On Trains & Buses

From Dublin to Drogheda: Rail Travel Tips for a Smooth 2024/5 Festive Season

Posted on December 16, 2024

Reading time: 3 minutes.

As the festive season approaches, many are beginning to plan their travels, and for those relying on Irish Rail, understanding the schedule changes is crucial. This year, Iarnród Éireann has provided an overview of the rail service adjustments throughout the Christmas and New Year period, ensuring passengers are well-informed during this busy travel time.

In the lead-up to Christmas, Irish Rail has scheduled late-night DART and Commuter services to accommodate festive revellers. These services will run on Thursdays through to Saturdays from the 5th to the 7th, the 12th to the 14th, and the 19th to the 21st of December. Additionally, these late services will extend into the wee hours of New Year’s Eve, making post-celebration travel easier.

From Christmas Eve on the 24th of December to New Year’s Day on the 1st of January, there will be revised timetables across all routes. It is worth noting that no trains will operate on Christmas Day or St Stephen’s Day, providing a window for essential engineering works, particularly on the Dublin Connolly to Grand Canal Dock line. These works will necessitate service changes, including bus transfers between certain sections, notably impacting the Rosslare services which will require bus travel between Dublin Connolly and Bray.

On Christmas Eve itself, InterCity services will run with some reductions and alterations with final services departing between roughly 6:00 PM and 8:30 PM. DART and Commuter trains will follow a typical Saturday schedule until around 9:00 PM, after which the last trains to key destinations such as Portlaoise, Maynooth, and Drogheda will depart. The Cork Commuter services are aligned similarly with their last journeys to and from Cobh and Midleton concluding slightly earlier.

Between the 27th of December and the 5th of January, train schedules will persist with variations due to the ongoing engineering works, especially in Dublin’s central rail hubs. Improvements are well underway, necessitating the closure of the Dublin Connolly to Grand Canal Dock line, apart from limited shuttle options allowing for continued travel via alternative arrangements such as bus transfers, with Dublin Bus accommodating rail ticket holders between affected stations.

Moving into the New Year, while January 1st will see continued revisions reflective of the construction efforts, normal service is expected to resume by the 6th of January. For the New Year’s Eve celebrations, additional late-night services have been thoughtfully introduced, primarily departing from Connolly and Pearse stations, offering convenience to those celebrating in Dublin.

It’s essential for passengers to pre-book their InterCity services, especially during peak travel times, to ensure a stress-free journey. With the late-night services leading up to Christmas and the comprehensive timetable adjustments, Irish Rail provides robust solutions to navigate the holiday season while accommodating necessary infrastructure enhancements. Travellers are encouraged to check specific times before departing, especially given the frequent alternations during this period.

This thoughtful planning by Iarnród Éireann aims to blend holiday convenience with infrastructure progress, ensuring that passengers enjoy the festive season while also paving the way for sustained service improvements in the new year. Overall, it’s a time of celebration as well as transformation for Irish Rail as it balances holiday cheer with strategic enhancements to the rail network.