Irish Rail introduces Dublin fare and zonal adjustments

Sarah Slater

Irish Rail has introduced fare and zonal adjustments for the Dublin area and beyond.

The adjustments are part of the National Transport Authority’s (NTA) latest "fares determination", Irish Rail said.

The move will result in significant changes for commuters in the northeast, Greater Dublin Area and for those who tag on and off with Leap ePurse Cards.

A new Transport for Ireland (TFI) zonal structure will also be introduced.

The new Dublin Commuter Zone (DCZ) will replace the Short Hop Zone and will extend significantly further than the Short Hop Zone (SHZ).

The DCZ is broken down into Dublin City Zone 1, and then Zones 2, 3 and 4, based on the distance from the city centre.

As well as changes to fares, this means that ePurse LeapCards will be valid over a wider area and include the Northern Commuter zone: DCZ will increase from the former SHZ limit of Balbriggan to include Gormanston, Laytown and Drogheda.

The Western Commuter zone: DCZ will increase from the former SHZ limit of Kilcock to include Enfield, South Western Commuter: DCZ will increase from former SHZ limit of Sallins & Naas to include Newbridge and Kildare.

The South Eastern Commuter: DCZ will increase from the former SHZ limit of Kilcoole to include Wicklow and Rathdrum.

Fares for several journeys will also change next Monday.

The changes will apply across adult, young adult/student and child fares.

These include single (ePurse and cash) and day return (cash only) fares for journeys starting or ending in Dublin Commuter Zone 3 and 4 will be cut, as will monthly and annual ticket prices for Zone 3 and 4 upon next renewal.

Reduced fares to/from Drogheda, Laytown, Enfield, Newbridge, Kildare, Wicklow and Rathdrum.

Single (ePurse and cash) and day return (cash only) fares for journeys starting or ending in Dublin Commuter Zone 2 will be either increased or reduced, as will monthly and annual ticket prices for Zone 2 upon next renewal.

However, there will be increases between Dublin and Balbriggan, Skerries, Kilcock, Sallins and Naas, Greystones and Kilcoole, as well as some other intermediate journeys.

There will also be reductions between Dublin and Gormanston.

Single (ePurse and cash) and day return (cash only) fares for all journeys within Dublin City Zone 1 will be unchanged, as will monthly and annual ticket prices.

The daily and weekly Leap cap applies to the Dublin City Zone only.

The rail operator added that because the Dublin Commuter Zone is now larger, the maximum ePurse fare at tag-on will be higher for all users.

The Adult ePurse maximum tag-on will rise from €4 to €7.50, the student/young adult maximum tag-on will go from €2 to €3.75, and the child maximum tag-on will increase from 65c to €3.75.

This includes both Dublin and Cork LeapCard ePurse customers while Cork area fares remain unchanged, the Leap ePurse touch-on maximum fare will increase.

As a result, all LeapCard ePurse customers are reminded to tag-off at the end of their journey to ensure they are charged the correct price.

A number of other changes are also being introduced on Monday affecting the Intercity Luas.

A number of 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.

Irish Rail said that it will host a number of webinars for commuters to share information about the changes and answer queries.

Full details on the new TFI zonal structure and the changes for other TFI operators can be found on the TFI website and full details of the changes can be found on the Irish Rail website.