Castledermot to City Centre commute

Starrgrrl

Hi all!
I'm due to start at the school of nursing at trinity in September and have to be in d'oiler street at 9am, I was thinking that driving to city west luas and heading in that way would be the best option but I've no idea what time to leave.
Can anyone give me a general idea?
Is that way the best or is there a better route?
Thanks a mil!

Berberis

Would you consider getting the JJ Kavanghs bus. Save on the stress of all that driving and expenses of petrol and parking

Starrgrrl

Berberis wrote: »

Would you consider getting the JJ Kavanghs bus. Save on the stress of all that driving and expenses of petrol and parking

I'd rather not really. Not a huge fan of buses, I'm in a village not in castledermot itself. Isn't the parking free at city west for the luas?

Berberis

not sure about city west. I know the red cow one is €4 per day.
I would have thought that driving to the luas and then travelling on luas would be very time consuming where if you drove to Castledermot and parked there then its the bus al the way in. Then totally relaxed before you start your studies.
If you do decide to get the bus it does not always go through Castledermot, most people park up at the side of the road just past the roundabout on the M9 on the Carlow road from Castledermot as the bus mostly turns on to the M9 from there al the way to Dublin

Banjoxed

Berberis wrote: »

not sure about city west. I know the red cow one is €4 per day.
I would have thought that driving to the luas and then travelling on luas would be very time consuming where if you drove to Castledermot and parked there then its the bus al the way in. Then totally relaxed before you start your studies.
If you do decide to get the bus it does not always go through Castledermot, most people park up at the side of the road just past the roundabout on the M9 on the Carlow road from Castledermot as the bus mostly turns on to the M9 from there al the way to Dublin

I don't know about anyone else but "totally relaxed" and a bus journey longer than a short city bus one are two concepts that never go together for me.

If I was in or near Castledermot I'd use Athy railway station though I'd check
1. Weekly Parking costs.
2. Cost of commuter ticket to and from Trinity including Luas

And offer that up against

1. Cost of petrol/diesel to City West
2. Time of driving in traffic to/from City West to get parking space
3. Cost of monthly ticket on Luas.
As an aside, two years ago there was free parking set aside for Luas commuters at the Fortunestown Shopping Centre - is this still in place?

The Luas website gives details of charges at its P+R sites.

I'd also recommend trying out the different options before starting college to see what feels best.

Some small topics for research OP!

Starrgrrl

Thanks for the replies. I'm in a funny situation because I'm a mature student who still has an income and all the joys being a grown up incurs like a husband and a house etc so the cheapest is not always the best option (like the bus).

I'm actually heading in honeymoon next week so won't have time to do some trial runs so I was really just wondering what time I had to get up at to make it in for 9!

I defiantly remember parking at Citywest for free but that was years ago and I can't seem to find an answer now.

Thanks for the replies anyway!

messrs

Starrgrrl wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. I'm in a funny situation because I'm a mature student who still has an income and all the joys being a grown up incurs like a husband and a house etc so the cheapest is not always the best option (like the bus).

I'm actually heading in honeymoon next week so won't have time to do some trial runs so I was really just wondering what time I had to get up at to make it in for 9!

I defiantly remember parking at Citywest for free but that was years ago and I can't seem to find an answer now.

Thanks for the replies anyway!

Ive no idea how long the drive from Castledermot to CityWest would be, but once you get there, I would allow 1 hour for the luas into the city centre & this brings you to Abbey Street & then id allow 10 mins to walk from Abbey St to Trinity college - so work it backwards, then always allow those extra few mins for the unexpected! So If I were you Id be aiming to be getting on a luas by 7.30am

thebiglad

Starrgrrl wrote: »

I'd rather not really. Not a huge fan of buses, I'm in a village not in castledermot itself. Isn't the parking free at city west for the luas?

Yes Luas at Citywest is free - car park generally starts to fill up from 0730, trams are every ten minutes from 0658

You won't find it listed on Luas website as not run by them - they have Cheeverstown (next stop after Citywest) @ €2 per day and Redcow at €4 per day.

