Irish Rail web prices

homerjay2005

has anybody else noticed the the prices of train tickets online has rocketed up?

normally in the past, i get trains down to limerick/charleville/tralee for €10/15/20, but today ive checked practially every train this week and they are all €37 single way. add in €2 for debit card, thats costing me €78 return, which is a scandle.....

all limerick trains bar 2 are €30, the 2 are €23 and the times dont suit.

any particular reason or have they decided to cut the number of online tickets..it really is strange to see €30 at least on practically every route even a few days in advance.

i checked 3 weeks time and looks like the decent times are set at €30 and there are others then for €10 and €16 euro, but looks like they have limited the number of seats now, as ive got tickets before on the day of travel for €15 each way.

parsi

i looked at 13 July and found a good few cheap fares

Losty Dublin

homerjay2005 wrote: »

has anybody else noticed the the prices of train tickets online has rocketed up?

normally in the past, i get trains down to limerick/charleville/tralee for €10/15/20, but today ive checked practially every train this week and they are all €37 single way. add in €2 for debit card, thats costing me €78 return, which is a scandle.....

all limerick trains bar 2 are €30, the 2 are €23 and the times dont suit.

any particular reason or have they decided to cut the number of online tickets..it really is strange to see €30 at least on practically every route even a few days in advance.

i checked 3 weeks time and looks like the decent times are set at €30 and there are others then for €10 and €16 euro, but looks like they have limited the number of seats now, as ive got tickets before on the day of travel for €15 each way.

The cheap tickets are spread across all trains now so you can get cheap seats on peak time trains as well as off peak services. The up side of this is that €37 one way to Cork can be got for €10; the downside is that there are less cheap tickets on 10AM type off peak departures.

homerjay2005

the base fairs used to be 15, 29 and 36, they are now 16, 30 and 37 and there are more 37's apppearing now than 16's...

Losty Dublin

homerjay2005 wrote: »

the base fairs used to be 15, 29 and 36, they are now 16, 30 and 37 and there are more 37's apppearing now than 16's...

€10 is the cheapest fare offered, not €16.

homerjay2005

Losty Dublin wrote: »

€10 is the cheapest fare offered, not €16.

that has remained unchanged, the others have gone up a euro.

LXFlyer

They changed the booking system - there is now a quota of each fare on every train rather than an entire coach being priced at a certain rate.

Once the quota is sold, the fare goes up to the next level.

Motto is - book as far in advance as you can.

homerjay2005

its now cheaper to buy in the ticket office in some cases. today i got a €37, and i need to get one back up again sunday, another €37...

thats €74 return, plus €4 booking fee, €6 if ccard.

cost €72 in the office. they are robbing ba*tards IMO, €72 for a very poor service, the train that was supposed to take us today broke down so we got some crap old intercity one.

Losty Dublin

homerjay2005 wrote: »

its now cheaper to buy in the ticket office in some cases. today i got a €37, and i need to get one back up again sunday, another €37...

thats €74 return, plus €4 booking fee, €6 if ccard.

cost €72 in the office. they are robbing ba*tards IMO, €72 for a very poor service, the train that was supposed to take us today broke down so we got some crap old intercity one.

When you book online, your seat is reserved; your seat isn't reserved when you book at the station unless you pay a surcharge. The booking fee applies per booking and not per leg.

There isn't any "old intercity" trains in service to replace any broken down trains so I don't think your memory is working well today

foggy_lad

Losty Dublin wrote: »

When you book online, your seat is reserved; your seat isn't reserved when you book at the station unless you pay a surcharge. The booking fee applies per booking and not per leg.

There isn't any "old intercity" trains in service to replace any broken down trains so I don't think your memory is working well today

But because so few people use the train because it is so unreliable slow and expensive not having reserved a seat should never be a problem!

parsi

foggy_lad wrote: »

But because so few people use the train because it is so unreliable slow and expensive not having reserved a seat should never be a problem!

The trains that are heavily patronised by paying customers are still busy eg the evening train back to Cork.

