Most of thetransport system in Ireland is in public hands, either side of theIrish border. TheIrish road network has evolved separately in the two jurisdictions into which Ireland is divided, while theIrish rail network was mostly created prior to thepartition of Ireland.

In theRepublic of Ireland, theMinister for Transport, acting through theDepartment of Transport, is responsible for the state's road network,rail network, public transport, airports and several other areas. Although some sections of road have been built using private orpublic-private funds, and are operated astoll roads, they are owned by theGovernment of Ireland. The rail network is alsostate-owned and operated, while the government currently still owns the main airports. Public transport is mainly in the hands of astatutory corporation,Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), and its subsidiaries,Dublin Bus,Bus Éireann (Irish Bus), andIarnród Éireann (Irish Rail).

On 1 November 2005, the Irish government published theTransport 21 plan which includes €18bn for improved roads and €16bn for improved rail, including theWestern Railway Corridor and theDublin Metro.

The Republic of Ireland's transport sector is responsible for 21% of the state's greenhouse gas emissions.^[1]

InNorthern Ireland, the road network and railways are in state ownership. TheDepartment for Infrastructure is responsible for these and other areas (such as water services). Two of the three main airports in Northern Ireland are privately operated and owned. The exception isCity of Derry Airport, which is owned and funded byDerry City and Strabane District Council A statutory corporation, theNorthern Ireland Transport Holding Company (which trades asTranslink) operates public transport services through its three subsidiaries –NI Railways Company Limited,Ulsterbus Limited, andCitybus Limited (now branded as Metro).

Total

1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)broad gauge

1,947 km (1,210 mi) (1998); 38 km (24 mi) electrified; 485 km (301 mi) double track; some additions and removals since 1997

1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)standard gauge

36.5 km (22.7 mi) (2004) (Luas tramway); 36.5 km (22.7 mi) electrified; 36.5 km (22.7 mi) double track; additional track under construction

914 mm (3 ft)narrow gauge

1,365 km (848 mi) (2006) (industrial railway operated byBord na Móna)

Ireland'srailways are in State ownership, withIarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) operating services in the Republic andNI Railways operating services in Northern Ireland. The two companies co-operate in providing the jointEnterprise service betweenDublin andBelfast.InterCity services are provided between Dublin and the major towns and cities of the Republic, and in Ulster along theBelfast–Derry railway line. Suburban railway networks operate in Dublin,Dublin Suburban Rail, and Belfast,Belfast Suburban Rail, with limited local services being offered in, or planned for,Cork,Limerick,^{[citation needed]} andGalway.^{[citation needed]}

The rail network in Ireland was developed by various private companies during the 19th century, with some receiving government funding. The network reached its greatest extent by 1920. Abroad gauge of 1600mm (5 ft 3in)^[2] was agreed asthe standard for the island, although there were also hundreds of kilometres of 914mm (3 ft)narrow-gauge railways.^[2]

Many lines in the west were decommissioned in the 1930s underÉamon de Valera, with a further large cull in services by both CIÉ and theUlster Transport Authority (UTA) during the 1960s, leaving few working lines in the northern third of the island. There is a campaign to bring some closed lines back into service, in particular the Limerick-Sligo line (theWestern Railway Corridor), to facilitate economic regeneration in the west, which has lagged behind the rest of the country. There is also a move to restore service on the Dublin toNavan line, and smaller campaigns to re-establish the rail links betweenSligo andEnniskillen/Omagh/Derry and Mullingar andAthlone/Galway. Under the Irish government'sTransport 21 plan, the Cork toMidleton rail link was reopened in 2009. The re-opening of theNavan-Clonsilla rail link and theWestern Rail Corridor are amongst future projects as part of the same plan.^[3]

Public transport services in Northern Ireland are sparse in comparison with those of the rest of Ireland or Great Britain. A large railway network was severely curtailed in the 1950s and 1960s.^[4] Current services includes suburban routes toLarne, Newry andBangor, as well as services to Derry. There is also a branch fromColeraine toPortrush.^[5]

Since 1984 an electrified train service run by Iarnród Éireann has linked Dublin with its coastal suburbs. Running initially betweenBray andHowth, theDublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) system was extended fromBray toGreystones in 2000 and further extended fromHowth Junction toMalahide. In 2004 alight rail system, Luas, was opened in Dublin serving the central and western suburbs, run byVeolia under franchise from theRailway Procurement Agency. The construction of the Luas system caused much disruption in Dublin. Plans to construct aDublin Metro service including underground lines were mooted in 2001, but stalled in the financial crisis at the end of that decade.

Ireland has one of the largest dedicatedfreight railways in Europe, operated byBord na Móna and totalling nearly 1,400 kilometres (870 mi).^[6]

Total – 117,318 km (72,898 mi)

South: 92,500 km (57,500 mi) including 1,015 km (631 mi) of motorway (2010)

North: 24,818 km (15,421 mi) including 148 km (92 mi) of motorway (2008)

paved – 87,043 km (54,086 mi),unpaved – 5,457 km (3,391 mi)

Ireland's roads link Dublin with all the major cities (Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Derry, Galway, andWaterford). Driving is on the left. Signposts in the Republic of Ireland are shown in kilometres and speed limits in kilometres per hour. Distance and speed limit signs in Northern Ireland use imperial units in common with the rest of the United Kingdom.

