Irish Rail Cork-Dublin €39 day return

Jamie2k9 · 17-06-2013 2:14pm #1

http://www.irishrail.ie/cat_offers.jsp?i=4847

We know Cork people don't like leaving their beautiful county but Iarnród Éireann have made it a whole lot easier with the introduction of special return fares.
Adults can travel from Cork or Mallow to Dublin for €39 day return, while children can travel for €19.50 day return. These fares are available from the station after 09:00hrs on the day of travel.
Dublin has plenty to see and do with lots of shops, restaurants, museums and attractions, so why not treat yourself to a day out, you never know, you might even enjoy yourself.
Leave the hassle and stress of driving behind while you travel in comfort and style, customers can also avail of free wi-fi on board our services.
Offer ends Sunday 14th July 2013.

A response to bus operators on the route....

devnull · 17-06-2013 2:38pm

Might be attractive for some people but not for me, still over double the price of the bus.

veryangryman · 17-06-2013 8:31pm

Indeed. A brutal response. Double the price with stipulation that you must travel back on the day. Swing and a miss Irish rail

Hilly Bill · 18-06-2013 12:24am

veryangryman wrote: »

Indeed. A brutal response. Double the price with stipulation that you must travel back on the day. Swing and a miss Irish rail

Thats what a day return is.

veryangryman · 18-06-2013 9:07am

Hilly Bill wrote: »

Thats what a day return is.

I've taken the liberty of thanking your post as i didn't realize what a day return was.

Anyway... Dublin-Cork is a long journey. 5-6 hours in a day spent just getting to and from it for double the price of an open return on the bus where you can actually spend some time in the city you are visiting.

Maybe this sentence makes more sense to you guys.

Point is Bus>Train in every sense, even when trains do this "offer".

Hilly Bill · 18-06-2013 11:16am

No, that sentence doesnt make any sense.

It takes 2 and a half hours to go from Cork to Dublin with trains leaving every hour. It gives you plenty of time to visit Dublin.
For €39 its good value considering the distance that you are travelling by train and what the original fare is.

drunkmonkey · 18-06-2013 11:19am

It cost me €48 to do less than half that journey return the other day, there a complete rip off, its cheaper take the car which completely misses the point of what public transport should be about.

veryangryman · 18-06-2013 11:45am

drunkmonkey wrote: »

It cost me €48 to do less than half that journey return the other day, there a complete rip off, its cheaper take the car which completely misses the point of what public transport should be about.

Finally someone who gets it.

Look, if you want to spend the extra €20-30+ on these "luxurious" trains with the added stipulation that you must return the same day, be my guest. Me, if i have that kind of money to throw around, i'm driving. The train would never come into it. If i want to be "comfortable" and paying same price, then car all the way. If i want value, i take the bus.

Good luck to you if you think that €40 is good value for public transport.

murphaph · 18-06-2013 12:16pm

Hilly Bill wrote: »

For €39 its good value considering the distance that you are travelling by train and what the original fare is.

That's like saying a house is good value in 2013 because the same house cost double the amount in 2007, even though all the other houses in the area are also half the price they were in 2007.

Hilly Bill · 18-06-2013 12:34pm

drunkmonkey wrote: »

It cost me €48 to do less than half that journey return the other day, there a complete rip off, its cheaper take the car which completely misses the point of what public transport should be about.

You wont get to Cork and back for €39 in fuel.

Hilly Bill · 18-06-2013 12:38pm

murphaph wrote: »

That's like saying a house is good value in 2013 because the same house cost double the amount in 2007, even though all the other houses in the area are also half the price they were in 2007.

No its not.

professore · 18-06-2013 12:39pm

Hilly Bill wrote: »

You wont get to Cork and back for €39 in fuel.

don't forget €7.60 in tolls, assuming you don't go around the M50.

Hilly Bill · 18-06-2013 12:41pm

veryangryman wrote: »

Finally someone who gets it.

Look, if you want to spend the extra €20-30+ on these "luxurious" trains with the added stipulation that you must return the same day, be my guest. Me, if i have that kind of money to throw around, i'm driving. The train would never come into it. If i want to be "comfortable" and paying same price, then car all the way. If i want value, i take the bus.

Good luck to you if you think that €40 is good value for public transport.

Some wont be happy until its all free.

Hilly Bill · 18-06-2013 12:42pm

professore wrote: »

don't forget €7.60 in tolls, assuming you don't go around the M50.

Plus parking charges.

n97 mini · 18-06-2013 12:42pm

Hilly Bill wrote: »

You wont get to Cork and back for €39 in fuel.

Some cars will, and you definitely will for less than €78 if you bring someone else in the car.