Peadar06

If you go to this thread, you will get 15% off your web fares.

Peter

foggy_lad

parsi wrote: »

The trains that are heavily patronised by paying customers are still busy eg the evening train back to Cork.

True but there are usually still lots of seats available but you may have to sit beside someone.

-Chris-

foggy_lad wrote: »

True but there are usually still lots of seats available but you may have to sit beside someone.

bk

parsi wrote: »

The trains that are heavily patronised by paying customers are still busy eg the evening train back to Cork.

To be honest, not from what I've seen, even the Dublin to Cork 5pm on Friday isn't packed anymore.

I honestly don't understand this credit card and online booking fees, it is total nonsense.

It costs almost nothing to run an online booking service (I've worked in this area), less then the salary of a few ticket sales staff.

So you'd imagine they would want to encourage people to book online, so they could reduce the number of ticket sales staff and thus reduce costs. But no, doesn't seem to work that way in IR's magical world.

IR seems to think they are the new Ryanair and that since Ryanair can do it, they can do it too. But that is broken thinking, they aren't Ryanair, they aren't flying to far flung foreign destinations for peoples holidays where there is little competition or alternatives, they are only going relatively short distances to Cork, etc. and have far more competition from car, coach and even airlines.

And they aren't cutting costs right, left and center like Ryanair does to deliver the cheapest prices possible.

Really IR's service isn't so good or competitive that they can get away with all these extra charges.

How is is you can book a guaranteed seat on a coach to Galway for €20 return, all in with no booking charge or Credit Card charge, while with IR they have to charge online booking charges and CC charges pushing the price over €50 on the same route, madness!!

homerjay2005

Losty Dublin wrote: »

When you book online, your seat is reserved; your seat isn't reserved when you book at the station unless you pay a surcharge. The booking fee applies per booking and not per leg.

There isn't any "old intercity" trains in service to replace any broken down trains so I don't think your memory is working well today

do you work for irish rail or something?

paying for resered seating is not something that i particulary need or want, im very happy to be on time and take my chances. trains are 50% full most of the time anyway. and i dont see why you need to point the obvious about one leg/2 leg when i already mentioned it was cheaper to buy a return, when that was never the case before, 2 singles online were always cheaper.

and as regards your memory jibe, im sorry mr pedantic, i dont spend my time checking up on the history of irish rail, but it was one of these ones...

foggy_lad

homerjay2005 wrote: »

do you work for irish rail or something?

paying for resered seating is not something that i particulary need or want, im very happy to be on time and take my chances. trains are 50% full most of the time anyway. and i dont see why you need to point the obvious about one leg/2 leg when i already mentioned it was cheaper to buy a return, when that was never the case before, 2 singles online were always cheaper.

and as regards your memory jibe, im sorry mr pedantic, i dont spend my time checking up on the history of irish rail, but it was one of these ones...

That is just an old railcar but a fitting substitute for the cork or limerick train

Losty Dublin

homerjay2005 wrote: »

do you work for irish rail or something?

See conflict of interest threads if you are that way concerned

homerjay2005 wrote: »

paying for resered seating is not something that i particulary need or want, im very happy to be on time and take my chances. trains are 50% full most of the time anyway. and i dont see why you need to point the obvious about one leg/2 leg when i already mentioned it was cheaper to buy a return, when that was never the case before, 2 singles online were always cheaper.

You aren't actually paying for a reserved seat if you book online but it is a benefit that booking online over has over booking at a ticket office that your seat is secured. Many people like the option to reserve and pick their seat,; also on busier trips it saves queuing and gives you piece of mind.

homerjay2005 wrote: »

and as regards your memory jibe, im sorry mr pedantic, i dont spend my time checking up on the history of irish rail, but it was one of these ones...

Rather unlikely that you were if you were on all the from Cork to Dublin but if you were, sorry to hear that. Railcars similar to that work Mallow-Tralee and Limerick branch services; perhaps you are thinking of that?

foggy_lad

Losty Dublin wrote: »

homerjay2005 wrote: »

do you work for irish rail or something?

