Last update for this page: 04 July 2007.
State Railway System: Iarnród Éireann
Language: English. Gaelic (also known as Erse) is spoken in some rural areas, but is quite widely used throughout the country for names of places and institutions, including Irish Railways.
Currency: Euro
UIC Code: 60 (This is used for accountancy purposes and is not shown on rolling stock)
Timetable: The timetable - usually issued annually each December - contains both InterCity and Dublin suburban services; it is in both languages, does not show distances but does include two diagrammatic maps.
Gauge: 1600 mm (5 feet 3 inches)
Electrification: 1500 V dc (DART suburban system in Dublin)
Rule of the road: Left
Other passenger railways: None
Tourist lines:
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Cavan & Leitrim Railway |
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Clonmacnoise & West Offaly Railway |
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Fintown Railway |
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Listowel Lartigue Monorail |
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Tralee & Blennerville Steam Railway (not operating in 2007) |
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Waterford & Suir Valley Railway |
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West Clare Railway |
There are a number of other short lines.
Metro: None, though the DART suburban system has metro characteristics
Trams: Dublin (LUAS)
Recent and future changes:
The Irish railway system was allowed to deteriorate for many years, but in the last decade extensive upgrading and modernisation has been carried out on the majority of the passenger system and there have been extensive purchases of new rolling stock (mostly multiple units). The DART suburban system has been extended to Greystones and Malahide. A light rapid transit system - LUAS (Irish for "speed") - has come into operation in Dublin and will continue to extend. Also in Dublin, a commuter line from Glasnevin Jn to Docklands opened in March 2007. Further line reopenings are either under way or confidently forecast: [Limerick -] Ennis - Athenry [- Galway] (2008); [Cork -] Glounthaune (formerly Cobh Jn) - Midleton (2009); Dublin Broadstone - Liffey Jn [- Castlenock -] Clonsilla - Dunboyne (2010); [Galway -] Athenry - Tuam (2011); and Tuam - Claremorris (2014).
Special notes:
In addition to universal "Standard" (formerly Second) class, "First" class is available on principal trains on the routes between Dublin and Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway, while "Premium" class (partner NIRailways call it "First plus") is available on principal trains on the international route between Dublin and Belfast.
There are no overnight services in Ireland.
Maps:
S.K. Baker's "Rail Atlas of Great Britain & Ireland", which is widely available in the UK, shows Irish Railways at 1:1,070000. A volume of detailed layout plans for the whole of Ireland is published by Quail Map Co. An historical compilation - "Johnson's Atlas & Gazetteer of the Railway of Ireland" (1997) - is now out of print, but worth seeking in second hand bookshops. For a handy on-line map of Ireland's railways go to bueker.net/trainspotting/maps_british-isles.php.
Last complete update 2 & 4 July 2007.
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