Historically, land owners developed most roads and laterturnpike trusts collected tolls so that as early as 1800 Ireland had a 16,100 kilometres (10,000 mi) road network.^[7] In 2005 the Irish Government launchedTransport 21, a plan envisaging the investment of €34 billion in transport infrastructure from 2006 until 2015.^[8] Several road projects were progressed but the economic crisis that began in 2008–09 has prevented its full implementation.

Between 2011 and 2015,diesel cars constituted 70% of new cars.^[9] In 2015, 27 new cars per 1,000 inhabitants were registered in Ireland, the same as the EU average.^[10]

Ireland's firstmail coach services were contracted with the government byJohn Anderson with William Bourne in 1791 who also paid to improve the condition of the roads.^[11] The system of mail coaches, carriages and "bians" was further developed byCharles Bianconi, based in Clonmel, from 1815 as a fore-runner of the modern Irishpublic transportation system.^[12]

State-ownedBus Éireann (Irish Bus) currently provides most bus services in the Republic of Ireland, outside Dublin, including an express coach network connecting most cities in Ireland, along with local bus services in the provincial cities.Dublin Bus, a sister company ofBus Éireann, provides most of the bus services in Dublin, withsome other operators providing a number of routes. These includeAircoach, a subsidiary ofFirstGroup which provides services toDublin Airport from Dublin city centre, South Dublin City, Greystones and Bray. They also operate two intercity express non-stop services service between Dublin Airport, Dublin City Centre, andCork and also a non-stop route between Belfast City Centre, Dublin Airport and Dublin City. Other operators such as Irish Citylink and GoBus.ie compete on the Dublin-Galway route.Matthews Coaches run a direct service fromBettystown,Laytown andJulianstown to Dublin whilst Dublin Coach operate services to Portlaoise and Limerick.JJ Kavanagh and Sons also operates regular services on the Portlaoise/Limerick route as well as offering services toWaterford,Carlow,Kilkenny,Clonmel and a selection of regional towns and villages in the south.

TFI Local Link is a set of not-for-profit operators, funded via theNational Transport Authority, that provide bus services in rural Ireland. Other private rural operators exist, such as Halpenny's inBlackrock, County Louth, which was the first private bus operator to run a public service in Ireland,Bus Feda (Feda O'Donnell Coaches), which operates twice daily routes fromRanafast,County Donegal to Galway and back.^[13]

In Northern IrelandUlsterbus provides the bus network, with its sister companyMetro providing services in Belfast. Both are part of state-ownedTranslink. Tiger Coaches operates a very late night bus service on Friday and Saturday nights between Belfast and Lisburn.^[14]

Private hire companies offer groups travelling throughout Ireland with options ranging from cars to 56 passenger coaches. Private Coach Hire Companies can be found atCTTC.ie.

Cross-border services (e.g. Dublin city centre to Belfast) are run primarily by a partnership of Ulsterbus and Bus Éireann with some services run across the border exclusively by one of the two companies (e.g. Derry–Sligo run by Bus Éireann).Aircoach, a private operator, does however operate a competing Dublin to Belfast Express service via Dublin Airport.

According to anIrish Times article in September 2022, 14.3% of national journeys in the Republic of Ireland were undertaken by bus, compared to the European average of 8.8%. However, this may be partly due to the lack of widespread train coverage in the country, as Ireland's figure of 3.1% usage of trains for journeys is well behind the European average of 7.9%.^[15]

Total (2004) – 753 km (468 mi)

(pleasure craft only oninland waterways, several lengthyestuarine waterways)

• Grand Canal
• Royal Canal
• Shannon–Erne Waterway
• River Barrow
• River Shannon
• Lower Bann
• Newry Ship Canal

Natural gas transmission network 1,795 km (1,115 mi) (2003). There is a much more extensive distribution network.

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Ireland has major ports inDublin,Belfast,Cork,Rosslare,Derry andWaterford. Smaller ports exist in Arklow, Ballina, Drogheda, Dundalk, Dún Laoghaire, Foynes, Galway, Larne, Limerick, New Ross, Sligo, Warrenpoint and Wicklow.

Ports in the Republic of Ireland handled 2.8 million travellers crossingthe sea between Ireland and Great Britain in 2014, a decrease of 1 million passengers movements since 2003.^[18] This has been steadily dropping for a number of years (20% since 1999), probably as a result oflow cost airlines.

Ferry connections betweenBritain and Ireland via the Irish Sea include the routes fromFishguard andPembroke to Rosslare, andCairnryan to Larne. TheStranraer to Belfast and Larne routes and theSwansea to Cork route have closed. There is also a connection betweenLiverpool and Belfast via theIsle of Man. The world's largest car ferry,Ulysses, is operated byIrish Ferries on the Dublin–Holyhead route.

