Irish Rail defends unannounced new fares structure

The days of €20 return train fares between Cork and Dublin are gone.

Irish Rail has almost doubled its cheapest inter-city online fares and has also increased its standard charges, bringing the return fare from Dublin to Cork or Tralee to just two cent shy of €86, if transaction and credit card fees of up to €6 are included.

However, a greater number of fares for less than half that price will be available to book within three days of travel. Until now, passengers hoping to avail of €20 return fares had to book three weeks in advance and the number of cheap fares available was extremely limited.