Revellers travelling to Dublin urged to ‘allow more time’

Iarnród Éireann has urged revellers to organise their travel plans in advance and to allow extra time ahead of a busy weekend of concerts and events in Dublin city.

It also confirmed that extra commuter and DART services will run this weekend as Taylor Swift takes to the stage at the Aviva Stadium for the first of three sold-out concerts.

With the Longitude festival, Shania Twain, Dublin Pride and the All-Ireland football quarter-finals also taking place this weekend, fans have been advised that Dublin will be extremely busy.

“We’re definitely ramping up to provide as much capacity as we can. There’s certainly never been a weekend like it in terms of the number of huge events happening at the same time,” said Iarnród Éireann Communications Manager Barry Kenny.

Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Kenny said: “Basically every intercity train en route to Dublin this morning and early afternoon is sold out. That’s the same for Saturday and Sunday as well.

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“We’re definitely ramping up to provide as much capacity as we can. There’s certainly never been a weekend like it in terms of the number of huge events happening at the same time.”

Customers are also advised to not arrive at train stations for intercity services if they have not already booked a ticket.

“Everything we have will be moving but we are asking our customers to plan their travel. If you haven’t booked intercity in advance, don’t turn up to the station. There won’t be tickets available,” Mr Kenny said.

“And for DART and commuter, particularly on the way to events, allow more time because they’re going to be so busy it takes longer for people to get on and off. Just enable yourself to plan and to travel in comfort,” he added.

The draw for the All-Ireland Football Championship being made early this week has given Irish Rail an additional challenge ahead of what it described as “not a normal weekend”.

“So while we’ve been ramping up for Taylor Swift and Dublin Pride and the events that we know, we find out last Sunday who’s playing in the quarter-finals,” Mr Kenny said.

“So that’s definitely a challenge but we will move everything that we can, we’ve events teams at all the key hubs at Lansdowne, at Drumcondra and the city centre stations, to help people on their way but it is about patience.

“This is not a normal weekend, people do need to allow extra time and to plan their journey,” Mr Kenny added.

Earlier this week, the public were also warned of the possibility of taxi shortages in Dublin over the weekend.

The Taxis for Ireland Coalition is predicting that the number of events could lead to long waits for transport for those needing a lift home.

“With thousands of people arriving in Ireland for the general tourist season and huge events like Taylor Swift at the Aviva, we are set to see strong demand for taxi services,” said Eoghan O’Mara Walsh, chief executive of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation.

“Taxis provide an essential service, particularly for tourists who often need to go door-to-door and can struggle with navigating the public transport system.”

The coalition, which is made up of a number of representative bodies from the tourism, hospitality and transport sectors, is seeking immediate action from the National Transport Authority and the Government to boost taxi numbers.