Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail Avis 

James on the 3.35 train to Galway from Dublin 10/07/26 was so lovely and helpful a pleasure and gave me loads of recommendations I would travel with Irish rail again because of him😊

Horrible said I train was the wrong time , even though we bought fully flexible , if there was any other train service line I would book it instead of Irish rail

Travelled by train from Houston to Carlow today 9th July having booked assistance because of a health issue I had, I needn’t have worried because I met with 2 personnel who took it in their turn to help me negotiate descending from the train, the First Gentleman wheeled me to the train and he was super kind and considerate and a young lady who helped me descend from the train in Carlow which I was dreading and I needn’t have worried, I now feel I can put my best foot forward and plan my future trips with peace of mind thanks to the kindness of both people I met as assistants on my journey, again many thanks to both.

A huge Thankyou to Irish Rail staff who assisted my sister she uses a wheelchair, we were travelling to Malahide and we had to change trains and at every station there was a ramp ready and staff on hand to help us get on and off much appreciated thankyou

Name displays not working hence my seat was taken , absolute chaos at platform entrance which was allowed to be blocked by passengers waiting for later trains. Staff shouting frantically over same passengers for imminent departing customers to try and force their way through the crowd to the platform. I was approached by a staff member in my carriage whilst making a short low tone phone call and asked to exit to the interconnecting area as it was a quieter carriage . Fair enough but for goodness sake inform me on my email that I have booked a quieter carriage and then I will know beforehand. I can't imagine what first time visitors to Ireland must be thinking. Sadly its a regular occurrence for us as the reviews clearly show

Travelling on the Dublin to Galway service as I type. The Train is spotless. I am supporting an adult with an I.D. Staff in both stations ( Heuston and Galway) and lady checking tickets on the train ( long curly hair) could not have been more helpful. She has checked in on us several times throughout the journey. We forget about using Trains in Galway, as there are so many buses to choose from, but I will deffo use the Train service for future outings. Thankyou to Irish Rail.

Terrible service. Delays every day. Constantly making excuses which is just annoying. Ive an issue with my knees and back and thetrains are always packed.

Irish rail is the worst service in the world, 3rd world country rail systems would be one million times better. When there is delays they never even announce what’s wrong they just expect you to sit there with radio silence, guessing when movement will happen.

Athenry to heuston 930.
Considering its a fairly packed train the toilets need attending....one step above what I would think a crack den would like like .. and any other smell other than stale urine and faeces would be an improvement . Floor soaked. Bins overflowing.. it is poor reflection of this service.. the view is good but that's not owned by the company..

On 6th June Id a return train booked from Limerick Junction to Dublin Heuston. Seems my bag dropped from my rucksack when boarding at Lmk Junction - I hadn't zipped it in properly. I missed it on the train and didn't know if it had been stolen when boarding but there had been nobody suspicious around.
On arrival in Dublin Customer service at Heuston rang back to Lmk Junction and staff had it - someone kind had handed it in- and staff held it for me- money ,cards, keys, epipen- the works!
The lady in customer service was really lovejy- even offered to Revolut me her own money if needed so I could pay for things in Dublin by phone!
Back at Lmk Junc that night the station master had my bag. I'd bought him some chocolate to say thanks but he almost didnt want to take it.
Really good people out there!
Thank you Iarnród Éireann.

I arrived at Heuston Station this morning at 1155am. It was my first time travelling with my mother as her companion on a train and she uses a walking rolator. The staff from the ticket office to the information office were outstanding. They provided fantastic assistance to my mother and did everything possible to accommodate her getting an earlier train rather than letting her wait in train station for the train we initially booked. I cannot thank them enough but a special word of thanks to the gentleman (with beard) who pushed her on wheelchair to train (unfortunately I didn't get his name!!) Fantastic service provided.

The 5:52 Galway-Limerick train has become a laughing stock and a great example of the state of this country. It has been late by +15 minutes every working day for the last 4 weeks. It leaves on time but stops about 200m down the track to let the Dublin train late, which is always late due to “operation” issues…. This delay causes us a delay and causing the train going in reverse direction from limerick-galway delayed aswell as it waits for our train at Ennis Train station. 2026 and one late train can delay the whole system. Its truly unacceptable and flawed no wonder the country is so far behind its EU goals and the accountability is non-existent.

