Irish Rail proposing new early morning service linking Cork and Dublin
The new 6am Dublin Heuston to Cork Kent service would mean passengers departing from Dublin would have a pre-9am arrival to Cork city. The train has a proposed arrival time of 8.32am.
Irish Rail is proposing changes to intercity services which would create a new early morning service for commuters travelling from Dublin to Cork.
The new 6am Dublin Heuston to Cork Kent service would mean passengers departing from Dublin would have a pre-9am arrival to Cork city. The train has a proposed arrival time of 8.32am.
Among the other proposals is a morning peak service each way between Cork and Mallow, operating at 07:20hrs Cork to Mallow, and 07:50hrs Mallow to Cork.
There will also be additional stops on a number of Heuston/Cork services at Portlaoise.
Four Heuston to Cork and five Cork to Heuston services on Sundays will additionally serve Portlaoise.
The proposals from Iarnród Éireann, in conjunction with the National Transport Authority, if implemented, would come into effect from December 10.
The company has published details of the proposed schedule on its website and is inviting the public to submit feedback in advance of the finalisation of the new timetable.
The consultation survey is open until Wednesday, September 27.
Good news for anyone commuting Dublin–Cork for a meeting —
— Oliver Moran 🇪🇺 (@oliver_moran) September 13, 2023
A new Heuston–Kent service will arrive at 8:32am from December — and a morning bullet in the other direction arrives 8:29am.
Additional morning commuter service between Mallow and Cork as well.https://t.co/kC9pBv5UUa
The proposals have been welcomed by Green party councillor for Cork North East Oliver Moran who described it as “good news” for anyone commuting from Dublin to Cork for a meeting.
"A key demand for anyone arriving for business in either Cork or Dublin is to arrive before 9am. The new service will arrive in Cork just after 8:30am. Improvements will shave time off the direct Cork–Dublin service too, arriving before 8:30am," he said.
"Mallow-Cork has seen a boon in use since being brought into the Cork commuter rail network. It's just €3.90 to travel Mallow to Cork using a Leap card and the journey is just 20 minutes. That has proven the case of investment in the Cork commuter rail network, with nearly €200m being invested upgrading the line right now to open new stations and increase frequency.
"Both the commuter and mainline services are already quicker than by car. If you're a daily commuter, you can take a bike on-board too, which really boosts the options to get to work or college, especially alongside cycle network investment," he added.
Cork Chamber has also welcomed the proposed changes.
"These additional services signify the growing demand in Cork and great credit is due to Irish Rail, the NTA and all involved for supporting sustainable commuting for our city region,” said Conor Healy, CEO of Cork Chamber.
“Now we must remain steadfast in our dedication to providing a well-connected, efficient and sustainable transport network. This is critical from a talent attraction standpoint while also supporting Cork’s climate-neutral cities designation. Accelerated project delivery of each of the suburban rail stations set out in Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS) is key to building upon this progress and continuing to support our growing population.”
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