Fastest Cork-Dublin train on track
A new Irish Rail timetable will begin from next week, and the good news for commuters to the capital is that it is to include the “fastest ever scheduled service” between Cork and Dublin.
Starting on Monday 11 December, the weekday 6.15 am Cork Kent to Dublin Heuston service will take 2 hours and 14 minutes, which is five minutes faster than before. This makes it the quickest scheduled service on this route.
Irish Rail explained that the shorter travel time is due to recent track and infrastructure upgrades on the line.
There will also be a new departure from Dublin Heuston which will get passengers to Cork Kent station at 8.32am from Monday to Friday.
Increased peak morning services will be available in both directions between Cork and Mallow every day from Monday to Saturday. The services depart at 7.20am from Cork to Mallow and at 7.50am from Mallow to Cork.
Additionally, several Dublin Heuston to Cork services will include extra stops at Portlaoise to connect with the new Heuston to Portlaoise commuter services.
The new timetable follows public consultation in September 2023, in which over 1,650 customers participated.
Speaking about the changes to the Cork to Dublin route, a spokesperson for Irish Rail said: “We are delighted to be in a position to begin an early 06hrs weekday service from Dublin Heuston to Cork, and to introduce a Limerick connection from this service also.
“We believe this will be a very popular service, with the arrival in Cork well before 09hrs, and in Limerick before 08hrs, particularly attractive to business customers.
"We look forward to bringing these improvements to our services which follow previous expansion of services in December 2022.”
"Iarnród Éireann with the National Transport Authority will continue to identify opportunities for further service improvements in the context of post-Covud travel patterns, as demand approaches, and on some routes exceeds, pre-pandemic levels,” they added.
"The purpose of investment in our network, fleet and services is to bring a better service to customers and allow more people make a sustainable travel choices."