Iarnród Éireann, () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. In 2025, IÉ carried a record peak of 55 million passengers.
Until 2013, Ireland was the only European Union state that had not implemented EU Directive 91/440 and related legislation, having derogated from its obligation to split train operations and infrastructure businesses, and allow open access by private companies to the rail network. A consultation on the restructuring of Iarnród Éireann took place in 2012. The derogation ended on 14 March 2013 when the company was split in 2 sectors: Railway Undertaking and Infrastructure Manager.
Mary Considine was appointed Chief Executive of Iarnród Éireann in October 2025.
Organisation At the time of its establishment, the company referred to itself as Irish Rail and adopted the four rails IR logo. In 1994, the company brought the Irish form of its name to the fore, introducing a logo and corporate branding based on the letters IÉ (Iarnród Éireann) branding and logo. Both languages remained part of the official company name ("Iarnród Éireann – Irish Rail"). In January 2013, a new logo was introduced with a new bilingual branding; it made its first appearance in early January on online timetables, before officially launching on the 21st. In late 2013 the logo was updated again with a new font.
Operationally, services are divided across four regional areas: Northern and Eastern services are managed from Connolly (including Sligo in the North-West) Southern and Western services are managed from Heuston
Services
Passenger services IÉ's passenger services are branded under three main names; InterCity, Commuter and DART.
InterCity
InterCity services are long-distance routes radiating mainly from Dublin. The Belfast – Dublin service, jointly operated with Northern Ireland Railways, is branded separately as Enterprise. Dublin's two main InterCity stations are Connolly and Heuston. Intercity services run to/from Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Ennis, Galway, Waterford, Rosslare Europort, Sligo, Westport, Wexford and Ballina. Dublin's third major station, Pearse, is the terminus for much of the suburban network in the Greater Dublin area. An additional two InterCity services runs from Limerick to Limerick Junction and from Limerick Junction to Waterford. This service formerly operated through to Rosslare Europort but services between Waterford and Rosslare Europort ceased after the last train on 18 September 2010. Bus Éireann now operates route 370 through the affected towns as replacement transport.
A new service began on 29 March 2010 from Limerick to Galway, as part of the Western Rail Corridor, reopening the long-closed line.
A January 2012 national newspaper article suggested that Iarnród Éireann was expected to seek permission in the near future from the National Transport Authority to close the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line and the Limerick–Waterford line.
Commuter
The majority of Commuter services are based in Dublin, which has four commuter routes: Northern (to Drogheda MacBride), Western (Connolly Station or Docklands to Maynooth/M3 Parkway), South-Western (to Portlaoise) and South-Eastern (to Kilcoole). See Dublin Suburban Rail for more details. The Cork Suburban Rail currently has three Commuter services: to Mallow and Cobh, and a third service to Midleton which became operational on a part of the disused Youghal branch line on 30 July 2009. Limerick Suburban Rail currently consists of two lines to Ennis and Nenagh, with shuttle services to Limerick Junction. A Commuter service operates between Galway to Oranmore and Athenry.
Commuter trains also operate on shuttle duty for branches from the main InterCity services from Mallow to Tralee (off the Dublin – Cork route) and from Manulla Junction to Ballina (off the Dublin – Westport route), as well as acting as InterCity trains for Dublin – Rosslare and some Dublin – Sligo services, and as the aforementioned Limerick – Limerick Junction – Waterford service.
DART
The north–south route along Dublin's eastern coastal side is also host to DART, Ireland's only electrified heavy-rail service. The DART consists of many types of trains, the oldest and most famous one being the 8100 Class which still operates, now extensively refurbished.
Services table The following is a simplified table of Monday - Friday off-peak services. Various irregular calling patterns have been omitted for clarity.
Route Frequency Per Direction Calling at Enterprise to Belfast Grand Central station 1 , , , , (1tpw) (1tpw) service jointly operated with NI Railways Sligo InterCity Dublin Connolly to Sligo MacDiarmada 1 , , , , , , , , , , , , , Mayo InterCity to 5 (1tpd), , , Clara, , , , , , , Manulla Junction to 1 Galway InterCity Dublin Heuston to >1 Portarlington, Tullamore, , Athlone, , , (4tpd), , Limerick InterCity Dublin Heuston to 1 , (1tpd), (2tpd), , Ballybrophy – Limerick Colbert 2 , , , , Cork Intercity Dublin Heuston to 1 Portlaoise, Ballybrophy (2tpd) Templemore (1tpd), Thurles, Limerick Junction, (1tpd), Tralee Intercity Dublin Heuston to 1 Ballybrophy, Templemore, Thurles, Charleville, , , , , Waterford Intercity Dublin Heuston to 9 (1tpd), (1tpd), (3tpd), Kildare (7tpd), , , , , Wexford Intercity Dublin Connolly to 4 , , (2tpd northbound-only), (2tpd northbound-only), (2tpd northbound-only), Dún Laoghaire Mallin, , , (5tpd), , , , , , and . 