Drogheda -> Connolly Commuter Train. Chances of Getting a Seat?

SachaJ

I commute between Drogheda and Dublin Heuston and I'm currently driving. The drive is not too bad but thinking if I got the train (and a seat), I could possibly do a bit of work.

Looking at the times, I'd need to get the 06:47 from Drogheda and then the LUAS down to Heuston. On the way home I'd be aiming for the 16:51 from Connolly.

On those trains, how crowded are they? Easy enough to get a seat?

Anyone know how long the LUAS would take? I'm guessing 15 to 20 minutes.

The car costs €27 per day including fuel, M50 toll and parking (no maintenance, tax or insurance considerations) and takes around 1 hour 20 minutes. The train will take around 1 hour 35 minutes and cost around €10 a day including parking in Drogheda station, LUAS and train ticket itself.

Darksaga87

The morning trains arent too bad. Ive gotten a train around then a couple of times. Good few people but you will get a seat.
The return train will be packed most days though. I just plug in my headphones and im happy enough to stand till laytown.

I couldnt tell you about the Heuston, ive only gotton trains from there when going to waterford.

But you're right about the car, i used to drive to work when i was working in dublin and it was a complete waste of money.

Shano81

Train up, you are guaranteed getting a seat

Re: 16.51 home, best chance of a seat would be to get off at abbey street and walk over to tara street station (not much difference time wise by the time the luas gets to Connolly, or busarus if its going to point instead)

You probably wouldn’t get a seat home on the train after that even getting on on tara

Shoe Lover

Normally the train on the way home is packed but it thins out around about Malahide and you can normally get a seat then. Sometimes, you might have to wait until Rush/Lusk before you get one. You'll get one eventually.

positron

You would always get a seat on all morning services to Dublin, except on the Enterprise at 8:20.

In the evenings, you would be packed like a sardine if you get in from Connolly, and slightly less so if you get in from Tara and move into the middle of the coach. Or if you MUST get a seat, you could get the train to Balbriggan that starts from Connolly station, and then change at Balbriggan and get into the next train that goes to Drogheda etc. It's a bit of a pain, and only if you MUST sit all the way for some reason or other. Or if you get the 7 pm Enterprise from Connolly, you are almost always assured a seat.

SachaJ

Thanks a million for your replies. It sounds like it might be worth giving a try. Have to admit that I don't fancy the prospects of standing most of the way home in the evenings.

kormak

I gave up using the train 2 years ago and here's why:

* anything up 20/25 minute extra commute to get to the North side of Drogheda in the evenings.
* after using the train for 5/6 years previous, the journey time from Drogheda kept increasing and increasing primarily to accomodate North Dublin commuters on the DART line.
* Ahead of these increased journey times my train was late by 7/8 minutes EVERY SINGLE DAY without fail!
* God awful service in general, freezing cold in the winter, radiators on in the summer, overcrowding, points failure, signal failure, operational failure, slow moving DARTs, etc....

Sure it's cheaper if you go the TaxSaver route but it's not for me... in fact I'd love to slap that Barry Kenny chap every time I hear him on the airwaves!! <\rant>

positron

+1 to all of the above. I quit using IrishRail for similar reasons - and my major gripe was also that despite increased cost of travelling the service was taking longer and longer year after year. And if you are unfortunate enough to get one of the services late in the evening, all sorts of crazyness ensues. Frequently late, and once the train pulled into Laytown, sat there for 3 minutes and then moved on - but the doors were never opened! Barry Kenny would make you think IrishRail is like a swiss clock if you listened to him, but in reality it's rather crap and is progressively getting worse.

I bought a motorbike and have never looked back (having said all this, if it snows / roads freeze over, I might be back to the train temporarily, but only if Matthews coaches stop running).