New timetable from Monday 26th August
08 Lúnasa 2024
Extra services for Galway, Waterford, Wexford, Cobh and Midleton confirmed in new timetable, with extra Belfast services to follow.
DART and Commuter times to change, Kishoge Station to open, Broombridge stop added to all Sligo line services.
More Intercity train services to/from Galway and Waterford – with later final departures to/from both cities; a move from a two-hourly to an hourly service on Dublin/Belfast and additional weekend trains on the Cork commuter network are the highlights of a new Iarnród Éireann rail timetable from 26th August, confirmed today.
The timetable was confirmed following public consultation in May / June, in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, in which 1,930 customers participated.
All improvements and changes will take effect from 26th August 2024 (except for hourly Belfast services, which will commence later in the year).
To accommodate hourly Dublin/Belfast services and improve punctuality performance, customers are also asked to note that departure times are proposed to change on many DART, Northern Commuter and Maynooth Commuter services.
Amongst stopping pattern changes, customers on the Sligo/Dublin Connolly route will benefit from interchange with the Luas Green line with the proposal to stop all services at Broombridge, as opposed to a limited number of services currently.
Additionally, Kishoge Station on the Heuston Commuter line will open on Monday 26th August.
Highlights of the proposed new timetables are:
NEW SERVICES
- Up to five additional weekday services on the Heuston/Galway route including an earlier first service from Heuston to Galway, and a later final service of the day each way, and an additional Sunday service each way.:
- Weekdays
- New 05:45 hrs Heuston/Galway service
- New 07:27 hrs Tullamore/Galway service (Mon-Fri)
- New 20:30 hrs Heuston/Galway service
- New 09:05 hrs Galway/Heuston (Mon-Fri
- New 20:50 hrs Galway/Heuston service (Mon-Sat)
- Sundays
- New 10:30 hrs Heuston/Galway service
- New 13:40 hrs Galway/Heuston service
- Weekdays
- Extra Heuston/Waterford service in each direction, a later final service each way, delivered through:
- 20:15 hrs Heuston/Carlow (Mon-Sat) is deferred to 20:20 hrs and extended to Waterford
- 21:37 hrs Carlow/Heuston (Mon-Sat) will commence from Waterford at 20:20 hrs
- Additional service each way Dublin/Waterford/Dublin on Sundays bringing the total services to 5 in each direction.
- 7 new services Monday to Saturday in each direction on Dublin to Belfast route, delivering a new clockface hourly service Dublin/Belfast/Dublin on Monday to Saturdays, including pre-09.00 arrivals into both cities. Services will also operate to/from the new Belfast Grand Central Station. (from later this year)
- Clockface two-hourly service Dublin/Belfast/Dublin on Sundays, with earlier first services and later last services in each direction. Services will also now operate to/from the new Belfast Grand Central Station.
- Please note that Northern Commuter changes will take effect from 26th August, in advance of the hourly Belfast service.
- NEW following public consultation: new 21:25hrs Wexford to Gorey, delivering a later evening connection from Wexford to Dublin Connolly
- Cork Commuter service improvements, including
- 10 new Saturday services in each direction on Cork/Cobh Commuter, delivering a clockface half-hourly service on Saturdays.
- 4 new Sunday services in each direction on Cork/Cobh Commuter and 6 new Sunday services in each direction on Cork/Midleton Commuter, delivering a clockface hourly all-day service on both routes on Sundays.
SIGNIFICANT TIMETABLE CHANGES TO DART & COMMUTER
- To accommodate hourly Dublin/Belfast services and improve punctuality performance, customers are also asked to note that departure times are proposed to change on many DART, Northern Commuter and Maynooth Commuter services, and some Newbridge/Hazelhatch to Grand Canal Dock services operating to/from Connolly.
STOP CHANGES ON EXISTING SERVICES
- Kishoge Station will open on Monday 26th August, served by Heuston Commuter and Newbridge / Hazelhatch to Connolly/Grand Canal Dock services
- All Sligo services will now call additionally at Broombridge for interchange with Luas Green Line services.