6 tpd (per direction) from Connolly to Gorey.5 tpd (per direction) from Connolly to Wexford O'Hanrahan. Waterford – Limerick Waterford Plunkett to Limerick Junction 2 , , , Limerick – Galway Limerick Colbert to 9 Limerick Colbert to Galway Ceannt 5 Sixmilebridge, Ennis, , , , Athenry, Oranmore 2tpd operate to/from Limerick Junction. Athenry to Galway Ceannt 2 OranmoreNorthern Commuter Dublin Connolly to Drogheda MacBride 1 (1tpd), (1tpd), (2tpd), , , , , , , some peak trains run to/from Dundalk Clarke, Dublin Pearse, Bray Daly, Gorey or Rosslare Europort South Western Commuter Grand Canal Dock to Hazelhatch and Celbridge 1 Dublin Pearse, Tara Street, Dublin Connolly, Drumcondra, , , and Dublin Heuston to Portlaoise 2 , , , , Hazelhatch and Celbridge, Sallins and Naas, Newbridge (1tph terminates), Kildare, and Portarlington Western Commuter Dublin Connolly to Maynooth 2 Drumcondra, , , , , , , , and Some peak-hour trains operate to/from Dublin Pearse. 3tpd continue to Mullingar/Longford (both call at all stations) Clonsilla to 1 and Docklands to M3 Parkway (Monday – Friday only) 12 Broombridge, Pelletstown, Ashtown, Navan Road Parkway, Castleknock, Coolmine, Clonsilla, Hansfield and Dunboyne Cork Commuter Cork Kent to 2 , and Cork Kent to 2 Littleisland, Glounthaune, , and DART to Bray Daly 3 Sutton, Bayside, Howth Junction & Donaghmede, Kilbarrack, Raheny, Harmonstown, Killester, Clontarf Road, Dublin Connolly, Tara Street, Dublin Pearse, Grand Canal Dock, Lansdowne Road, Sandymount, Sydney Parade, Booterstown, Blackrock, Seapoint, Salthill & Monkstown, Dún Laoghaire Mallin, Sandycove & Glasthule, Glenageary, Dalkey, Killiney and Shankill. 1tph extended to Greystones. Malahide to Bray Daly 3 Portmarnock, Clongriffin, Howth Junction & Donaghmede, Kilbarrack, Raheny, Harmonstown, Killester, Clontarf Road, Dublin Connolly, Tara Street, Dublin Pearse, Grand Canal Dock, Lansdowne Road, Sandymount, Sydney Parade, Booterstown, Blackrock, Seapoint, Salthill & Monkstown, Dún Laoghaire Mallin, Sandycove & Glasthule, Glenageary, Dalkey, Killiney and Shankill. 1tph extended to Greystones.
Freight services Iarnród Éireann also has responsibility for running freight services on the Irish network through its Freight Division – which recorded a tonnage decrease of 19.2% in 2019, and as of 2020, there are 3 freight flows running throughout the country. This operates both Railfreight trains and a network of road haulage through various distribution nodes throughout the country. Iarnród Éireann Freight is subdivided into three sections: Bulk Freight – specialises in operating full trainloads of freight, usually bulk movements of single products such as cement, mineral ore or timber. Intermodal – container trains, currently operated between Waterford Port and Ballina and Dublin Port and Ballina. Navigator – the freight forwarding division, particularly associated with the transport of automotive stock parts.
Operational details
The Enterprise route (Dublin to Belfast) is well regarded. However, it is only double track and serves both local and intermediate Commuter as well as InterCity traffic. Hence any delay has knock-on effects. Also, there is limited platform availability at Connolly Station in Dublin. There was also a persistent problem with engine overloading, as Enterprise locomotives also supplied coach power. However, since September 2012, additional power is provided by separate Mark 3 generator vans.
The Cork-Dublin route was formerly the "premier line" of the Great Southern and Western Railway, one of the biggest pre-CIÉ operators. Rolling stock on this route consists of Mark 4 trains, which were built in Spain, complete with DVTs for faster turn-around. 22000 Class DMUs built in South Korea came into service from early 2007 replacing older coaching stock on most other InterCity routes. These 183 carriages are described by the company as the "Greenest diesel trains in Europe".
The former Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey TD had announced that an additional 51 railcars had been ordered for the company for a planned introduction on services between Dublin, Louth, and Meath. They were placed into service in 2011/2012 but this plan was badly affected by the recession with 21 surpluses to requirements at the end of 2012.
The maximum operational speed of InterCity trains on the IÉ rail network is 160 km/h (100 mph), although the design speed of the Mark 4 carriages is 201 km/h (125 mph).
Since 2019, Iarnród Éireann has been trying to recruit more female drivers.
1916 station renaming
Although the majority of Iarnród Éireann's stations are simply named after the towns they serve, a number of stations in major towns and cities were renamed after leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, on its 50th anniversary in 1966: Dublin Connolly (formerly Amiens Street) Dublin Heuston (formerly Kingsbridge) Dublin Pearse (formerly Westland Row) Dún Laoghaire Mallin Bray Daly Cork Kent (formerly Glanmire Road) Kilkenny MacDonagh Limerick Colbert Tralee Casement Dundalk Clarke Drogheda MacBride Sligo Mac Diarmada Galway Ceannt Waterford Plunkett Wexford O'Hanrahan
Network Catering IÉ's Network Catering unit provided a trolley service of food and drink, a snack car and (on some routes) a restaurant service. It also operated a restaurant at Dún Laoghaire. According to Iarnród Éireann's annual report, the unit lost €297,000 in 2004. In 2006, Iarnród Éireann outsourced the catering on the Dublin-Belfast service to Corporate Catering Ltd, and all InterCity services were taken over by Rail Gourmet in March 2007. Rail Gourmet withdrew from the contract in 2020, and no longer provides catering for any Iarnród Éireann services. In 2023, a contactless catering service was established on the Cork to Dublin line.
Rolling stock
(excluding the Enterprise service): InterCity services have a fleet of 265 carriages. Commuter services have a fleet of 148 carriages. DART services have a fleet of 134 carriages. Dublin-Belfast Enterprise has a fleet of 28 carriages.
InterCity and Enterprise fleet IÉ 201 Class Locomotive IÉ 22000 Class DMU Mark 4 De Dietrich Rolling stock
Locomotive fleet
Current CIÉ 071 Class/NIR Class 110 locomotive IÉ 201 Class/NIR Class 201 locomotive