See conflict of interest threads if you are that way concerned

homerjay2005 wrote: »

paying for resered seating is not something that i particulary need or want, im very happy to be on time and take my chances. trains are 50% full most of the time anyway. and i dont see why you need to point the obvious about one leg/2 leg when i already mentioned it was cheaper to buy a return, when that was never the case before, 2 singles online were always cheaper.

You aren't actually paying for a reserved seat if you book online but it is a benefit that booking online over has over booking at a ticket office that your seat is secured. Many people like the option to reserve and pick their seat,; also on busier trips it saves queuing and gives you piece of mind.

homerjay2005 wrote: »

and as regards your memory jibe, im sorry mr pedantic, i dont spend my time checking up on the history of irish rail, but it was one of these ones...

Rather unlikely that you were if you were on all the from Cork to Dublin but if you were, sorry to hear that. Railcars similar to that work Mallow-Tralee and Limerick branch services; perhaps you are thinking of that?

Reservations are supposed to secure your seat but if there is no Irish rail staff on the train except for the driver and ticket checker who is usually hiding what do you do when someone else sits in the seat you have paid to reserve?

also the op mentioned being on the Limerick train which I take to mean the through train to Limerick not the service that requires a change onto a railcar at Limerick junction and if this broke down it may have been replaced by a railcar.

mk6705

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Railcars similar to that work Mallow-Tralee and Limerick branch services; perhaps you are thinking of that?

They don't really do Mallow to Tralee. Only maybe one or at max two services a day would be run by those, and even then off peak ones.

cast_iron

foggy_lad wrote: »

Reservations are supposed to secure your seat but if there is no Irish rail staff on the train except for the driver and ticket checker who is usually hiding what do you do when someone else sits in the seat you have paid to reserve?

That gets me. Two options though, either ask them to move or find another seat. And if that other seat is reserved and its owner comes along, send 'em to your original seat and let 'em take it up with them.:)
Or moan on the internet that IR staff aren't doing something they weren't hired to do.

MOH

Losty Dublin wrote: »

When you book online, your seat is reserved; your seat isn't reserved when you book at the station unless you pay a surcharge. The booking fee applies per booking and not per leg.

There isn't any "old intercity" trains in service to replace any broken down trains so I don't think your memory is working well today

Your seat is theoretically reserved. If they bother. And if the booking system is switched on.

In my experience, that's less than 50% of the time

Losty Dublin

MOH wrote: »

Your seat is theoretically reserved. If they bother. And if the booking system is switched on.

In my experience, that's less than 50% of the time

No, your seat is reserved all of the time and regardless of the name board display being on or not

foggy_lad

Losty Dublin wrote: »

No, your seat is reserved all of the time and regardless of the name board display being on or not

Unless I am sitting in your seats and snarl and growl when you ask me to move:D:D:D

Your seat will usually be reserved on the train unless it is a replacement railcar but getting to sit in it when the reservation system is not set up properly or just not turned on and/or another passenger is in your seat refusing to move is another kettle of fish altogether.

There are fewer and fewer staff on trains these days with conductors/ticket checkers usually gating off mid journey to serve another train so it is unlikely you will find anyone to assist you on the train, even the disabled are on their own on most trains.

markpb

Losty Dublin wrote: »

No, your seat is reserved all of the time and regardless of the name board display being on or not

That's a little naive. Out in the real world, the display may not be working, the reservation cards might not have been placed on the seat, the seat might not exist (because of train configuration change or train replacement) or someone might be sitting in your seat (possibly unaware that it's reserved) and might refuse to move. IR have handled seat reservation like almost everything else: half-assed.

Losty Dublin

markpb wrote: »

That's a little naive. Out in the real world, the display may not be working, the reservation cards might not have been placed on the seat, the seat might not exist (because of train configuration change or train replacement) or someone might be sitting in your seat (possibly unaware that it's reserved) and might refuse to move. IR have handled seat reservation like almost everything else: half-assed.

