Considering commute from Kildare (Naas/Clane/Kilcullen/Newbridge) to Stephens green?

janus83

Hi
We are thinking of moving from our rented property in south Dublin to North Kildare to rent also. We've been looking at Naas/Sallins/Kill/Clane areas and also Kilcullen/Newbridge. I'm not sure are Newbridge and Kilcullen a little far though, as one of us will be commuting to near Stephens Green 4 days a week, the other to Citywest.
A lot of the threads I've come across have been helpful but are quite old now so I was looking for some feedback if anyone has any current advice and is doing a similar commute?
There does seem to be good Bus Eireann service from many of these places, are they pretty regular and on time? I did consider the train from Sallins or Newbridge however that would mean getting from Heuston every morning too, might not be so nice in the middle of winter and this seems to be a lot more expensive even with taxsaver. I have parking at work so will probably drive most days but would like the option of public transport too if possible

gerrowadat

The bus from clane or naas is not too bad, it'll drop you on the north quays and a few of them go right to the green. Same from Naas I think, and possibly more direct.

the Luas goes from heuston to busaras or O'connell street, fairly regular and not too dear.

The Bus Eireann stop at citywest is out on the carriageway last I looked, not great there. Public transport to citywest from the west is kind of a disaster, unless it's improved a lot recently.

richiek83

janus83 wrote: »

Hi
We are thinking of moving from our rented property in south Dublin to North Kildare to rent also. We've been looking at Naas/Sallins/Kill/Clane areas and also Kilcullen/Newbridge. I'm not sure are Newbridge and Kilcullen a little far though, as one of us will be commuting to near Stephens Green 4 days a week, the other to Citywest.
A lot of the threads I've come across have been helpful but are quite old now so I was looking for some feedback if anyone has any current advice and is doing a similar commute?
There does seem to be good Bus Eireann service from many of these places, are they pretty regular and on time? I did consider the train from Sallins or Newbridge however that would mean getting from Heuston every morning too, might not be so nice in the middle of winter and this seems to be a lot more expensive even with taxsaver. I have parking at work so will probably drive most days but would like the option of public transport too if possible

Bus Eireann provide a service from Newbridge to Stephens Green every morning. Not sure how long it takes but it is a popuar route as far as I'm aware.

janus83

thanks for the helpful responses. The OH will probably drive as it's probably handy enough from any of those areas to Citywest and as one poster mentioned the bus stop is on the carriageway. I'll look into the timing of the BE buses in more detail as these sound the best option if I'm taking public transport.
Is there anyone who is familiar with the commute themselves?
Any opinions on whether Kilcullen and Newbridge might be a little far in practical terms 4 days a weeK?

Riskymove

janus83 wrote: »

There does seem to be good Bus Eireann service from many of these places, are they pretty regular and on time? I did consider the train from Sallins or Newbridge however that would mean getting from Heuston every morning too, might not be so nice in the middle of winter and this seems to be a lot more expensive even with taxsaver. I have parking at work so will probably drive most days but would like the option of public transport too if possible

I was wondering why you are not considering renting somewhere closer for commuting purposes - e.g. Celbridge, Maynooth etc? I presume its for cost?

If you are driving then fair enough, your commute from Naas/Newbridge is probably not that much longer
but staying within the Commuter Zone for transport purposes results in much cheaper fares

Celbridge/Maynooth/Leixlip also benefit from a range of transport options - Bus Eireann, Irish Rail, Dublin Bus (including Nitelink)

I regularly take train to Heuston and then a bus to Green, not really a problem, lots of connections available

also Dublin Bus express buses in the rush hour to Green

some Bus Eireann also go to green

Moonbeam

I was wondering the same. Maynooth and Leixlip have the commuter trains and DUblin BUs and Bus Eireann options. And it would make commuting alot cheaper too with a taxsaver ticket for Dublin. www.taxsaver.ie

janus83

Good point Moonbeam and Risky Move. I'm not ruling out Maynooth or Celbridge if something popped up that was suitable. I'd been aiming for more rural/suburban living as bit jaded with living in the city for so long. The N7 area was more what we were aiming for as handier for Citywest and we have family in Kilkenny so head down regularly. I see some Maynooth trains actually come into Pearse Street which I didn't know so that would suit very well. I'd looked up Kilcock but I think that's just outside the inner commuter belt and takes longer.

