Upcoming Line Improvement Works
04 December 2023
Here you will find a complete list of planned engineering works and changes to Iarnród Éireann rail services.
- Upcoming Line Improvement Works
- Preview of Upcoming Major works
- Night-time Track Works
- Accessibility on Iarnród Éireann Services
- Catering on Rail Iarnród Éireann Services
- Bus Transfer Arrangements
- How can I reserve a seat on an Iarnród Éireann Service?
Upcoming Line Improvement Works
Upcoming Line Improvements
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Ballybrophy Services
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Belfast Services
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Cobh and Midleton Commuters
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Cork, Limerick and Tralee Services
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DART Services
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Northern Commuters
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Portlaoise Commuters
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Rosslare Services
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Waterford Services
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Galway and Westport Services
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Maynooth, Longford and Sligo Services
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Western Rail Corridor (Limerick to Galway)
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Waterford to Limerick
Major works preview 2023
With record investment in our rail network under the National Development Plan, Iarnród Éireann is currently undertaking a range of projects, as well as essential maintenance, right across our lines.
While the vast majority of works take place overnight, or in a way that sees little or no disruption to services, in some instances disruption is unavoidable. In particular, this will happen if we’re replacing or improving essential infrastructure like tracks, bridges, signalling, overhead lines, or helping third parties with major plans.
So we need to plan these works to deliver improvements to our customers, but there can be unavoidable disruption too. We work to ensure that any such disruption is minimised, and that the number of customers affected is minimised too.
We do this in a number of ways:
- We try to ensure that our busiest lines are unaffected at the busiest times, so weekday works, and particularly at peak, are avoided
- We work to plan the works which must happen, and look at events which take place around the country too. Major sports, music, cultural and other entertainment is always considered. This poses challenges – we’re busier with works than ever before, but there are more events than ever before too
- We choose selected Bank Holiday weekends to undertake projects of significant scale – the extra weekend day allows us to achieve more progress more efficiently, while avoiding impacting those crucial weekday customers. We don’t schedule works at St Patrick’s weekend, which is particularly important for tourism. However, the new February (St Brigid’s Bank Holiday), Easter, and the May, June and October Bank Holidays, and occasionally the August Bank Holiday, are often used for works
So, while we will have other works which may affect individual services, or late evening / early morning services in some instances, this is the current schedule (as of 2nd October 2023) of major disruptive works until the end of 2023. Early 2024 works will be confirmed shortly. This is subject to further change (for example, new events or additional investment funding can result in revisions).
Bold indicates extended works, including weekday impacts
Dates | Line Closed | Works | Services Affected |
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Saturday 14th October (18:00 onwards) |
Portarlington to Tullamore |
Ballast works |
Heuston to Galway/Westport |
Saturday 14th to Sunday 15th October |
Grand Canal Dock and Bray |
Overhead line, track and train protection system works |
Southside DART; Connolly to Rosslare |
Saturday 14th (17:00hrs) to Sunday 15th (09:45hrs) October |
Kildare to Newbridge |
Track renewal works |
Heuston to Cork / Kerry / Limerick / Galway / Waterford / Westport; Heuston to Kildare / Portlaoise |
Saturday 28th to Monday 30th October (October Bank Holiday) |
Connolly to Drogheda |
Overhead line, points and crossings, and train protection system works |
Northside DART, Northern Commuter, Belfast Enterprise |
Thursday 2nd (20:00) to Sunday 6th November AND Thursday 16th (20:00) to Sunday 20th November AND Thursday 30th November (20:00) to Sunday 3rd December |
Glounthaune to Cobh |
Station works, Rushbrooke |
Cork to Cobh |
Saturday 11th (17:00) to Sunday 12th (09:45) November |
Kildare to Newbridge |
Track renewal works |
Heuston to Cork / Kerry / Limerick / Galway / Waterford / Westport; Heuston to Kildare / Portlaoise |
Saturday 11th November (14:00 onwards) AND Saturday 25th November (14:00 onwards) |
Limerick to Limerick Junction |
Ballast works |
Limerick to Limerick Junction |
Sunday 26th November |
Galway Station |
Points and crossings renewal |
Athenry to Galway |
Check out our video below to learn more about the work being carried out to maintain our railway network.
Accessibility on Iarnród Éireann Services
We are better able to assist you if you contact us as far in advance as possible, but try to give at least 24-hours' notice of your journey. You can contact us by emailing access@irishrail.ie or call (01) 836 6222 (Monday to Friday 07:00hrs - 19:00hrs and 08:00hrs - 18:00hrs Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays).
For further information please visit our Accessibility section.
For DART Accessibility information, please see our new DART Accessibility section.
Catering on Rail Iarnród Éireann Services
For more information on our Catering services please see our Catering Page.
Bus Transfer Arrangements
Bus transfers are operated by Third Party Companies as a result Iarnród Éireann cannot guarantee there will be toilet facilities on-board. Passengers are advised to use the toilet facilities in the station before travelling. Please note Guide / Assistance dogs and small lap dogs can be facilitated on board bus transfers in line with our Travelling with Animals policy.
How can I reserve a seat on an Iarnród Éireann Service?
For information on how to buy a Free Travel Pass or Valid Ticket please see our 'Guide to buying online'.
Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail apologise for any inconvenience caused.

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05 December 2023