'Fastest ever' train service between Cork and Dublin to be introduced
A new daily weekday 6 am service from Dublin Heuston to Cork, with a connection at Limerick, will also commence as part of the timetable changes which come into effect next Monday. Pic Larry Cummins
The 'fastest-ever' scheduled service between Cork and Dublin is to commence shortly.
Iarnród Éireann has announced several changes to its services as part of a new timetable which comes into effect next week.
It includes an express morning non-stop 2 hours 14 minutes service at 6.15am between Cork and Dublin, made possible following recent infrastructure works.
A new daily weekday 6 am service from Dublin Heuston to Cork, with a connection at Limerick, will also commence as part of the timetable changes which come into effect next Monday.
The early service, operating Monday to Friday, will arrive in Kent Station, Cork, at 8.32am, giving a pre-9am Intercity arrival from Dublin for the first time.
The service will also have a connection from Limerick Junction to Limerick, delivering a pre-8am arrival time to Limerick city (7.58am).
There will also be extra morning peak service each way between Cork and Mallow each day (Monday to Saturday), operating at 7.20am Cork to Mallow, and 7.50am Mallow to Cork.
Additional stops on a number of Heuston/Cork services at Portlaoise, to connect with new Heuston/Portlaoise Commuter services are also included.
The new timetable has been approved by the National Transport Authority, and follows public consultation in September 2023, in which over 1,650 customers participated.
An Iarnród Éireann spokesperson said “we are delighted to be in a position to begin an early 06:00hrs weekday service from Dublin Heuston to Cork, and to introduce a Limerick connection from this service also. We believe this will be a very popular service, with the arrival in Cork well before 09:00hrs, and in Limerick before 08:00hrs, particularly attractive to business customers.
"We look forward to bringing these improvements to our services from 10th December, which follow previous expansion of services in December 2022.
"Iarnród Éireann with the National Transport Authority will continue to identify opportunities for further service improvements in the context of post-Covud travel patterns, as demand approaches, and on some routes exceeds, pre-pandemic levels.
"The purpose of investment in our network, fleet and services is to bring a better service to customers and allow more people make a sustainable travel choices."
Iarnród Éireann said in a statement that customers on all routes are advised to check times before travel, as there may be minor time changes affecting their service.
Full timetables are available at www.irishrail.ie and the Iarnród Éireann app.
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