Cork commuter rail services suspended for weekend upgrades
All rail services from the city to Cobh and to Midleton on Saturday and Sunday will be cancelled, with limited bus transfers operating instead.
The bus transfer service, running to a revised timetable, will operate between Cork and Cobh, and Cork and Midleton, across the weekend, with direct bus transfers between Cork and Fota during Fota Wildlife Park's opening hours of 9am to 6pm on both days.
Customers are advised to check times before travel at www.irishrail.ie or on the Iarnród Éireann app.
Iarnród Éireann is shutting down the city's commuter rail services for the weekend so that it can carry out major upgrades on the routes as part of the Cork Area Commuter Rail investment programme.
Engineers will complete signalling works as part of the investment, which seeks to treble the capacity of the commuter rail network. They will also work on track renewal to facilitate the twin-tracking of the line between Glounthaune and Midleton.
The Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme is a series of interrelated projects that will ultimately enable train services every 10 minutes across the Cork rail network.
It is funded by the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility and the National Transport Authority.
The recently opened Platform 6 at Kent Station, together with the Glounthaune-to-Midleton twin-track project and Cork area signalling and communications upgrades – both set for completion in 2026 – will deliver the network capacity to support 10-minute frequencies on each of Cork's three commuter lines, to Cobh, Midleton, and Mallow.
The upgraded commuter rail network also includes proposals for several new stations, including at Blackpool and Monard, as outlined in the 2010 Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Strategy (CMATS).
Read More
Bam wins contract to build €456m M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy motorway
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
6 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Half the country away: How Munster fans can get to Croke Park Oasis gig as Irish Rail puts on extra trains
Oasis will grace an Irish stage for the first time in 17 years this weekend, finally fulfilling the hopes of tens of thousands of fans that the most famous rift in rock would somehow be healed. Tickets for Oasis's Croke Park gigs this Saturday, August 16, and Sunday, August 17, sold out in minutes last August, and some 160,000 rock 'n' roll fans from across Ireland and further afield are expected to pack out the home of the GAA over the two nights. Doors open at 5pm, with the first support act — Verve front man Richard Ashcroft — due on stage at about 6pm. Once his set concludes, Liverpool rockers Cast will take to the stage. If Oasis's previous gigs on this tour are anything to go by, Liam and Noel Gallagher, Gem Archer, Andy Bell, Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, and drummer Joey Waronker should begin their approximately two-hour set about 8.15pm. Dublin is sure to be extremely busy in the run-up to and aftermath of both gigs, so fans, particularly those travelling into the capital by train from other parts of the country, have been advised to plan their journeys in advance. Iarnród Éireann will be running additional services both nights. These are: 07.45am Cork to Dublin Heuston (Sunday only); 8am Cork to Mallow will operate to Dublin Heuston (Saturday only); 10.15am Waterford to Dublin Heuston (Saturday only); 10.45am Waterford to Dublin Heuston (Sunday only); 23.59pm Dublin Connolly to Belfast (both nights); 12.30am Heuston to Galway* (Saturday night only); 12.40am Heuston to Cork* with connection to Limerick Colbert (both nights). The final two trains on this list will appear on Iarnród Éireann's Journey Planner for the following day, ie the 12.40am services will appear on the schedule for Sunday, August 17, and Monday, August 18, respectively. A spokesperson for the company said intercity trains were likely to sell out "very quickly", and tickets would not be available at stations on the day. Indeed, at time of writing, the 8am, 9.25am, 10.25am, 11.25am, and 12.25pm trains from Cork (Kent) to Dublin (Heuston) this Saturday are sold out, though there are still some spots available on the 1.25pm, 2.25pm and 3.25pm services. The 12.40am service from Dublin back to Cork in the early hours on Sunday morning is also almost at capacity. It's a similar picture for Sunday, with the 8.25am, 10.25am, 12.25pm, 12.50pm, and 2.50pm services from Kent to Heuston fully booked at time of writing. There is some availability on the 2.25pm and 3.25pm services, however. A small number of tickets are also still available on the 12.40am service from Heuston to Kent on Monday, August 18 also.
Irish Independent
11-08-2025
- Irish Independent
TFI Local Link to enhance Route 530 in north Cork
This new route is part of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan which is a major national public transport initiative developed and funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA) as part of the Transport for Ireland (TFI) Network. Route 530 will support the current door-to-door service between Mallow and Fermoy offering passengers more ways to travel. It will operate seven daily return services Monday to Sunday with an additional early morning service operating from Monday to Saturday. The new route will provide peak-time and evening services. It will also improve connectivity to Mallow Train Station to facilitate onward travel, regional bus services and to the villages and areas of Ballyhooly, Castletownroche and Killavullen. Fianna Fáil councillor Gearóid Murphy said the new service will provide a 'big' boost for people travelling in north Cork. 'I am delighted to welcome the new service, which will more than triple the number of buses running between Mallow and Fermoy on a daily basis. Up until now, there have been only two buses per day, and none at all on weekends, so this will be a dramatic improvement to the service. This will be a big boost for people travelling between Mallow, Killavullen, Castletownroche, Ballyhooly and Fermoy.' TFI Local Link Cork General Manager David O'Brien said TFI Local Link Cork recognises that localised transport solutions are an essential component in combating rural isolation. 'This new service will provide people living along the route with access to services and onward connections on a daily basis. 'The enhanced service will mean a significant improvement in the quality of life for people living in these areas. People can now access a wide range of public and social services, training courses, colleges, hospital appointments, supported with bus and rail onward connections,' he added. It was recently revealed that the number of customers using the TFI Local Link services in Cork has quadrupled since the rollout of Connecting Ireland in 2022. Journey numbers have reached a record high, with people now using TFI Local Link bus services more than 100,000 times a week across rural Ireland. This figures includes 5,365 passengers in Cork. These bus services are provided for the National Transport Authority (NTA) by 15 Local Link offices around the country. In Cork alone, passenger numbers have surged, driven by the introduction or enhancement of four key routes. These include: Route 523: Mitchelstown to Mallow, Route 232: Allihies to Kilcrohane and Route 522: Charleville to Mallow.
RTÉ News
10-08-2025
- RTÉ News
New DART station Woodbrook opens in Dublin
A new DART station has started operating this morning, becoming the first new station in 15 years. Woodbrook Station is located between Shankill in south Dublin and Bray in Co Wicklow and is the 147th train station on the Irish Rail network. In a social media post this morning, Iarnród Éireann shared a picture of the first train at the station this morning with the caption: "First DART stops at our newest station, Woodbrook, NOW OPEN! Up to 191 daily services, 40 minutes to city centre, at the heart of new developments which will deliver c. 2,300 new homes. First DART stops at our newest station, Woodbrook, NOW OPEN! Up to 191 daily services, 40 minutes to city centre, at the heart of new developments which will deliver c. 2,300 new homes. More info: @TFIupdates @Dept_Transport — Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) August 10, 2025 Iarnród Éireann's Head of Communications Barry Kenny said last week that the station's opening was a "positive delivery of public transport planning". Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said several new housing developments are being built in the area, which will be "directly served by this DART station". "This is an example of delivering public transport. It is there as the communities develop and grow," he said. Mr Kenny acknowledged that more capacity is needed on the DART infrastructure overall and said they are investing in doubling capacity in the Greater Dublin Area.
