 Iarnród Éireann's current logo since 2013. | |
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| Company type | Subsidiary of astate-owned enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Predecessor | CIÉ Railways Division (1945–1987) |
| Founded | February 2, 1987; 38 years ago (1987-02-02) |
| Headquarters | Connolly Station,Dublin 1, D01 V6V6 , |
Area served | Ireland |
Key people | Mary Considine (Chief Executive) Steve Murphy (Chairman) |
| Revenue |  €297.4million (2019)[1] |
| €529 million (2019)[1] | |
| €4.2 million (2019)[1] | |
| Owner | CIÉ (100%) |
Number of employees | 3,897 (2019) |
| Parent | Córas Iompair Éireann |
| Subsidiaries | InterCity Commuter DART Iarnród Éireann Freight |
| Website | irishrail.ie |
Iarnród Éireann, (Irish:[ˈiəɾˠnˠɾˠoːd̪ˠˈeːɾʲən̪ˠ]) orIrish Rail, is the operator of the nationalrailway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary ofCóras Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internalInterCity,Commuter,DART andfreight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly withNorthern Ireland Railways, theEnterprise service betweenDublin andBelfast. In 2019, IÉ carried a record peak of 50 million passengers, up from 48 million in 2018.[2]
Until 2013, Ireland was the onlyEuropean Union state that had not implementedEU Directive 91/440 and related legislation, havingderogated from its obligation to split train operations and infrastructure businesses, and allowopen access by private companies to the rail network. A consultation on the restructuring of Iarnród Éireann took place in 2012. The derogation ended on 14 March 2013 when the company was split in 2 sectors: Railway Undertaking and Infrastructure Manager.[3][4]
Mary Considine was appointed Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann in October 2025.[5]
At the time of its establishment, the company referred to itself as Irish Rail and adopted the four railsIR logo. In 1994, the company brought the Irish form of its name to the fore, introducing a logo andcorporate branding based on the lettersIÉ (Iarnród Éireann) branding and logo. Both languages remained part of the official company name ("Iarnród Éireann – Irish Rail"). In January 2013, a new logo was introduced with a newbilingual branding; it made its first appearance in early January on online timetables, before officially launching on the 21st.[6] In late 2013 the logo was updated again with a new font.[7]
Operationally, services are divided across four regional areas:
IÉ's passenger services are branded under three main names;InterCity,Commuter andDART.
InterCity services are long-distance routes radiating mainly from Dublin. The Belfast – Dublin service, jointly operated withNorthern Ireland Railways, is branded separately asEnterprise. Dublin's two main InterCity stations are Connolly and Heuston. Intercity services run to/fromCork,Limerick,Tralee,Ennis,Galway,Waterford,Rosslare Europort,Sligo,Westport,Wexford andBallina. Dublin's third major station,Pearse, is the terminus for much of thesuburban network in the Greater Dublin area. An additional two InterCity services runs from Limerick toLimerick Junction and from Limerick Junction to Waterford. This service formerly operated through to Rosslare Europort but services between Waterford and Rosslare Europort ceased after the last train on 18 September 2010. Bus Éireann now operates route 370 through the affected towns as replacement transport.[8]
A new service began on 29 March 2010 fromLimerick toGalway, as part of the Western Rail Corridor, reopening the long-closed line.[9]
A January 2012 national newspaper article suggested that Iarnród Éireann was expected to seek permission in the near future from theNational Transport Authority to close theLimerick–Ballybrophy railway line and theLimerick–Waterford line.[10]
The majority ofCommuter services are based in Dublin, which has four commuter routes: Northern (toDrogheda MacBride), Western (Connolly Station orDocklands toKilcock/M3 Parkway), South-Western (toSallins and Naas Railway Station) and South-Eastern (toKilcoole). SeeDublin Suburban Rail for more details. TheCork Suburban Rail currently has three Commuter services: toMallow andCobh, and a third service toMidleton which became operational on a part of the disusedYoughal branch line on 30 July 2009.Limerick Suburban Rail currently consists of two lines toEnnis andNenagh, with shuttle services toLimerick Junction. A Commuter service operates between Galway toOranmore andAthenry.[citation needed]
Commuter trains also operate on shuttle duty for branches from the main InterCity services from Mallow to Tralee (off the Dublin – Cork route) and fromManulla Junction to Ballina (off the Dublin – Westport route), as well as acting as InterCity trains for Dublin – Rosslare and some Dublin – Sligo services, and as the aforementioned Limerick – Limerick Junction – Waterford service.[citation needed]