Train configuration only changes in the event of a breakdown of a set where it's replaced with a smaller set; the booking system still holds up display or not as your ticket is your proof of reserved seat. Your reservation still stands regardless of what sort of set covers the trip so that end hold good.

If somebody sits on your seat you actually can't blame Irish Rail for them doing it but should it happens it is up to you to either ask the punter to move or to get a staff member to move them for you. Okay, they may refuse but it's almost always innocent mistakes and it's silly to think people won't move for you or you will be attacked for asking them.

foggy_lad

There are no reservations on railcars so how can a reservation on a 22000 be transferred to a 27000, 28000 or 29000 set as the seating layout in these trains is completly different.

Losty Dublin wrote: »

Train configuration only changes in the event of a breakdown of a set where it's replaced with a smaller set; the booking system still holds up display or not as your ticket is your proof of reserved seat. Your reservation still stands regardless of what sort of set covers the trip so that end hold good.

If somebody sits on your seat you actually can't blame Irish Rail for them doing it but should it happens it is up to you to either ask the punter to move or to get a staff member to move them for you. Okay, they may refuse but it's almost always innocent mistakes and it's silly to think people won't move for you or you will be attacked for asking them.

It is silly to think that there will be any staff available to help or that they won't just tell you to sit anywhere. And if I reserve a seat like most people it would be to avoid having to interact with others on board and should enable me being seated without any fuss.

cast_iron

foggy_lad wrote: »

It is silly to think that there will be any staff available to help or that they won't just tell you to sit anywhere. And if I reserve a seat like most people it would be to avoid having to interact with others on board and should enable me being seated without any fuss.

Of course. But most of the time these people have sat in your seat unknowing it is reserved by you. The mother and child hardly say "oh, it's foggy lads seat, lets take this even though there are plenty of other seats".
There are plenty of other seats, as when you reserve a seat you are told to on the train at least 20 mins before departure time.

I've not been to a IR (Intercity) station that had no staff, and since you have 20 mins, finding a staff member to request the offending customer to move shouldn't be a problem.

Or what am I missing here?

dowlingm

being on the train 20mins ahead no help if gates not open then and you're back the queue, or if you board at a mid-route station.

LGiamani

The one thing I noticed last Saturday was when I went to book a ticket from Sligo-Dublin it went up 8 euro's between 11am to 12pm that day and the O2 treats voucher would not work even though it says on the O2 website 15% of rail fares on Tue and Sat

foggy_lad

cast_iron wrote: »

Of course. But most of the time these people have sat in your seat unknowing it is reserved by you. The mother and child hardly say "oh, it's foggy lads seat, lets take this even though there are plenty of other seats".
There are plenty of other seats, as when you reserve a seat you are told to on the train at least 20 mins before departure time.

I've not been to a IR (Intercity) station that had no staff, and since you have 20 mins, finding a staff member to request the offending customer to move shouldn't be a problem.

Or what am I missing here?

That is ok if you board at either end but if you get on in thurles going to Dublin or cork good luck finding the train host/ess who is usually stuck in first class reading the papers and not at all interested, that is only the cork train, any other train and it is down to luck as to whether there is a ticket checker on board!

bk

The point that everyone is trying to make here is that IR's online booking is fundamentally broken.

You have to pay extra to book online, as you are required to reserve a seat when booking online, but it is usually pointless reserving a seat as people often end up sitting in your reserved seat and won't move.

Saying that it doesn't matter, there are plenty of free seats just sit in one of those gets to the heart of the matter. Why the hell are we forced to pay extra to reserve a seat when booking online when the trains are half empty anyway.

The way it should work is that you should be able to buy a ticket online for free without reserving a seat and can optionally reserve a seat for an extra fee, just like AerLingus does.

schemingbohemia

bk wrote: »

The point that everyone is trying to make here is that IR's online booking is fundamentally broken.

