Major changes to Irish Rail fares and new ‘commuter zone’ to take effect from Monday

Major changes are on the way for rail users in the Dublin area and beyond.

Updated fares will kick in from Monday as part of Irish Rail's new "Dublin Commuter Zone".

The zone is split into four areas, with commuters in Drogheda, Newbridge and Rathdrum now falling under the system.

It means passengers within 50km of Dublin will be able to pay using a Leap card from next Monday.

Dublin city zone 1 covers the central city and its suburbs, extending past Dublin Airport to Rush and Donabate on the north side and as far south as Bray in Co Wicklow.

Irish Rail said fares will reduce in the areas now part of zones 3 and 4, while there will be a mixture of increases and reductions in zone 2.

Routes running between central Dublin and Balbriggan, Skerries, Kilcock, Sallins and Naas, as well as between Dublin and Greystones and Kilcoole, will see a rise in fare prices.

There will be a fare reduction between Dublin and Gormanstown, and to and from Drogheda, Laytown, Enfield, Newbridge, Kildare, Wicklow and Rathdrum.

Changes will apply across adult, young adult, student and child fares.

The daily and weekly Leap card fare cap will apply to the Dublin city zone only. Epurse Leap cards will be valid across a wider area.

Several changes are also being introduced on Monday that affect the intercity Luas. The add-on ticket for cross-city journeys (e.g arriving to Heuston, and continuing to Luas city centre stops) will be free of charge.

Some rail ticket types are to be discontinued including adult, student and child weekly and monthly tickets, and off-peak fares from Drogheda, Laytown, Gormanston, Newbridge and Kildare.