Trains in Ireland

In the last few posts, I’ve talked about Belfast (in Northern Ireland) and I’ve talked about Ireland.  So, how do you get between the two places?

The Irish are very serious about their train travel. The trains are clean, easy to understand, and, if you buy online, pretty cheap.
 

I took a lot of trains in Italy. Except for the high speeds, the bathrooms smelled completely undesirable. In Ireland, however, I didn't hesitate to use the facilities.
 

Also in Italy, we went so far as to get on the wrong train, that's how poorly things are marked.  In Ireland, your ticket shows a train car and a seat
 

It's very easy to see we were seated in D28.

When you look at the train, you can determine exactly where to sit because the train doors are so clearly marked.
 

And if for some reason you get confused, your name is actually on the seat.
 

 

If you purchase your train tickets online, you'll also find travel buy rails to be inexpensive. On a 3.5 hour ride from Westport to Dublin, we paid only €21.99 online. However, we paid €38 for the same train ride when we arrived in the Emerald Isle (disclaimer: I was on a lot of Ativan at this point and was not really in the business of being economical).

 

 

 

 

The trains are also on time, which the Irish appear to pride themselves on.

 

You'll also find wifi on all the trains.

Here, Frank rocks out to some Pandora

The trams throughout Ireland are just as amazing. Dublin has two main train stations: Heuston and Connelly. For whatever reason, they don't connect, even though, if you want to go from the west coast to Belfast, you'll need to go through both.  If you take a tram, you’ll pay only €1.60.  Taking a taxi will set you back €25.

Westport to Dublin: €21.99

Dublin to Belfast: €15.99

Tram Between Dublin train stations: €1.60

Total Cost: €39.58 ($53.41)Best Deal: Taking a tram between the two Dublin train stations instead of a taxi