anyone know after what time is too late to hit the road in the from N7 direction towards city centre, would be half 7 ish?

haveabanana

janus83 wrote: »

thanks for the helpful responses. The OH will probably drive as it's probably handy enough from any of those areas to Citywest and as one poster mentioned the bus stop is on the carriageway. I'll look into the timing of the BE buses in more detail as these sound the best option if I'm taking public transport.
Is there anyone who is familiar with the commute themselves?
Any opinions on whether Kilcullen and Newbridge might be a little far in practical terms 4 days a weeK?

Newbridge wouldn't be to far if you take the train, it only takes 40 mins or so to Heuston, but it's not cheap so you'd have to factor that in. I personally would avoid commuting with BÉ unless there's some sort of express bus, because in my experience they stop everywhere and would also have to fight with the traffic in Dublin.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

The commute is fairly ok. As previously mentioned the bus eireann service is good and much more comfortable than Dublin Bus. If you are driving Newbridge wouldn't be great, Naas would be better but its only 10 minutes extra or so, the one problem is that the N7 slows to a crawl around the Naas exit as the road goes from 3 to two lanes. If you lived in Naas you can skip this but in Newbridge you will get caught so it could realistically add 2 hours per week to your commute.

As regards early morning I'm not really sure tbh, I get the bus when I'm going in. I'd say to be in Stephens Green parked and all for 9 half 7 might be pushing it. You'll get caught at newlands cross for ~10 minutes and then again on the Quays if you go that way for fecking ages. In the rain remember everything will be slower and some clown will definitely crash and ruin it for everyone.

Its not a bad commute but can be a bit ropey in bad conditions or traffic. Best of luck. O and property and rent prices are on the way up in Naas and the surroundings since Kerry group have moved in so bear that in mind. someone across the road from my parents bought a the house three years ago and sold on for a 70k profit last week.

NEDDURC

Driving into the city from Naas/Clane/Kilcullen/Newbridge is all much of a muchness I'd say as the main issue is from Rathcoole in to town. Newlands cross is currently being upgraded (will be 2015 when this is done which should help). I'm sure you know that driving right into the centre of town will be tricky from anywhere though!

Public transport would be best from Newbridge / Sallins though. There is a direct bus from Heuston to Stephens green so that's not a big problem. Also, the link up of the two Luas lines should be underway too soon.

gerrowadat

I'm in clane and I wouldn't touch the N7. The N4 from maynooth into town is a straight run these days.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

gerrowadat wrote: »

I'm in clane and I wouldn't touch the N7. The N4 from maynooth into town is a straight run these days.

Its really not. The traffic this morning was mental. Roadworks at Palmerstown.

janus83

If I'm on the road before 7am on either N7 or N4 is that any better? Or just mental any time of day and worse later on.

janus83

donkeyoaty0099 thanks for the heads up on kerry group too, it's good to know!

CJackson

I do the Sallins-Stephens Green commute everyday and once on a train its door-to-door in an under an hour.

The 145 bus from Heuston will drop you at Kildare St, Stephens Green and at 2 stops on Leeson St. Its not too bad in the morning but the return bus can be busier with students coming from UCD

janus83

CJackson wrote: »

I do the Sallins-Stephens Green commute everyday and once on a train its door-to-door in an under an hour.

The 145 bus from Heuston will drop you at Kildare St, Stephens Green and at 2 stops on Leeson St. Its not too bad in the morning but the return bus can be busier with students coming from UCD

thanks that's very positive post, and would suit me well

richiek83

janus83 wrote: »

thanks for the helpful responses. The OH will probably drive as it's probably handy enough from any of those areas to Citywest and as one poster mentioned the bus stop is on the carriageway. I'll look into the timing of the BE buses in more detail as these sound the best option if I'm taking public transport.
Is there anyone who is familiar with the commute themselves?
Any opinions on whether Kilcullen and Newbridge might be a little far in practical terms 4 days a weeK?

