Irish Rail slammed in Laois over Portlaoise exclusion from Dublin train commuter zone

Irish Rail has come in from sharp criticism in Laois for not including Portlaoise Train Station in a new Dublin commuter zone that cut the cost of travel.

The new 50km zone includes towns like Drogheda, Navan, Newbridge, Kildare, Greystones, and Wicklow. The change meant that an adult return from Drogheda to Dublin fell from €19.50 to €14 with the weekly adult ticket reduced from €61.20 to €56. The monthly adult ticket dropped from €211 to €196.

Portlaoise councillors were upset and confused by the exclusion of Portlaoise given the rate of commuting by car out of the county to the capital each day and the fact that commuter trains serve Portlaoise. 

Cllr Barry Walsh, Fine Gael, raised the issue at a recent meeting in County Hall Portlaoise.

He tabled a motion calling for Portlaoise to be part of Dublin’s commuter zone. He asked that commuter zone fares for public transport including railway services in the form of a Leap Card or similar be made available.

“There was a recent announcement on the extension of this to other commuter towns but excluded Portlaoise. Can it be clarified the reasons it was not extended to Portlaoise and the criteria for selecting other towns? Portlaoise/Laois has a significant commuter population which deserves serious consideration to the above proposal," he said. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Commuter trains which are cleaned and serviced in Portlaoise also serve Portlaoise and Portarlington Stations. Pic: M Owens. 

Mr Walsh told the meeting that a recent creation of a 50km Dublin commuter zone would have benefited local people.

“We are trying to promote public transport the best incentive is through the pocket,” he said.

Praising the good train service in Portlaoise, he said he could not understand why Portlaoise is not included in Irish Rail’s Dublin commuter zone given its high commuter population.

He added that climate change targets would not be reached if people were not encouraged to use public transport. However, he said the Census showed that 6,200 commute for work to Dublin each day from Laois and two-thirds of those use their cars to do so.

If cheaper public transport is not made available, he said jobs must be created in Laois by the IDA and others.

Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley, Sinn Féin, backed her colleague. She recalled the ‘dreadful’ service when she commuted to Dublin for work. She said the service has improved greatly but the cost is too high.

“We now have a great service but it is not affordable. That’s the reality. It’s a no-brainer that the Government should put pressure on CIE to lower prices,” she said.

She shared the view that Portlaoise is a commuter town.

“People moved out of Dublin because they couldn’t afford houses and now they are in their cars every morning because they can’t afford the price of public transport,” she said.

Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald, Fianna Fáil, also praised the service.

“It is pricey and should definitely be included in the Dubin commuter price range,” she said.

Replying, Laois County Council Director of Service Simon Walton said that a letter would be sent but he added that Irish Rail had communicated in the days before the meeting with councillors.

Mr Walton said it does address some of the issues raised by Cllr Walsh. He referred to the two commuter zones one of which is 23 kms around Dublin and the new one extends to 50 kms outside Dublin. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured: M7 at Ballydavis near Portlaoise; Census showed thousands of people travel by car each day to work.

Mr Walton said Irish Rail added that the National Transport Authority intends to publish plans this year to implement the second part of the National Fares Strategy. He said the train company say this will extend beyond the new commuter area including Portlaoise where revised fares for intercity and national bus services.

“It indicates that revised reduced fares will be available following publication of NTA document,” he said.

The issue was raised at the March meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District.