- 09:30 hrs Galway/Heuston (Mon-Fri) is deferred to 10:05 hrs, arriving into Dublin Heuston at 12:41 hrs. It will also additionally serve Oranmore.
- 13:00 hrs Galway/Heuston (Sundays) service is advanced to 12:20 hrs and will additionally serve Oranmore. It will no longer serve Attymon, customers can avail of the new 13:40 hrs service from Galway instead.
- Some Phoenix Park Tunnel services (Grand Canal Dock to Hazelhatch/Newbridge) will now commence/terminate at Connolly Station rather than operate to/from Grand Canal Dock.
- NEW following public consultation: Additional service from Monasterevin: 07:15hrs Portlaoise to Heuston will serve Monasterevin (07:30hrs).
- NEW following public consultation: 08:14hrs Dundalk to Dublin Connolly and 17:50hrs Connolly to Dundalk will operate from/to Newry from 26th August, in advance of hourly Belfast service (07:56hrs departure from Newry)
- NEW following public consultation: Additional stops at Oranmore on a number of services:
- Mon-Sat: 13:30hrs Heuston to Galway
- Sat only: 09:25hrs Galway to Heuston
- Sun only: 16:35hrs and 20:30hrs Heuston to Galway; 08:00hrs and 17:00hrs Galway to Heuston
- NEW following public consultation: Additional stops at Attymon on a number of services:
- Mon-Sat: 06:25hrs Galway to Heuston, 17:30hrs Heuston to Galway
- Sun only: 08:00hrs Galway to Heuston, 18:45hrs Heuston to Galway
Expanded Intercity railcar fleet – capacity improvements on a number of routes
In addition to the new timetable, the expansion of the Intercity railcar fleet from 234 carriages to 275 carriages will lead to improved capacity on a number of existing services on the following routes. These improvements are being phased in between now and October as 41 new carriages are added to the fleet:
- Newbridge/Hazelhatch to Connolly/Grand Canal Dock (Phoenix Park tunnel)
- Galway to Dublin Heuston
- Limerick to Dublin Heuston
- Sligo to Dublin Connolly
- Waterford/Carlow to Dublin Heuston
- Tralee to Dublin Heuston
- Westport to Dublin Heuston
Public consultation overview
A total of 1,930 submssions were made during public consultation on the new timetable in May/June 2024.
As advised during the consultation, suggested alterations which cannot be implemented at this timetable change will be retained in a database for consideration at future timetable reviews.
Below is a summary of the top 50 topics highlighted by customers during the consultation process.
| Topic | Number | % | IÉ Response | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Disagree with some PPT services terminating at Connolly | 283 | 14.66% | With the re-design of the timetable through Connolly, designed to enhance punctuality, the available slots for services to operate between Connolly and Grand Canal Dock in both directions has changed. With Heuston services relatively unchanged for most of the day, the times of operation for Phoenix Park Tunnel services are effectively locked in between Newbridge/Hazelhatch and Drumcondra. As a result of all of this, there are a number of occasions throughout peak periods where a Phoenix Park Tunnel Commuter service is due at Connolly around the same time as a Northern or Maynooth Commuter service. In determining which service is to operate across to Grand Canal Dock and return, the latest passenger demand figures were used, which on many occasions sees a large multiple of customers travelling on the Maynooth or Northern Commuter service compared to the Phoenix Park Tunnel. It is also the case that there would not be adequate capacity on PPT services to accommodate customers transferring from Maynooth or Northern Commuter services. |
| 2 | Increase service level to Clongriffin | 95 | 4.92% | ADDRESSED: The existing morning and evening peak services will continue to serve Clongriffin as before. Their omission from the draft timetable was a compilation error. In addition on Mondays to Fridays all Northern Commuter services after 20.00 from Dublin will additionally serve Howth Jctn, Clongriffin and Portmarnock. All Northern Commuter services in both directions on Saturdays and Sundays will now additionally serve Howth Jctn, Clongriffin and Portmarnock. Unfortunately it is not currently possible to add any additional services in the peak periods Monday to Friday due to capacity constraints on existing Commuter services or no more available fleet on DART. |
| 3 | Prefer Option 1 TT on Northern Commuter/Enterprise route | 90 | 4.66% | ADDRESSED: This timetable option will be implemented |
| 4 | Happy with new later Waterford service | 85 | 4.40% | Noted |