Use the toilet in an Irish rail train that has left the station over 5 minutes ago at your peril. If you must, bring a snorkel, a bottle of perfume, a pair of disposable loves and and a full body wet suit. Consider using the wetsuit from your own seat (if you have one) instead of entering the wc in the first place.

Been on train from Cork to Dublin twice in the last 15 days , 4 journeys

The toilets are just disgusting
Smells horrible, of urine
No venting, no air freshener
Drain in the floor for overflow

As an Irish person I was embarrassed at the poor standard of the toilet facilities on our trains

I see where a lady who missed her train due to delayed flight was thanking an Irish Rail employee for letting her on to the next train. I hope she didn't have to pay for another ticket due to her missing the first train! I am glad her experience was much better than mine.

I commute a few days a week by train and because my frequency of travel does not justify buying a taxsaver ticket I buy "flexible" return tickets. If I have to get a later train due to work demands I can normally rebook if I know an hour before travel time. I thought rebooking was just a way of ensuring a train seat on account of the ticket being "flexible".

I was not able to rebook a few days ago because of a meeting that went on longer than expected and I did not have my phone. I got to the gates tired after a very stressful day at work and the man at the gates officiously looked at my e-ticket and declared I couldn't board.

I explained that my ticket was "flexible" but the man said I would have had to change my booking an hour earlier for it to qualify. So much for "flexible"! He clearly enjoyed his little bit of power and being able to bully a tired woman. He was backed up by a female station employee who reminded me of kids who join in with schoolyard bullies to prevent getting bullied themselves.

After paying for an overpriced ticket at the ticket machine I was eventually allowed to travel home despite having paid to travel already! I don't live in the Leap zone so it was quite expensive.

Like many people in Ireland I have a commute of more than 3 hours door to door. Those of us with long commutes do so mainly to avail of an affordable place to live. We sacrifice our free time, good health and social lives not to mention the cost of commuting. Irish Rail take full financial advantage of commuting workers, especially those who do not live in the Leap zone.

Outside of Leap zones train are infrequent and get more crowded due to more people moving to an affordable commuter zone. Some stations outside the Leap zone have had regular commuters for a decade or more but trains have not got more frequent in the intervening period. Non-Leap zone passenger really get a raw deal from Irish Rail.

Irish Rail charge passengers to park adding to the cost of commuting. Many people have gone back to commuting by car despite congestion due to the expense of travelling by Irish Rail, even after the fuel crisis!

The only excuse I can see that Irish Rail might have for double-charging people who miss their paid for trains and need to take another is that trains don't get overcrowded. This does not make sense because Irish Rail trains are regularly jammed with people sitting on the ground in between the aisles. These people have to move when others want to get on or get off at stops during the journey. So they're not double charging people who miss their trains for the good of passengers' health!

I eventually got to my home station, went to my car I had paid to park in the station car park and decided it may be better to commute by car in future.

Constantly delayed services outside of Dublin. It would encourage people to drive rather than take a train. Not sure this would be considered acceptable in Dublin.
Slightly better than our national bus service but not by much. Crazy prices unless you buy online more than an hour before your train.

Horrible.
I 've paid 34 euro for a 2:30h trip from Dublin to Cork. With the price of the ticket and the amount of taxes we pay in this country the state of these trains is simply unnaceptable. The smell from the toilets...I couldn't even use the toilet because it was disgusting . The carpet and the seats are full of dirt..like they haven't been desinfected and cleaned in ages. Also I was told they have a food trolley service...never saw it during the trip. It is frustrating that they don't do anything about these filthy trains it is unhealthy.

On Monday 25th May 2026, an elderly lady fell outside Connolly station and her arm came out of its socket. She still managed to get on the 16.00 train from Connolly to Sligo. She was in terrible pain. A Irish rail employee noticed her and went above and beyond to help her until she disembarked at Mullingar station as there was medical help waiting for her. Thank you so much Irish rail employee Carl/Karl Allen.

Dreadful. Best avoided.

Journey from Cork to Cobh today (Sunday 24 May, 15:00 booked, 16:00 actually used) absolutely unbearable.

Only one train an hour! Trains not long enough, inadequate luggage space. Dangerously over-crowded train at 15:00, could not get on it was so full (with people standing cheek by jowel).

Got on 16:00 train, just got a seat. No room for my luggage. Again people standing everywhere. Train was boiling hot so I have got far too hot and feel unwell.

Irish Trains, you should be ashamed. I didn't think I could find somewhere with a worse service than England !