You have to pay extra to book online, as you are required to reserve a seat when booking online, but it is usually pointless reserving a seat as people often end up sitting in your reserved seat and won't move.

Saying that it doesn't matter, there are plenty of free seats just sit in one of those gets to the heart of the matter. Why the hell are we forced to pay extra to reserve a seat when booking online when the trains are half empty anyway.

The way it should work is that you should be able to buy a ticket online for free without reserving a seat and can optionally reserve a seat for an extra fee, just like AerLingus does.

You're not paying extra to book a seat it's included in the price.

People will move when asked, Foggy Lad won't ask them and I'm sure others won't either, that's their fault not IR's. I've asked people to move on a number of occasions and they have done so.

I totally disagree with the credit card charge for booking online but have benefitted from IR's dynamic pricing by getting a return to Galway for €18 a couple of months back.

bk

schemingbohemia wrote: »

You're not paying extra to book a seat it's included in the price.

Ok, so it turns out that the seat booking fee is included in the ticket price.

However there is a €2 transaction fee which is completely unavoidable and a €1 credit card fee if you use CC rather then Laser/Debit Card.

This is completely unjustifiable IMO.

If you can buy a ticket online using a credit card with GoBus with no fees for less then half of the price for the same journey with Irish Rail, I simply can't see how IR can justify this.

After all if you buy your ticket using credit card at the station there is no credit card fee, so why the online fee?

Likewise, the €2 transaction fee is completely unjustifiable as it costs very little to run such online ticket ordering systems, much lower then the cost of ticket sales staff.

So IR should be dropping both of these fees to encourage people to book online versus at the ticket desk.

dowlingm

Love foggy's reference to old trains - I don't know what he'd do if he encountered one of the several 55+ year old DMUs in service in North America, some of whom are being refitted to do another 10-20 years of work.

foggy_lad

dowlingm wrote: »

Love foggy's reference to old trains - I don't know what he'd do if he encountered one of the several 55+ year old DMUs in service in North America, some of whom are being refitted to do another 10-20 years of work.

Again we are not in north America or even Germany or timbucktoo so their trains are not particularly relevant. If they decide to run dmu's till the wheels fall off that is their choice, until they move in ant take over Irish rail they will haVe no say in how old Irish trains are.

-Chris-

foggy_lad wrote: »

Again we are not in north America or even Germany or timbucktoo so their trains are not particularly relevant. If they decide to run dmu's till the wheels fall off that is their choice, until they move in ant take over Irish rail they will haVe no say in how old Irish trains are.

But wouldn't you take international experience into account when assessing the policies of IR?

foggy_lad

-Chris- wrote: »

But wouldn't you take international experience into account when assessing the policies of IR?

Yes, but from a country with similar size and infrastructure to Ireland. Systems used in North America Germany Japan etc are nowhere near what we have or will ever have in Ireland, sending ESB staff off to France to look at how they operate Nuclear power stations would be pointless as it is unlikely to be of any use here now or in the foreseeable future and imho the same applies with rail technology and operations.

As far as the North American trains as an example the companies involved have far superior maintenance and refurbishment options than Irish Rail will ever have so they can literally run their trains in good condition till the wheels fall off!

1huge1

I was always under the impression that rail transport was rather poor in north america actually, mostly due to the prevelance of their car culture society, But ya good point.

Zoney

bk wrote: »

Ok, so it turns out that the seat booking fee is included in the ticket price.

However there is a €2 transaction fee which is completely unavoidable and a €1 credit card fee if you use CC rather then Laser/Debit Card.

This is completely unjustifiable IMO.

If you can buy a ticket online using a credit card with GoBus with no fees for less then half of the price for the same journey with Irish Rail, I simply can't see how IR can justify this.

After all if you buy your ticket using credit card at the station there is no credit card fee, so why the online fee?

Likewise, the €2 transaction fee is completely unjustifiable as it costs very little to run such online ticket ordering systems, much lower then the cost of ticket sales staff.

So IR should be dropping both of these fees to encourage people to book online versus at the ticket desk.