In addition, there are ferries from Rosslare and Dublin to Cherbourg and Roscoff in France.

The vast majority of heavy goods trade is done by sea. Northern Irish ports handle 10 megatonnes (Mt) of goods trade with Britain annually, while ports in the Republic handle 7.6 Mt, representing 50% and 40% respectively of total trade by weight.

Total – 35 ships (with a volume of 1,000 gross tonnage (GT) or over) totalling 288,401 GT/383,628 tonnesdeadweight (DWT)

Ships by type –bulk carrier 7,cargo ship 22,chemical tanker 1,container ship 3,roll-on/roll-off ship 1, short-sea passenger 1

Foreign-owned – Germany 3, Italy 7,Norway 2

Registered in other countries – 18 (2003 est.)

Ireland has four main international airports:Dublin Airport,Cork Airport,Shannon Airport andIreland West Airport (Knock). Dublin Airport is thebusiest of these carrying almost 35 million passengers per year;^[19] a second terminal (T2) was opened in November 2010.^[20] All provide services to Great Britain and continental Europe, while Cork, Dublin and Shannon also offer transatlantic services.The London to Dublin air route is the ninth busiest international air route in the world, and also the busiest international air route in Europe, with 14,500 flights between the two in 2017.^[21][22] In 2015, 4.5 million people took the route, at that time, the world's second-busiest.^[21]Aer Lingus is the flag carrier of Ireland, althoughRyanair is the country's largest airline. Ryanair is Europe's largest low-cost carrier,^[23] the second largest in terms of passenger numbers, and the world's largest in terms of international passenger numbers.^[24] For several decades until 2007 Shannon was a mandatorystopover for transatlantic routes to the United States.^[25] In recent years it has opened a pre-screening service allowing passengers to pass through US immigration services before departing from Ireland.

There are also several smaller regional airports:George Best Belfast City Airport,City of Derry Airport,Galway Airport,Kerry Airport (Farranfore),Sligo Airport (Strandhill),Waterford Airport andDonegal Airport (Carrickfinn). Scheduled services from these regional points are in the main limited to flights travelling to other parts of Ireland and to Great Britain. Airlines based in Ireland includeAer Lingus (the formernational airline of the Republic of Ireland),Ryanair,Aer Arann andCityJet. Services to theAran Islands are operated fromAerfort na Minna (Connemara Regional Airport).

Ireland's national airline,Aer Lingus, provides services from Belfast City, Cork, Dublin and Shannon to Europe,North Africa and North America. Dublin and Cork airports are run by a State body,DAA (Dublin Airport Authority). Other Irish airlines areRyanair, one of the largest in the world,CityJet,ASL Airlines Ireland and the Aer Lingus subsidiaryAer Lingus Regional. A number of other operators specialise in general aviation.

For 2018 the passenger numbers were as follows:^[26][27]

Rank	Airport	Runways	Max. length	Passengers	Change 2015–2016
1	Dublin	3	2,637 m (8,652 ft)	31,319,419	6.3%
2	Belfast International	2	2,780 m (9,120 ft)	6,268,960	7.4%
3	Belfast City	1	1,829 m (6,001 ft)	2,511,261	1.9%
4	Cork	2	2,133 m (6,998 ft)	2,387,806	3.8%
5	Shannon	1	3,199 m (10,495 ft)	1,677,611	4.9%
6	Ireland West Airport	1	2,340 m (7,680 ft)	775,063	3.5%
7	Kerry	1	2,000 m (6,600 ft)	365,339	8.9%
8	City of Derry	1	1,969 m (6,460 ft)	185,843	4.2%
9	Donegal	1	1,496 m (4,908 ft)	46,537	0.0%
10	Connemara	1	600 m (2,000 ft)	15,322	6.8%
11	Inishmore	1	490 m (1,610 ft)	8,814	5.6%

Midlands Gateway urban destination distances

• The distances given below are inkilometres as travelling through theMidlands Gateway ATM (Athlone-Tullamore-Mullingar).
• Where it is logical to travel along the east or west coast directly, these distances are provided according to the popular route.
• Urban by-passes, rockades, diversions, detours and all other dispositives prolonging the travelled distances between destinations are equated to ZERO.

This is an estimation distance guide only.

• Plug-in electric vehicles in the Republic of Ireland
• Public transport in Ireland
• State-sponsored bodies of Ireland
• List of Ireland-related topics

• Rail Users Ireland – Ireland's National Rail User organisation
• Meath on Track – Navan railway campaign (defunct)
• A discussion onRTÉ Radio 1's science showQuantum Leap about the quality ofGPS mapping in Ireland is availablehere. The discussion starts 8mins 17sec into the show. It was aired on18 Jan 2007 RequiresRealPlayer.

• Transport in Ireland

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