Rail service information for Papal visit

Iarnród Éireann has issued a final reminder to customers intending to travel this weekend to be aware of service arrangements arising from the World Meeting of Families events.  There will be capacity for up to 250,000 journeys by rail for those travelling to and from the Phoenix Park Papal Mass on Sunday alone.

In particular, customers are reminded:

SATURDAY, 25TH AUGUST – DUBLIN CITY AND CROKE PARK EVENTS

A normal Saturday service will operate on most routes, with additional capacity. Customers attending the Papal procession through Dublin city centre are advised to travel as early as possible.

Extra Maynooth line services will operate before and after the Croke Park event.

Late night Intercity services will operate from Heuston Station to Cork, Limerick and Galway, and must be prebooked.

Connolly Station car park is closed due to event operational requirements.

SUNDAY, 26TH AUGUST – PHOENIX PARK AND KNOCK EVENTS

Intercity

All Intercity trains on Sunday 26th August travelling to Dublin before the Papal Mass and from Dublin afterwards must be prebooked. Tickets will not be available from stations on the day.  This includes existing ticket holders, including free travel pass holders, who must reserve a seat in advance.

Most Intercity routes are sold out. Trains are sold out for Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Mayo, Waterford to Dublin; a small number remain from Rosslare, Sligo and Galway to Dublin and must be booked ASAP. Tickets and reservations are available at irishrail.ie and 018366222.

Please travel on the train you have booked. You cannot switch to an alternative service.  Seating is unallocated on Intercity services on this date.

DART/Commuter

DART, Maynooth, M3 Parkway, Drogheda and Kildare/Portlaoise Commuter routes will have extra frequency (see notes to editor), and is a walk-up service with pre-booking not required. Customers are advised to travel early due to high demand.

Those travelling within the Dublin Short Hop Zone (DART, Balbriggan, M3, Kilcock, Sallins and Kilcoole) can travel for free with a Papal Mass ticket.

Heuston, Ashtown and Navan Road Parkway Stations are the closest stations to Phoenix Park. DART/Northern Commuter customers should change at Connolly to reach Ashtown/Navan Road Parkway.

Heuston, Connolly (also Saturday 25th August) and Maynooth station car parks are closed on Sunday 26th August due to event operational requirements. Alternative parking in Maynooth is available at NUI Maynooth.  All other station car parks are open.

Bikes are not permitted on DART and Commuter services on Sunday 26th August due to volumes travelling.

Customers travelling for any reason seeking to access Dublin City Centre stations are advised to allow extra time to reach the station, taking account of road closures and bus and Luas restrictions (in particular, please note Luas is not operating between Smithfield and Blackhorse, including Heuston Station).

Knock

Knock event: extra service from Athlone to Claremorris is sold out, still availability from Westport and Ballina to Claremorris, advance booking mandatory. Train tickets are valid on a free shuttle bus between Claremorris and Knock.

Full details on rail services for the World Meeting of Families events are available at www.irishrail.ie

Full details on the Papal visit are available at http://gov.ie/en/visit-of- pope-francis/