Irish Rail announce late-night train times for the Christmas season starting within days

Irish Rail have released their Christmas timetable this morning which comes into place from this Friday.

Ahead of what is usually considered to be party season, Ireland’s railway company Iarnród Éireann has extended their usual schedules to facilitate passengers on weekends during December.

Additional services will run on Fridays and Saturdays, including December 3, 4, 10, 11, 17 and 18.

Christmas timetables now include the following late-night train times:

• 00:30hrs from Pearse serving all stations to Howth

• 00:30hrs from Connolly serving all stations to Greystones

• 00:40hrs from Pearse serving Tara St, Connolly, and all stations from Howth Junction to Dundalk

• 00:20hrs from Pearse serving all stations to Maynooth

• 00:50hrs from Pearse serving all stations to Drumcondra, and all stations from ParkWest to Kildare

An Irish Rail train (stock) (Gareth Chaney/Collins)

They have also put on extra trains for December 31 to coincide with the New Year’s Eve Concerts:

• 01:30hrs from Pearse serving all stations to Howth

• 01:30hrs from Connolly serving all stations to Greystones

• 01:40hrs from Pearse serving Tara St, Connolly, and all stations from Howth Junction to Dundalk

• 01:20hrs from Pearse serving all stations to Maynooth

• 01:50 from Pearse serving all stations to Drumcondra, and all stations from ParkWest to Kildare

On the company's website, they said: “Late night DART and Commuter services will operate from Friday December 3 on the weekends in the run-up to Christmas, and after Dublin’s New Year’s Eve celebrations."

Irish Rail has also incorporated the Government’s Covid-19 restrictions into their new timetables, keeping trains on until venues are required to close.

“Additional late-night DART and Commuter services for this year are timed to be aligned with the midnight closure of bars, restaurants and other venues in the hospitality sector, under current COVID-19 measures,” they said.

Passengers are asked to be aware that when checking or booking seats on the Irish Rail journey planner, these times will be available on the next day as they are after midnight. For example, search ‘Saturday, December 4’ for services on Friday night, December 3.

Late trains will cost the same as they do at normal times, which means that they are cheaper than other forms of night-time transport.

Security will also be present on these trains to keep customers safe.