Grandeeod · 18-06-2013 12:44pm

Hilly Bill wrote: »

You wont get to Cork and back for €39 in fuel.

Your right you wont or in this case Cork to Dublin and back. For an individual the fare is probably attractive as the train is a different experience to the bus. Its obvious that the fare is aimed at people taking a recreational trip and on that basis its an okay discount. Looks like the earliest arrival in the City Centre would be about 12.30pm and opting for the 7pm return, it gives a decent 6 hours in Dublin with a decent hour arrival back in Cork.

I'm not convinced its an attractive enough price though.

drunkmonkey · 18-06-2013 12:44pm

Hilly Bill wrote: »

You wont get to Cork and back for €39 in fuel.

I didn't go dublin cork, I only went less than half way, it was only 1 stop on the train and it cost €48 return, not to mention paying for the luas on top of it and having to get dropped back to the huston. The tain was about 1/4 full and i'm not surprised in the least. It's an utter rip off....
Seen as I only went 1 stop I would have easily made the journey on €39 of fuel.

Grandeeod · 18-06-2013 12:46pm

I assume the €39 fare includes the City Centre connection?

Hilly Bill · 18-06-2013 12:50pm

drunkmonkey wrote: »

I didn't go dublin cork, I only went less than half way, it was only 1 stop on the train and it cost €48 return, not to mention paying for the luas on top of it and having to get dropped back to the huston. The tain was about 1/4 full and i'm not surprised in the least. It's an utter rip off....
Seen as I only went 1 stop I would have easily made the journey on €39 of fuel.

How is it a rip off when you had the choice to pay it or not along with other travel options? Where you forced to pay it?

serfboard · 18-06-2013 1:31pm

I think it's an interesting response to Bus Competition by IE.

If they didn't reduce the fare some people here would be complaining about how expensive it is.

If the fare reduction was too much, and couldn't cover the cost, others would be complaining about how much of a subsidy IE need.

veryangryman · 18-06-2013 1:36pm

serfboard wrote: »

I think it's an interesting response to Bus Competition by IE.

If they didn't reduce the fare some people here would be complaining about how expensive it is.

If the fare reduction was too much, and couldn't cover the cost, others would be complaining about how much of a subsidy IE need.

Step in the right direction yes, but for Joe Soap who's worried about own bottom line, the cheapest option (especially if Direct) is going to come up trumps.

I'm more than happy to have train lovers subsidize the costs; personally I don't see the big whoop that makes people willing to part with their hard earned on them.

Polar101 · 18-06-2013 1:57pm

veryangryman wrote: »

I'm more than happy to have train lovers subsidize the costs; personally I don't see the big whoop that makes people willing to part with their hard earned on them.

Each to their own, some people prefer train travel over sitting two hours in a small steel or aluminium box. I think it's easy to understand both parties, too.

davidlacey · 18-06-2013 2:11pm

Plus your adding 100s of kms in one return journey to its mileage speeding up the depreciation of the car

corktina · 18-06-2013 4:05pm

interesting that there is no bus competition from Mallow

Jamie2k9 · 18-06-2013 4:48pm

9.99 fares back on selected Cork services.

http://www.irishrail.ie/999

LXFlyer · 18-06-2013 5:26pm

I fail to see why people have to constantly descend into coach -v- train arguments when promotions are offered by an operator.

As I've said before, there is plenty of room for both - some people prefer the train and others the coach.

But constantly descending into petty arguments is doing no one nor this board any good.

This is a promotional day return fare, like the one offered last summer, and the summer before that.

davidlacey · 18-06-2013 5:47pm

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

9.99 fares back on selected Cork services.

http://www.irishrail.ie/999

Great prices, checked up for july 4 get to go 19.99 to cork and 9.99 back to dublin, happy camper!

n97 mini · 18-06-2013 6:32pm

Jamie2k9 wrote: »

9.99 fares back on selected Cork services.

http://www.irishrail.ie/999

That's more like it!

corktina · 18-06-2013 7:19pm

a step in the right direction

ThreeBlindMice · 18-06-2013 8:55pm

n97 mini wrote: »

Some cars will, and you definitely will for less than €78 if you bring someone else in the car.

I wouldn't go any more than two in a 97 Mini. :pac:

BenShermin · 18-06-2013 9:31pm

The cynic in me is thinking: "So some of the trains are back to the price they were two years ago, and we your humble passengers are supposed to jump for joy? What fantastic progress altogether :rolleyes:"

Being serious though, IÉ need to market the hell out of this fare, and it needs to be the norm from now on, I don't like the fact that IÉ use the words "limited time only" to describe this fare. Personally speaking, if I can book in advance, and the fare is available I'll certainly be using the train instead of the bus for my next Cork trip.

Irish Rail Cork-Dublin €39 day return

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