Train Station Parking

jeffk

We are going to bray air show and from the side of Blanchardstown we are on its either bus or car to a station (heard the bell clamp cars so don’t want to chance it) and then train into town (don’t want to be stuck on a bus for almost an hour).

I was thinking M3 parkway (5 minutes’ drive, free parking) or would I be better using Clonsila/Phoneix Park etc? Think they are paid parking and heard stories of cars being broken into etc.

Thanks for any help

Zaph

I park in Coolmine station every day and there's no problem at all. I can't remember ever seeing a car broken into there. I think it's €4 per day pay and display.

AlanG

if you use the M3 at the weekend I think you will have to change trains at clonsilla so it will be a very long journey. I would recommend paying in coolmine or navan road and you will be grand. If you are bringing kids then personally at the weekend I would drive to a dart station such as Clontarf as the service to blanch is not great at the weekend and you could be waiting in town for an hour to get your transfer.

jeffk

AlanG wrote: »

if you use the M3 at the weekend I think you will have to change trains at clonsilla so it will be a very long journey. I would recommend paying in coolmine or navan road and you will be grand. If you are bringing kids then personally at the weekend I would drive to a dart station such as Clontarf as the service to blanch is not great at the weekend and you could be waiting in town for an hour to get your transfer.

No kids, but was thinking and reading here about people going to a station along the way and then the dart to bray, so thanks for backing that idea up.

I did try looking into the train from M3 Parkway and seems once an hour and then as you said could be same from clonsilla. So for the sake of a 25-minute drive and then regular service, rather than waiting on trains.


Would you recommend Clontarf as a good station to park and then go onto Bray?

AlanG

jeffk wrote: »

Would you recommend Clontarf as a good station to park and then go onto Bray?

Yea, Clontarf has a pretty good and cheap carpark and plenty of direct services to Bray. Raheny also has a large pay carpark in the church but I'm not sure how it operates at the weekend due to funerals and mass etc. If there is a match in Croker, Clontarf may get full early enough.

RasTa

Drive is too long to Clontarf. Park in Coolmine, 15mins to Connolly then switch for the Bray dart

jeffk

RasTa wrote:

Drive is too long to Clontarf. Park in Coolmine, 15mins to Connolly then switch for the Bray dart

Would driving maybe 15 minutes more to get a more frequent service not be worth it?

ongarboy

Not really sure where you're coming from but if its from the D15 or Meath area, then Clontarf would be a really bad idea as you're really trekking right into an inner suburb and all the traffic congestion that entails. You might as well take the M50 directly to Bray if that were the case.

Best option for you in my opinion is drive to Navan Road Parkway station and park there and it will only be about 15 minute train journey to Connolly where you can change to a Dart without too much of a wait. Consult irishrail.ie journey planner to ensure you're not selecting a journey with a long wait in Connolly.

Gaspode

I agree, to get to Clontarf entails too much traffic. Keep the car part as short as you can and you'll be better off.

jeffk

Heading from Corduff,thus being nowhere near the stations.

So Navan Road Parkway it is and then ill check the times to try and minimize waiting times with Sunday usually being a poor service

LoonyLovegood

I'm pretty sure they try link up the services, so you're not waiting too long in Clonsilla

fourinarow

There will be plenty of extra darts on Sunday Jeff, not sure about Maynooth line services but I will find out and let you know. The journey planner on the Irish rail website will be the most accurate way to plan it with live train times. Would you not walk to castleknock, or the 38/a down to either there or navan road parkway? Takes the stress out of bringing the car 😊

anniehoo

Out of curiosity why don't you just drive to Bray? Is there no parking in the area for the air show?

Zaph

The organisers recommend that people use public transport to get to Bray. It's not a great town for traffic at the best of times, I'd imagine it will be horrific over the weekend.

jeffk

@fourinarow
Herself can’t really walk much (Lymphedema in her legs) and I HATE the buses (lost count of how many football matches I missed as they went missing or where late) so had planned a day on the trains.

But I don’t mind a short drive, then leave the car till home time

@anniehoo
As Zaph says, we went to see a football match in the Carlisle grounds one bank holiday and it was a nightmare, the one-way system on the seafront is horrible.

You might be ok if you drive to Bray @ 8-9Am, but good luck getting home, the road until the petrol station/m50 turn off could take forever