'Most trains already sold out' ahead of busy events weekend
A bumper weekend of live events in Dublin, including concerts by Taylor Swift and Shania Twain, the Longitude Festival, and the four All Ireland football quarter finals, will place a heavy demand on public transport services according to Irish Rail.
In a passenger advisory issued this evening (Thursday), the company pointed out that the majority of its Intercity services for this weekend were already fully booked.
"For those intending to travel on our services from Friday, June 28 June, to Monday, July 1, please note that due to the extremely high volume of events taking place this weekend the majority of Intercity services are now sold out across most routes," said Irish Rail.
It encouraged those who are travelling on its services this weekend to allow themselves much more time than usual, and also issued the following pointers:
* Intercity - online booking is a must for all, including Free Travel, Annual and Monthly Ticket holders. You must have a reservation on a train to travel on it. Changes or amendments to bookings on the day at the station cannot be facilitated.
* Those who have a free seat reservation booked on a particular train service and now do not intend to travel on it are urged to cancel the reservation to allow other people travel on the service.
* Bicycles and E-Scooters will not be permitted on busy services - customers who arrive to a station with a bike will be asked to wait until crowds ease or make alternative arrangements.
* Iarnród Éireann CX events teams and An Garda Síochana will be working across the weekend to assist customers and ensure crowd control measures are in place. Please respect these teams and listen to their direction for the comfort and safety of all.
* Security personnel will be across all services and anti-social behaviour, or any conduct deemed to be unsafe to oneself or other passengers will result in removal from Iarnród Éireann property and right to travel refused. An Garda Síochana will be on site for major events, including at transport hubs.
* The consumption of alcohol is prohibited across all services and staff will remove alcohol from anyone in breach of this.
* Trains will be full and weather warm - please bring a bottle of water to help keep cool. Bottle refill units are available in many main stations (including Athlone).