Changes to Irish Rail timetable to affect Offaly commuters

Changes to the Irish Rail timetable that come into effect this Sunday will affect Offaly commuters.

Irish Rail has announced changes to its West of Ireland service. 

The new timetable has been approved by the National Transport Authority, and follows public consultation in September and October, in which over 1,550 customers participated.

 While customers on all routes are advised to check times before travel, significant changes to West of Ireland routes include:

* A new 05:05hrs service from Ballina to Manulla which will connect with the advanced 05:15hrs Westport/Heuston service Monday to Friday.

* A new 07:08hrs Athlone/Westport service Monday to Friday providing a service for regional commuters along the line.

* The 07:30hrs Athlone/Galway service will now commence from Tullamore at 06:50 on Monday to Friday, and additionally serve Clara. There will be no change to the timings between Athlone and Galway.

*Additional stop at Broombridge on 05:40hrs and 06:40hrs Sligo to Connolly and 16:00hrs and 19:15hrs Connolly to Sligo services, to connect to Luas.

Full timetable details are available at www.irishrail.ie and from the Iarnród Éireann app.

A spokesperson for Iarnród Éireann said, “we are pleased to be implementing a number of changes which will benefit existing and new customers across our network.  

"In particular, we welcome the opportunity to address customer feedback – in particular, an early Ballina connection to our early Westport to Heuston service has been long sought, and improving connections to Luas services for Sligo line customers.

"Passenger demand continues to strengthen across all routes, and with new carriages currently being delivered, and continuing training of new drivers, we will be able to further enhance services during 2023, including more improvements sought by customers during public consultation.”