John Ó'Ríordáns Blog

I hate travelling on the train in Ireland. The rail system is expensive, has a very limited number of destinations, is slow and often late and the carriages are a disgrace. Although to be fare the carriage running the Cork Dublin line is quite nice. Rail travel to Hurling and Football matches is a real pain and the website has caused me to miss more than one train as the timetable was wrong.

So you should know your rights when you travel especially if the train is late, which is by far the most annoying part of rail travel.

Below you’ll find what you are entitled to in the event of a delay.

Discounts in the Event of Delays

If your service is seriously delayed for any reason within our control, you may be entitled to a discount voucher.

If, because of circumstances within the control of Iarnród Éireann, you are more than one hour late in arriving at your destination, we will normally offer you discount vouchers for use against future ticket purchases. The value of discount vouchers is based on the length of delay and the fare you have paid for your single journey.

For delays of one to two hours, we will give you vouchers to the value of 50 % of the fare you have paid for the portion of your journey affected.

For delays over two hours, we will give you vouchers to the value of 100% of the fare you have paid for your single journey.

Discounts in the Event of Service Failures
If we fail to honour your seat reservation, and no other seat of similar standard on the same service is available for you, we will refund the fare of your single journey in travel vouchers.

If we fail to provide in-seat catering in First Class or City Gold carriages, where this is advertised as part of the service, we will give you a refund to the value of the First Class/CityGold supplement in travel vouchers.

Claiming Discount Vouchers
To apply for discounts you will need to fill in an application form. These forms will be available at the ticket offices in all main stations, Travel Centres and at the DART Office, Pearse Station.

You MUST attach your ticket to the completed form as proof of travel and provide any other supporting evidence as required.

The ‘small print’

We cannot accept claims for delays that are outside our control, for example, those caused by advertised engineering works, security alerts, industrial action taken without notice, extreme weather conditions, vandalism or other actions by third parties.

From the Iarnród Éireann Charter.