not working, you will be required to pay for your journey on the train or at your destination. Failure to pay the required fare will result in a Fixed Payment Notice being issued.