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🚆 Dublin Rail Network

Comprehensive overview of Dublin's rail, DART, commuter services, Luas tram links, fares, accessibility, timetables, and planned DART+ upgrades for travellers and commuters.
Dublin's rail network combines suburban heavy-rail (DART and commuter), intercity services, and the Luas tram to connect Dublin with nearby towns and the rest of Ireland. This guide covers how the system is organised, major stations, ticketing options (including the TFI Leap Card), accessibility, real‑time planning resources, and the major DART+ upgrades currently progressing. (irishrail.ie, transportforireland.ie)

🌍 Geography

Dublin's rail arteries fan out from central hubs on both sides of the River Liffey: the northside cluster around Connolly Station and the south/westside cluster around Heuston Station, serving coastal, commuter and intercity corridors to the north, south, west and northwest. The DART runs around Dublin Bay (Howth/Malahide ↔ Greystones) while commuter lines extend inland to places like Maynooth, Drogheda, Portlaoise and Longford. (en.wikipedia.org)
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🚉 Overview

The network is primarily operated by Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) for DART, commuter and intercity trains, with Luas trams operated separately (Transdev) for inner-city light rail. Transport for Ireland (TFI) coordinates fares, ticketing (TFI Leap) and journey planning across modes. (irishrail.ie, transportforireland.ie)
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Dublin rail network
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🌊 DART — Dublin Area Rapid Transit

The DART is a high-frequency electrified service running along Dublin Bay between Howth/Malahide in the north and Greystones in County Wicklow to the south — core for short cross‑city trips and tourist access to coastal suburbs. Frequency is high in peak daytime hours and services run roughly from early morning until around midnight (check current timetables for exact times). (dublinpublictransport.ie)
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🚂 Commuter Lines

Dublin’s commuter network includes the Northern, Western, South‑Western and South‑Eastern commuter services that connect the suburbs and satellite towns to the city centre (for example Maynooth, M3 Parkway, Hazelhatch, Newbridge, Drogheda). Many commuter services share tracks with DART in central sections and feed into central stations like Pearse, Tara Street and Connolly. (en.wikipedia.org, irishrail.ie)
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🛤️ Intercity Services

Intercity trains link central Dublin stations — notably Heuston Station (west/southwest services to Cork, Limerick, Galway) and Connolly Station (north/south services to Belfast, Rosslare/Wexford, Sligo) — for longer-distance travel across Ireland. These services use separate ticketing rules to suburban fares; check Irish Rail for seat reservations and advance fares. (en.wikipedia.org)
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🚋 Luas Tram

The Luas light-rail has two main lines (Red, Green) providing frequent inner-city and Docklands coverage and key interchanges with heavy rail at stops like Connolly and several city-centre locations. Luas is ideal for short city hops and transferring to/from rail hubs (e.g., Spencer Dock connects the Docklands area to the Red Line). (en.wikipedia.org)
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🏛️ Major Stations

Key central stations to know: Connolly Station (busiest hub, DART/commuter/intercity connection), Heuston Station (western/southern intercity terminus), Pearse, Tara Street, Grand Canal Dock, and Docklands — each offers different interchange options to Luas, buses and local services. Plan journeys to the right terminal: some intercity departures use Heuston while others use Connolly. (en.wikipedia.org)
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🎫 Tickets & Fares

Use the TFI Leap Card for convenience across DART, commuter rail, Luas and Dublin Bus — it offers lower fares, daily/weekly capping (e.g., Zone 1 caps) and the 90‑minute transfer fare within Dublin. Leap does not cover most intercity reserved services — buy those through Irish Rail. Always tap on and tap off where validators exist. (transportforireland.ie, about.leapcard.ie)
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Leap Card
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♿ Accessibility

Most central stations and Luas stops have ramps, lifts or level access; Luas trams include dedicated wheelchair areas and many stations list lift access at specific stops (for example Connolly has lifts for Luas access). Contact Irish Rail or Luas in advance for assistance or check TFI accessibility pages for station specifics. (transportforireland.ie)
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⏱️ Timetables & Real‑time

Timetables by station and real‑time service alerts are available from Irish Rail (station timetables/PDFs) and the TFI journey planner; these are the authoritative sources for next trains, platform info and disruption notices — check before travel, especially for weekend engineering works or event-related extra services. (irishrail.ie, dublinpublictransport.ie)
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Irish Rail timetable
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⚡ Future Projects — DART+

The DART+ programme (DART+ West, Coastal North, Coastal South, South West and fleet upgrades) will greatly expand electrified, high‑frequency DART services across the Greater Dublin Area — projects such as DART+ Coastal North (Malahide → Drogheda) have progressed through planning and will introduce new battery‑electric trains and infrastructure upgrades. DART+ aims to treble electrified route length and significantly raise peak capacity. (gov.ie, dartplus.ie)
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✅ Tips for Travelers

If you’d like, I can:
  • Pull the live next‑train times for a specific origin/destination (I’ll check current schedules), or
  • Create a printable one‑day Dublin transit plan connecting rail, Luas and buses for common tourist routes (e.g., airport ↔ city ↔ Howth).
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Last updated: Mon Aug 18, 2025