Citywest Shopping centre also has free parking but doesn't open until 7 and a bit longer walk to the stop - good in winter though as the parking is underground so car doesn't get iced up.

duffman13

The spin from Castledermot to City west will depend on the time you leave at. I'd say leave at around 7.15, which will get you to citywest for 8. Gives you an hour for the luas and the stroll to trinity which is plenty of time IMO. I did the opposite, a drive from Dublin to Carlow everyday and although it was preferable to the bus it was a tough slog in the winter. The motorway opened halfway through the year which was brilliant but still tough going.

thebiglad

duffman13 wrote: »

The spin from Castledermot to City west will depend on the time you leave at. I'd say leave at around 7.15, which will get you to citywest for 8. Gives you an hour for the luas and the stroll to trinity which is plenty of time IMO. I did the opposite, a drive from Dublin to Carlow everyday and although it was preferable to the bus it was a tough slog in the winter. The motorway opened halfway through the year which was brilliant but still tough going.

8pm at Citywest Luas and you'll not be guaranteed a space. An hour for Luas from Citywest and stroll to Trinity is going to be very tight too...

_Kaiser_

As an aside, it takes an hour from Citywest to Abbey Street on the LUAS?? Seriously...? I'm not being smart.. I'm genuinely amazed that it takes that long for a service with dedicated road space for most of it.

That'll be about 4 hours commuting per day then for the OP as the M7 is no fun in the evening rush hour - especially between Naas and the Carlow/M9 exit.

thebiglad

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

As an aside, it takes an hour from Citywest to Abbey Street on the LUAS?? Seriously...? I'm not being smart.. I'm genuinely amazed that it takes that long for a service with dedicated road space for most of it.

That'll be about 4 hours commuting per day then for the OP as the M7 is no fun in the evening rush hour - especially between Naas and the Carlow/M9 exit.

it takes the Luas 12 minutes to get from Red Cow to Citywest, Journey from Red Cow to Abbey Street is typically 35 minutes.

Sure it has it's own dedicated track a lot of the way but it hit's lights on the Naas Road, and all the way along the Quays plus there are a lot of stops.

The additional 10 minutes is to walk from Abbey Street Luas to entrance of Trinity College.

Yes, unfortunately easily an hour.

Try driving down the Canal after 7am and see how appealing 1 hour from Citywest will become.

Starrgrrl

Ugh. I was under the impression it was 35mins total from Citywest to jervis in the luas.
It's all sounding like very hard work.
It won't be every day I suppose.

messrs

Starrgrrl wrote: »

Ugh. I was under the impression it was 35mins total from Citywest to jervis in the luas.
It's all sounding like very hard work.
It won't be every day I suppose.

What is the journey time between Red Line Luas stops?

• Total travel time from Saggart to Belgard is 11 minutes
• Total travel time from Belgard to Suir Road is 16 minutes
• Total travel time from Suir Road to Heuston is 8 minutes
• Total travel time from Heuston to Busáras is 14 minutes

I had thought an hour myself, but as per above its not that long, you would prob be best getting of at Abbey so change last line to 12 minutes - so works out at 47 minutes

Berberis

I understand that you don't like the bus but if could get use to it there is a jj Kavanagh's bus leaves Castledermot at 6:55am arrives Eden Quay at 8:40 which gives loads of time to walk the 5 minutes to Trinity.

I'v had reason to travel that bus a number of times over the last year and to be honest, its fine. Set of headphones to listen to some music or sleep or read leaving me totally relaxed and ready for the day ahead.

Anyway just thought I'd put it out there but I understand that some people prefer the comfort/privacy of their own car.
Best of luck to you in your studies

LXFlyer

Another option would be to drive to Clondalkin/Fonthill railway station.

You would have to arrange your times around the trains as they are limited, but parking is free there.

The station is here:
https://goo.gl/maps/Ga6i3

Train times are here:
http://www.irishrail.ie/media/16_heuston-portlaoise_25052015.pdf?v=gradece

You would have a 10-15 minute train journey and then a 10 minute LUAS (or 145 bus) journey.

Starrgrrl

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm not discounting anything yet including buses etc.
I wish I had time to trial run it a few times before I start but I'll have to learn on the run I think.