Low demand sees Irish Rail axe services

COST cutting and passenger demand have been blamed by Irish Rail for its decision to axe two weekday night services between Cork and Dublin from next week.

As part of the company’s revised inter-city timetables, the second last services each day from Cork to Dublin (departing 7.30pm) and from Dublin to Cork (departing 8pm) will no longer run when the changes take effect on Sunday. This will reduce the number of services operating each way daily to 14, the first change to the hourly rail service between the cities since new trains were introduced just over two years ago.

The company said the focus of its service review was to improve and maintain services while controlling costs.

The 6.30am Cork-Dublin service will no longer stop at Limerick Junction, meaning with just one stop at Mallow, the journey time will fall to two-and-a-half hours.

A local Irish Rail spokesperson said the services being removed between Cork and Dublin had been carrying low passenger numbers, and that the changes also take into account the level of engineering works planned in the line in the year ahead.

Other reduced services include a revision of services between Waterford and Limerick Junction in Tipperary from four to three a day each way.

Commuter services between Cork and Mallow, Cobh and Midleton are unaffected, although travel times on the Cobh line are expected to be slightly reduced due to the completion of recent engineering works.

Changes are also being made to timetables on services to and from Kerry, the most significant being the addition of a 5.05pm Dublin-Tralee service on weekdays. While this will mean a direct service instead of passengers taking the 5pm Dublin-Cork service and changing at Mallow, the 6.30pm Dublin-Tralee service is ending and passengers may choose instead to travel as far as Mallow on the 7pm train to Cork and travel onward to Kerry stations.

The 10.20pm service from Cork to Tralee is also being axed, and the Irish Rail spokesperson said the service mainly facilitated movement of rolling stock and carried very few passengers.

Full details of the new schedules are available at www.irishrail.ie or by calling the company’s new passenger enquiry line 1850 TRAINS (1850 872 467).