Iarnrod Eireann

I was in Ireland for two weeks in September 2015. I took the train from Millstreet to Cobh and returned the same day. I had a great experience. I had rented a car but it was easier to take the train.
I did have to switch trains in Mallow and Cork. The staff in the stations were very helpful.
I did download the «app» onto my phone. It was very easy to use and quick.
The train I was on had free WiFi and the signal was decent. The trains were clean.

Welcome aboard the Cork to Dublin train … You pay ridiculous prices for this service so you should expect a clean train??? Well that is not the case. The fold away tray on the back of the seat in front of you is filthy, and on looking at others they were the same. But then the toilet Wow… The smell that greets you as you enter, Toilet seat all stains urine everywhere. Bins overflowing disgusting. Then I checked the baby changing area in another toilet… Well unless my baby was a pet pig, I would not use this space. The dirty smell and condition of this place… Iarnrod Eireann should pay passengers to travel on their shocking dirty trains.

I have spent most of my adult life complaining about Iarnrod Eireann — or Irish Rail as it’s known in English. It’s the country’s train service and it’s long had a pretty bad reputation. For years we had to travel on trains that were only fit for cows, with lateness part and parcel of the journey.
I must admit though that in the past while it’s been improving a lot. These days a lot of the trains have been modernised and more often than not they are actually on time! Since Irish Rail started to embrace the internet things are better too. While before it felt like daylight robbery buying a ticket, now you can book online and it’s much, much cheaper. You get an allocated seat too so no more fears of having to stand between carriages. So yes, it’s got a way to go yet, but Iarnrod Eireann is getting there.

I double checked to make sure this is the train we took from Pearse Street Station to Malahide and back. Less than 5 euro each and the train was on time both ways, clean, and free of the negative behaviour you see sometimes on this sort of short train ride. We enjoyed the ride.

Iarnrod Eireann is Ireland’s national train company and it covers 87 InterCity Stations with services divided into standard and superstandard classes.

Oh wow… I’m a convert! Never, ever again will you see me taking a bus to get myself to Galway.
Not while you get book yourself a plush perch on the Iarnrod Eireann for a tenner, anyway.
Amazing. First class travel, in style and with a food and drink cart service, reserved seating and a toilet, Iarnrod Eireann trumps a dodgy, dawdling bus service any day.
Like the others, I too have purchased expensive rail tickets in the past (ouch! 60 euro — never again!) But when they’re offering single tickets to Galway, Cork, Sligo, Belfast etc. for 10 euro, you’d be mad not to go by train.

Iarnrod Eireann, Ireland’s national railway service, offers swift and generally punctual service for commuters and travellers. The trains are clean and comfortable and reach into the outer reaches of rural Ireland.
My main gripe with Iarnrod Eireann is that travelling by train is just darn expensive. It’s so expensive that some people have actually been led to believe that FLYING between Cork and Dublin is a good idea. Yes, FLYING! This kind of madness is borne from an adult single rail ticket to Cork costing € 66.
In fairness, Iarnrod Eireann are now offering special € 10 deals for certain destinations. If they want to keep Irish people railing through a recession, they’ll have to keep the discount prices coming.
Oh yeh, I believe trains are one of the only places where you can legally purchase alcohol in Ireland on Good Friday. Keep that in mind when you’re planning your Easter break…

Iarnród Éireann is the type of trains that you get when you’re going down the country.
The last time that I was on an Iarnród Éireann train was when a few of us took a trip to sunny Galway (though it wasn’t sunny when we went because it was January). We’re all young suburbanites, so we assumed that the train would be like the Dart: you turn up a couple of minutes before it’s due, jump on and away you go.
So even though we got to the train station more than half an hour before the train was due to depart, we didn’t bother getting on to the train until five minutes before it left. We didn’t even conceive that it might be in the station before this.
I should point out at this point that this was a Friday afternoon and all the culchies were returning home, and that the train had been there some time before departure, all of the seats gradually being occupied. The girls who we were nominally travelling with had turned up ages earlier, and had a nice little booth for themselves. In the end, we had to stand in a passageway.
This left us fairly pissed off, as the reason that we were getting the train rather than the much cheaper bus was the fact that you could drink, and we weren’t relishing the prospect of standing and drinking our cans in a shitty corridor all the way to Galway.
As luck would have it, there was another group of lads in the same predicament as ourselves, some of whom had went to school with one of the lads. So the fifteen or so us had a grand time sessioning in this little passage, and we met up with them later that night.
So yes, the fact that you can drink really adds that element of fun to travelling by train, but fifty f*cking euro return to Galway?
They’re having a bleedin’ laugh.

Iranrod Eireann also known as Irish Rail. It’s not the fastest rail system in Europe, but it’s pretty comprehensive. You can use it to get all over Ireland. My husband and I did on a recent trip. We based ourselves out of Dublin and used the train to get to Cork and Galway.
There are a variety of fare plans and ticket types to suit your needs. You can choose among regular single tickets and day saver tickets (which do have travel restrictions). There are a couple of classes available including Priemier Class which has electronically adjustable seats and power points for phones, i-​pods, and laptops. The seats have ports so that you can listen to a variety of programs. You can also have meals served to you at your seat. My husband and I sampled this and it was worth it.
Standard class, which is what we used, is also pretty good too. There are data ports available, and on the new equipment, electronic seat reservation displays. No matter which class you choose, reservations are suggested.
Oh yes, my husband the railfan loved the trains, including