| 5 | Increase service level at Oranmore | 83 | 4.30% | ADDRESSED: Additional stops at Oranmore will now be provided on the following services that were not originally indicated in the draft timetable: 13.30 Heuston/Galway (Mon-Sat) 16.35 Heuston/Galway (Sunday) 20.30 Heuston/Galway (Sunday) 09.25 Galway/Heuston (Sat Only) 08.00 Galway/Heuston (Sunday) 17.00 Galway/Heuston (Sunday) Due to track capacity and fleet constraints it is not currently possible to add any further services for Oranmore. |
| 6 | Increase service level on Nenagh Line | 67 | 3.47% |
Staff and fleet resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 7 | Happy with new later Galway services | 50 | 2.59% |
Noted |
| 8 | Disagree with changes to Northern Commuter TT | 47 | 2.44% |
Due to enhancement of Enterprise (Belfast) services to hourly it was unavoidable that service alterations needed to be applied to accommodate this essential service enhancement. However service levels have been maintained and any service alterations have been minimised where possible. |
| 9 | Happy with new Galway TT | 46 | 2.38% |
Noted |
| 10 | Disagree with 09.05 Athenry/Galway deferred to 09.25 | 45 | 2.33% |
Due to capacity constraints, unable to modify this departure time. |
| 11 | Happy with new Belfast services | 41 | 2.12% |
Noted |
| 12 | Increase service level on Rosslare Line | 41 | 2.12% |
PARTIALLY ADDRESSED: A 21.25 Wexford/Gorey service will be introduced with this timetable. This will connect in Gorey with the 22.15 Gorey/Connolly service. Staff and fleet resources not available for further implementation for August 2024. This option will be kept under review and considered with the introduction of new fleet. |
| 13 | Maynooth Commuter services to serve Pearse | 39 | 2.02% |
Due to capacity constraints on the busiest section of our network between Connolly and Pearse Stations, it is not possible for all services to operate to/from Pearse Station. |
| 14 | Increase service level on Clonmel Line | 37 | 1.92% |
Staff and fleet resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 15 | Prefer Option 2 TT | 33 | 1.71% |
Due to a greater number of respondents in favour of Option 1 above, that option is now being progressed accordingly |
| 16 | Weekend PPT services | 33 | 1.71% |
Staff resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 17 | Happy with new TT | 31 | 1.61% |
Noted |
| 18 | Later last service on Cork Commuter | 29 | 1.50% |
Driver resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services. |
| 19 | Later last service to Galway | 28 | 1.45% |
ADDRESSED: A later than present service from Dublin to Galway is being introduced as part of this timetable. Due to limited track maintenance time it is not currently possible to provide a later service. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services on all InterCity routes. |
| 20 | Happy with new Cork Commuter TT | 26 | 1.35% |
Noted |
| 21 | Increase service level at Attymon | 23 | 1.19% |
ADDRESSED: Additional stops at Attymon will now be provided on the following services that were not originally indicated in the draft timetable: |
| 22 | Later last service to Belfast | 21 | 1.09% |
Due to limited track maintenance time it is not currently possible to provide a later service. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA and Translink will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services. |
| 23 | Maintain commuter trains to/from Bray | 20 | 1.04% |
In order to improve fleet availability and reduce congestion on the network, we have removed the existing Commuter services to/from Bray. |
| 24 | Increase service level on Limerick to Galway | 19 | 0.98% |
Staff and fleet resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 25 | Earlier first service Athenry/Galway | 17 | 0.88% |
Staff and fleet resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 26 | Increase PPT service level to Newbridge | 17 | 0.88% |
Staff and fleet resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 27 | Not happy with new Cork Commuter TT | 16 | 0.83% |
This relates to an infrastructure issue for neighbouring properties: outside of scope of timetable consultation |
| 28 | Increase service level to Kilcock | 15 | 0.78% |
Staff and fleet resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 29 | Later last service to Portlaoise | 15 | 0.78% |
Due to limited track maintenance time it is not currently possible to provide a later service. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate opportunities of operating later evening services. |
| 30 | Later last service to Waterford | 15 | 0.78% |