There was a BBC News piece on the issue of card transaction charges generally in the UK. I think some govt. body has requested action on the issue. Although airline operators were the main focus, train operators were also mentioned.

So it isn't a unique Irish or Irish Rail issue.

I certainly think it's ridiculous mind you!

bk

Zoney wrote: »

So it isn't a unique Irish or Irish Rail issue.

Of course, IR and other Irish companies love taking on the worst practices of our English neighbours, alas they are less interested in taking on the best practices of our neighbours.

dowlingm

1huge1 wrote: »

I was always under the impression that rail transport was rather poor in north america actually, mostly due to the prevelance of their car culture society, But ya good point.

Intercity is very limited, but you couldn't be more wrong about suburban. Metra, MBTA, NJTransit, LIRR, GO Transit, AMT - big systems with big trains. Compare your 8 car 29000 for instance with a 4000hp loco (so 25% more than a 201 class) with 12 pushpull coaches - doubledeck. 1800 seats per train plus standing. If Ireland's structure gauge allowed doubledeck containers doubledeck people would have been no trouble, with 201s filling the role that same-engined F59s do from California to Quebec.

FAILSAFE 00

Check this out :eek::eek: on The Irish rail website. Belfast to Dublin is 10 euro but Drogheda to Dublin is 15 euro, what the he'll is up with that, I am going to buy my ticket online for 10 euro from Belfast and then get on at Drogheda.

Berns

FAILSAFE 00 wrote: »

Check this out :eek::eek: on The Irish rail website. Belfast to Dublin is 10 euro but Drogheda to Dublin is 15 euro, what the he'll is up with that, I am going to buy my ticket online for 10 euro from Belfast and then get on at Drogheda.

Mightn't work :rolleyes: Think gotta collect the actual ticket at the station. Voucher gets sent out to the address. Maybe conducter can issue it though but not sure. Got mine on Translink website though. Was down in Dublin for Bon Jovi Concert , train from Lisburn.

foggy_lad

Berns wrote: »

Mightn't work :rolleyes: Think gotta collect the actual ticket at the station. Voucher gets sent out to the address. Maybe conducter can issue it though but not sure. Got mine on Translink website though. Was down in Dublin for Bon Jovi Concert , train from Lisburn.

Yes indeed, if you buy a ticket from Belfast to Dublin you must travel from Belfast and if you start your journey at any other station you will have to pay for a separate journey from that station.

daithi_dearg

Second week in a row €71 return Dublin to Cork. Absolute ripoff considering it can be driven and cost €50 in petrol.

schemingbohemia

daithi_dearg wrote: »

Second week in a row €71 return Dublin to Cork. Absolute ripoff considering it can be driven and cost €50 in petrol.

did you bother reading any of this thread at all? if you book late you won't get the special offers, if you book a few weeks in advance you will. simples!

in 3 weeks time you can get €20 return, if you use the discount code you'll get that €17 + 2 booking fee. that's at slightly odd times but there's lots of options for getting the trip for less than €50.

Zoney

Yep, essentially if you are paying €70+, it is because you're one of those prepared to do so.

I recently travelled Limerick-Belfast at hospitable hours for less than €80. At anti-social hours it can be done for just over €40! (Note: booking Limerick-Dublin and Dublin-Belfast separately).

schemingbohemia

as posted in bargain alerts

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056326624

1huge1

Zoney wrote: »

Yep, essentially if you are paying €70+, it is because you're one of those prepared to do so.

I recently travelled Limerick-Belfast at hospitable hours for less than €80. At anti-social hours it can be done for just over €40! (Note: booking Limerick-Dublin and Dublin-Belfast separately).

For return you mean? As it is possible (an awkward times as you say) to get €10 one way on both those routes.

Zoney

1huge1 wrote: »

For return you mean? As it is possible (an awkward times as you say) to get €10 one way on both those routes.

Yeah, sorry, I should have said all my comments referred to return trip. (<€80 Limerick-Belfast isn't quite as good value one way