The north–south route along Dublin's eastern coastal side is also host to DART, Ireland's only electrified heavy-rail service. The DART consists of many types of trains, the oldest and most famous one being the8100 Class which still operates, now extensively refurbished.[citation needed]
The following is a simplified table of Monday - Friday off-peak services, various irregular calling patterns have been omitted for clarity.[11]
Iarnród Éireann also has responsibility for running freight services on the Irish network through its Freight Division – which recorded a tonnage decrease of 19.2% in 2019,[1] and as of 2020, there are 3 freight flows running throughout the country. This operates both Railfreight trains and a network of road haulage through various distribution nodes throughout the country. Iarnród Éireann Freight is subdivided into three sections:
The Enterprise route (Dublin to Belfast) is well regarded. However, it is only double track and serves both local and intermediate Commuter as well as InterCity traffic. Hence any delay has knock-on effects. Also, there is limited platform availability at Connolly Station in Dublin. There was also a persistent problem with engine overloading, as Enterprise locomotives also supplied coach power. However, since September 2012, additional power is provided by separate Mark 3 generator vans.[citation needed]
The Cork-Dublin route was formerly the "premier line" of theGreat Southern and Western Railway, one of the biggest pre-CIÉ operators. Rolling stock on this route consists ofMark 4 trains, which were built in Spain, complete with DVTs for faster turn-around.22000 Class DMUs built in South Korea came into service from early 2007 replacing older coaching stock on most other InterCity routes. These 183 carriages are described by the company as the "Greenest diesel trains in Europe".[13]
The former Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey TD had announced that an additional 51 railcars had been ordered for the company for a planned introduction on services between Dublin, Louth, and Meath. They were placed into service in 2011/2012 but this plan was badly affected by the recession with 21 surpluses to requirements at the end of 2012.[6]
The maximum operational speed of InterCity trains on the IÉ rail network is 160 km/h (100 mph), although the design speed of theMark 4 carriages is 201 km/h (125 mph).
Since 2019, Irish Rail has been trying to recruit more female drivers.[14]
Although the majority of Iarnród Éireann's stations are simply named after the towns they serve, a number of stations in major towns and cities were renamed after leaders of the 1916Easter Rising, on its 50th anniversary in 1966:[15]
IÉ'sNetwork Catering unit provided a trolley service of food and drink, a snack car and (on some routes) a restaurant service. It also operated a restaurant atDún Laoghaire.[citation needed] According to Iarnród Éireann's annual report, the unit lost €297,000 in 2004.[16] In 2006, Iarnród Éireann outsourced the catering on the Dublin-Belfast service to Corporate Catering Ltd,[17] and all InterCity services were taken over byRail Gourmet in March 2007.[18] Rail Gourmet withdrew from the contract in 2020, and no longer provides catering for any Irish Rail services.[2] In 2023, a contactless catering service was established on the Cork to Dublin line.
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(excluding the Enterprise service):
IÉ's increasing fleet usage has led to requirements being made for the procurement of additional vehicles. DART services are running with all trains formed of 4–8 cars, while 54 sets of 63 fleet ofICRs are committed to services with 56 required on Friday. To this end, IÉ plans to purchase a significant number of new ICR vehicles – an initial purchase of 41 will be made for delivery in 2021, comprising three new trains, with the remainder planned as intermediate vehicles to lengthen existing units. The deal for the new vehicles is intended to include options for up to 40 further vehicles.[22] There are also plans for a total replacement of the existing DART fleet, which will be combined with extensions to the DART network. The framework for the DART fleet is planned for up to 600 vehicles formed into four-car and eight-car sets, split into both pure EMU andBEMU trains.[22] For immediate fleet capacity increases, IÉ planned refurbishment of its 2700 Class DMUs, which was subsequently cancelled. Instead, IÉ is discussing the possibility of sourcing surplus DMUs from theBritish network, withClass 170s andClass 185s available.[22]
Media related toIarnród Éireann at Wikimedia Commons
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