ADDRESSED: A later than present service from Dublin to Waterford is being introduced as part of this timetable. due to limited track maintenance time, a further later service is not currently possible to provide a later service. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services on all InterCity routes. |
| 31 | Increase service level at Woodlawn | 14 | 0.73% |
While additional stops at Woodlawn are being provided as indicated in the draft timetable, due to track capacity and fleet constraints it is not currently possible to add any further services for Woodlawn. |
| 32 | Later last service to Carlow | 14 | 0.73% |
Due to limited track maintenance time it is not currently possible to provide a later service. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate opportunities of operating later evening services. |
| 33 | Earlier first DART on Sundays | 13 | 0.67% |
The DART area is the most heavily utilised section of the Irish Rail network. On weekdays there are only minimal hours between end of service and start of service next day for track maintenance. Later start of service on Sunday morning provides the only opportunity in the week for the required time period for non-disruptive track maintenance on the DART network. |
| 34 | Increase service level on Sligo Line | 13 | 0.67% |
Staff and fleet resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 35 | Not happy with change to 07:50 Connolly/Drogheda service | 13 | 0.67% |
ADDRESSED: While it is not possible to alter the proposed 07:45 Connolly/Drogheda service, the 07:59 Grand Canal Dock/Drogheda service will now additionally serve Howth Jctn. (at 08:19), Clongriffin (at 08:21) and Portmarnock (at 08:23). |
| 36 | Earlier first service to Sligo | 13 | 0.62% |
Staff resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 37 | Improve journey time on Sligo Line | 12 | 0.62% |
As the vast majority of the route is single line, together with the requirement to operate through the Dublin/Maynooth Commuter network, there is very little scope currently to improve existing journey times. |
| 38 | Increase Phoenix Park Tunnel service level | 12 | 0.62% |
Staff and fleet resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 39 | Later last service to Midleton | 12 | 0.62% |
Driver resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services. |
| 40 | Happy with Broombridge stops | 10 | 0.52% |
Noted |
| 41 | Increase capacity on Sligo Line | 10 | 0.52% |
As a result of the introduction of the additional 41 ICR vehicles, this will see a number of capacity increases on the Sligo Line |
| 42 | Re-introduce catering on Galway Line | 10 |
0.52% |
While not within scope of timetable consultation, this issue is currently under review. |
| 43 | 22.15 Galway/Athlone to operate on weekends | 9 |
0.47% |
Staff resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities for implementation at a future stage |
| 44 | Commuter fare structure for Galway | 9 |
0.47% |
Fare regulation issue for NTA, not within scope of timetable consultation. |
| 45 | Increase capacity on Galway Line | 9 |
0.47% |
As a result of the implementation of the additional 41 ICR vehicles, this will see a number of capacity increases on the Galway Line |
| 46 | Later last service from Belfast | 9 |
0.47% |
Due to limited track maintenance time it is not currently possible to provide a later service. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA and Translink will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services. |
| 47 | Later last service to Newry | 9 |
0.47% |
Staff resources not available for implementation for August 2024. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA and Translink will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services. |
| 48 | 22:15 Gorey/Connolly to start from Wexford | 8 |
0.41% |
ADDRESSED: A 21.25 Wexford/Gorey service will be introduced with this timetable. This will connect in Gorey with the 22.15 Gorey/Connolly service. |
| 49 | Later last service from Galway | 8 |
0.41% |
ADDRESSED: A later than present service from Galway to Dublin is being introduced as part of this timetable. Due to limited track maintenance time it is not currently possible to provide a later service. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services on all InterCity routes. |
| 50 | Later last service to Tullamore | 8 |
0.41% |
While a later than present service from Dublin to Tullamore is being introduced as part of this timetable, due to limited track maintenance time it is not currently possible to provide a later service. IÉ in conjunction with the NTA will continue to investigate possibilities of operating later evening services on all InterCity routes. |