Pre-booking encouraged for travel on Intercity rail services until further notice

12 October 2021

Intercity customers should pre-book travel where possible until further notice, including holders of free travel passes and existing valid tickets

Iarnród Éireann advises customers that in order guarantee that you travel on the service that you want to, customers should book their intercity travel in advance. This includes holders of free travel passes and existing valid tickets.

Government COVID-19 measures in place during this time permit 100% percent of capacity to be made available for use on board rail services.

Pre-booking Intercity travel will ensure the available capacity is effectively managed, providing rail customers with a safe and sanitary travelling environment. See our guide below on what services would be deemed as Intercity.

 

Intercity travel can be pre-booked using our journey planner, and customers are advised:

• Please avoid peak and busier times if at all possible
• Assigned seating has been reintroduced from 11th October 2021
• Face coverings are mandatory on public transport and in stations, unless exempted under Government regulations.

Terms and Condition Changes

For all bookings from 9th December 2020, we have updated our Online Terms and Conditions to provide customers with flexiblity to amend or cancel their ticket before travel: 

• Low Fare - Your ticket is valid on your selected service only. Amendments or cancellations are allowed online up to 48 hours in advance of the outward journey, subject to 50 percent fee plus fare difference. Amendments cannot be made on tickets already printed.
• Semi Flexible - Your ticket is valid on your selected service only. Amendments or cancellations are allowed online up to 24 hours in advance of the outward journey, subject to 20 percent fee plus fare difference. Amendments cannot be made on tickets already printed.

• Flexible and First Class - Your ticket is valid on your selected service only. Amendments or cancellations are allowed online for free up to 60 minutes in advance of the outward journey. Amendments cannot be made on tickets already printed.

 

 

• Booking single tickets give you the freedom to change your journey should your plans change! **
• Single tickets are always half the price of a return ticket, making it’s easy to book two singles without it costing more!

** If you are traveling to Northern Ireland and intend to return by train it is recommended that you book a return journey. Otherwise, if your journey originates in Northern Ireland you need to book on the Translink website.

• Holders of existing tickets (e.g open returns, season tickets, DSP free travel) can also pre-book their Intercity reservations during these dates free of charge on Iarnród Éireann services with the 'Free Travel Pass or valid ticket holders' option on the Journey Planner.
• Please note for journeys that require Luas transfers between Dublin Heuston and Dublin Connolly the standard Luas fare will apply. Customers are advised to book each leg of their journey separately.

• We are continuing to implement enhanced cleaning and sanitisation measures on trains and at stations, with a focus on customer touchpoints.  Click for full details on train travel during COVID-19.
• Catering services remains suspended on board Intercity, and alcohol is prohibited on all trains

• What services are we encouraging pre-booking?  We encourage prebooking on All Intercity services, including from intermediate stops on these services, namely:

  • Services between Dublin Heuston and Cork, Tralee, Limerick, Galway, Westport, Waterford, including those boarding at intermediate stations
  • Services between Connolly and Belfast, Sligo and Rosslare Europort, including those boarding at intermediate stations
  • Services between Cork and Tralee, between Limerick and Galway, between Limerick and Ballybrophy (via Nenagh), and between Limerick and Waterford, including for those boarding at intermediate stations
  • Customers are advised that Ticket Collection Machines or Ticket Vending machines at stations are set to 'ticket collection' only and it will not be possible to buy tickets at the following stations: Ardrahan, Athenry, Craughwell, Gort, Oranmore, Woodlawn, Attymon, Ballinasloe, Clara, Ballina, Foxford, Castlebar, Claremorris, Ballyhaunis, Castlerea, Roscommon. It is mandatory to pre-book your journey online and only pre-booked tickets can be collected. 

• What services do not require pre-booking?  Services which originate within Commuter travel areas, including:

  • DART services
  • Northern Commuter (Dundalk/Drogheda to Dublin), Western Commuter (Maynooth/M3 Parkway to Dublin), South-Western Commuter (Portlaoise/Kildare to Dublin)
  • Cork to Midleton, Cork to Cobh, Cork to Mallow

Iarnród Éireann thanks customers for pre-booking their Intercity travel, and for their continued cooperation and overwhelming compliance with measures in place during COVID-19.

• Travelling with a bike?
  • Customers are advised to add their bike to their online booking if they intend to travel with a bike. This can be done via the 'Extras' page. Bikes not booked online cannot be guaranteed a bike space onboard.