I live in Newbridge and get the train. I work in Abbey Street using the Luas connection from Heuston. It takes me an hour most days to get from door to door. It is a decent service with approx 8 -9 trains between 7am and 8.30am. As mentioned there is a Dublin Bus service that goes near Stephens Green from Heuston also. Best of luck.

gerrowadat

donkeyoaty0099 wrote: »

Its really not. The traffic this morning was mental. Roadworks at Palmerstown.

Today was a particularly bad example :-)

If you time it right you can do clane->heuston in 35 mins or so.

janus83

We looked at some places in Kill this week and it was about an hour in rush hour to get there, so not too bad. It seems like a lovely village.

Any use a fold up bike to get from Hueston to city centre if they travel by train? Any issues carrying something like that on the train?

245

The Dublin bike scheme is going to be extended to Heuston at some stage before next July. It currently stretches as far as Smithfield but might be worth keeping in mind

Moonbeam

janus83 wrote: »

We looked at some places in Kill this week and it was about an hour in rush hour to get there, so not too bad. It seems like a lovely village.

Any use a fold up bike to get from Hueston to city centre if they travel by train? Any issues carrying something like that on the train?

Getting there during rush our and getting out of their during rush hour might be 2 different issues.

janus83

that's not a very informative post! do you mean getting out of Kill in the mornings? Is it very hard to get out on the motorway at 7am from there?

Moonbeam

No what I mean is if you were going from the city to Kill it might take you 40 minutes during rush hour but if you are going from Kill to the city it might take you 2 hours.
There are a few places that are an exception.

janus83

oh right sorry! A guy I work with lives there and I asked yesterday and he said he's not too bad getting into work in mornings but he leaves at 5:30 in evening to go home and it takes him up to an hour half or more. I'd be leaving before that though so would hope to cut that down to the hour like yesterday evening.
Property seems to be going fast out the whole area with Kerry group actually, for anyone else who is thinking of moving out that direction the estate agent this week told me that a lot of the rental properties aren't even making it onto Daft/letting sites but are being let directly through the estate agent as soon as they are available, and that landlords have increased rents in some areas as they are hoping to get more with this influx of people.

janus83

a couple more specific questions people might be able to help me with!

- using the 126 to get into Dublin and home to Kill,how do people find this? Is there still space to get on the bus when it arrives in Kill? Also where exactly does it stop in the village does anybody know?

- if heading out for a drink or dinner how do you find heading to Naas from Kill village? While we want to move to quieter area we still will want to be out and about the odd time if possible.

- broadband service in Kill village, can anyone local advise on their experience of it?

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Re; The bus. Depends what time you get it at. The 126 can fill up in Naas in the mornings. Its pretty ok coming back. From Naas to Kill about a 15 quid ish taxi. The last bus is at 23.10 . Don't know about the broadband.

janus83

can anyone advise on leaving a bike locked up for the day in Kill village, how safe would this be?

nlgbbbblth

126A Newbridge to Dublin bus leaves Newbridge at 7.20AM and hits O'Connell Bridge by 8.15/8.20AM. Does not serve Naas or Kill.

pfannkuchen

I travel with Bus Éireann from Clane every day (120 or 123), all buses up until the one at 7.40am go as far as Stephen's Green - any later, they go straight to Busáras. Usually very reliable (7.10am sometimes late, but 6.50am and 7.25am are pretty much always on time - 2, sometimes 3 buses arrive together at 7.25am). I'm in college near the Green - door to door in an hour. A 10 journey ticket is in and around €41, but will obviously be increasing again in January. Usually very busy in the morning, but very comfortable and quick and always guaranteed a seat from Clane. Train from Sallins is always an option too, but I find the bus very handy!