Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail Reviews 

The train was absolutely filthy! The toilets so smelly. There was also a very noisy engine sound as if it was about to breakdown. Very poor Iarnrod eireann. 🥲

Like most my experience is negative, in fact very negative. Dublin to Cork twice recently and it gets worse each time. Toilets overflowing with contents on the floor and spilling out onto passage ways. Filthy everywhere, torn seat covers, people drinking alcohol eventhough its not allowed. Punctuality is good, staff ambivalent. Im not a fan of privatisation but this company should be sold for €1 as thats the value of it. Its 2026 and they are stuck in the 1950s.

1,5 hour travel time from malahide to howth,with over 50 minutes waiting time/delay at howth junction is a joke.Train station without toilets is a third world thing.Seats ripped, train overcrowded.Real world updates incorrect.Shocking experience,we were travelling for leisure I can imagine how it is if you have to travel for work.Worst railway in Europe

I caught the train this morning from Mallow to Dublin Heuston. Whilst waiting for my bus i realised my car keys had vanished, instant panic 🙈🙈 I sent an email and got a rapid response from the lovely Orla. Shortly after i got through to Customer Service at Heuston and they had found my keys👏👏👏 absolutely fantastic service and saved me a great deal of trouble. Well done to Irish Rail👏👏👏

I travelled by train recently from Dublin to Cork. At Portarlington, due to technical problems, the train had to be withdrawn from service and passengers had to retrain. The staff handled this disruption kindly, with sensitivity and care for passengers. Due to their smooth handling of the situation passengers whil discommoded, we’re accepting of the situation and I heard very little grumbling or complaining. Within an hour we were on our way on the next scheduled train. Due to the disruption there were few spare seats on the next train. I wrote to Irish Rail, received a response within 24 hours which included an apology and refund. This is what I call 5 star customer service.

Train is filthy, toilets filthy, regularly late, just a poor service in today’s environment.

Should be 0 stars!
They changed my seats without my permission or knowledge. I received and email that my booking was modified but I didn't modify it. I rang their customer service straight away because my daughter suffers from travel sickness and I specifically chosen seats that are the best for her. Customer service not helpful at all. I was informed that they don't know why and how it happened and told me that my initial seats aren't available so they can't give them back to me. Joke! I submitted complaint but again I was informed that it is very unlikely that I will be sitting on seats that I reserved. This is just awful! They don't care about any rules and definitely they don't care about people!

I travelled from Dublin to Cork this evening with three children. They had bought pot noodles in the shop before boarding the train. When they asked for hot water from the dining cart they were told by a staff member by the name of "Isabelle" that they need to pay €3.40 per cup of hot water, which then changed to 3.80. When I went and asked why there was a charge for hot water she told me that she needed to charge for the "tea" because it was against "company policy". Absolutely scandalous!!

Useless services, lateness, delays every second day.

I'm currently on the train from dublin to ballina and it is FREEZING ! And when are they going to bring back tea/coffee ???? It's absolutely beyond ridiculous, !!

Disgraceful. Unreliable, consistently delayed, No snacking facilities/services on board.

On Thursday morning 22nd January the gentleman working collecting tickets at sligo train station was so pleasant and welcoming. The ticket inspector on the 9 train was so friendly and welcoming, the gentleman checking tickets on the 4.05 from dublin to sligo was so kind and polite. Well done to the staff

Apart from the major delays, the tickets are still really expensive, considering the travels from Portlaoise to Dublin. It's much cheaper to go by car if you have one. No wonder there is so much traffic on the highways still....

Went to cork today. Another broken disgusting train with broken toilets and tattered dirty seats.

And to think yesterday the CEO Irish rail got a pay rise of 60.000 euro. It's criminal they are getting awarded for complete incompetence. It's the worst public transport system in Europe.

Some staff are extremely rude. The train can be in front of you and they won’t let you on even if it’s two minutes till it’s leaving. You book a seat for no reason as the seat is always taken (the people who take the seats have pre booked also). They really need to re-think this service.

I can’t understand how as a country we can accept the service of Irish rail. Their app doesn’t have accurate live information. City Mapper has the actual live info. A third party app. Delays everyday. Due to operational issues apparently. Whatever that means. Over crowded trains. And nobody accountable.

Paid for first class as my husband out of hospital. Absolutely nothing different only a lamp stuck to table. The service guy with grumpy head just cane and checked your ticket. If you wanted a coffee, we had to go find the trolly at other end of train. Disgraceful go take extra money for this. I will never book first class again.

Tickets only obtained by machines. Nobody was willing to help when we had issues with the machine and the payment, not even in the information office saying that wasn't a ticket office.
Also, they delete the purchase of tickets online one hour before the departure so even if there is space in the train you can't book online with discounts they only offer online. So you are obliged to buy at the machines. Same with the buses, all Irish transportation is really outdated, never on time and really expensive for the service they offer.

Train from portlaoise to cork. Waiting room freezing. No toilet. 1 toilet on the other side of the tracks filthy. Very hard to find my carriage. Actually a lot of people found this difficult. No clear signage. Booked my ticket and seat in advance. Seat taken and people wouldn't move saying they were told that at the station they could sit where they wanted as no allocated seats. My booking was written up over the seat. No staff to help. I had to move 3 times because of people getting on for their Booked seat. Because I have respect for others I moved each time. People have this sense of entitlement that goes far beyond belief. Horrible experience

Took the train from Portlaoise to Dublin and back. Firstly there was only one ticket machine working at Portlaoise so a huge queue at it - then on the return trip from heuston, my valid return ticket would not work in the entry barrier. Around 10 people had the same issue - and no train staff in sight to let anyone through. No apologies from Irish rail when staff eventually showed up - people were in danger of missing their trains as it took more than 10 mins of waiting at the barrier before anyone showed up. The entry barriers are obviously faulty.