As part of the National Development Plan, Iarnród Éireann continued its record investment in the rail network throughout early 2023. The programme encompassed a broad array of infrastructure projects and critical maintenance works across the country.
Although the majority of these works were planned for overnight hours to minimise service impact, some disruption was unavoidable — particularly for upgrades involving tracks, bridges, signalling systems, overhead lines, or where collaboration with third-party projects was required.
To reduce customer impact, Iarnród Éireann implemented a range of mitigation strategies:
-
Peak weekday services on major lines were protected, with works during high-demand times avoided wherever possible.
-
National events such as sports, concerts, and cultural festivals were factored into planning, despite the challenges posed by an increasingly busy events calendar.
-
Bank Holiday weekends were prioritised for major projects, offering additional time for efficient progress while limiting weekday interruptions. St Patrick’s weekend and generally the August Bank Holiday were excluded due to their importance for tourism. In contrast, Bank Holidays in February (St Brigid’s), Easter, May, June, and October were frequently used for scheduled works.
While other localised or off-peak service disruptions also occurred, this schedule (as of 12th January 2023) detailed the primary disruptive works from January through to Easter Sunday, 10th April 2023. Additional projects for later in the year were to be confirmed. As always, scheduling remained subject to change, based on event planning and potential increases in funding.
Note: Bold text indicates works extending into weekdays.
| Dates | Line Closed | Works | Services Affected |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday 18th (17:00hrs) to Sunday 19th (09:45hrs) February | Inchicore to Kildare | Track renewal, bridge works | All Heuston Intercity and Commuter routes |
| Saturday 18th to Sunday 19th February | Dalkey to Bray | Train protection systems and cabling | Dalkey to Bray DART, Connolly to Rosslare Europort Intercity |
| Saturday 4th (17:00hrs) to Sunday 5th (09:45hrs) March | Newbridge to Cherryville Junction (south of Kildare) | Track renewal | All Heuston Intercity and Commuter routes |
| Saturday 4th to Sunday 5th March | Waterford Station | Track renewal | Dublin to Waterford, Limerick Junction to Waterford |
| Saturday 11th March | Kildare to Sallins | Track renewal | Heuston to Cork / Kerry / Limerick / Galway / Westport; Heuston to Kildare / Portlaoise |
| Saturday 1st April 2023 | TBC | TBC | All Heuston Intercity and Commuter routes |
| Saturday 8th to Monday 10th April (Easter weekend) | Portlaoise to Ballybrophy | Track renewal, bridge works | Heuston to Cork / Kerry / Limerick |
| Saturday 8th to Monday 10th April (Easter weekend) | Dun Laoghaire to Bray | Overhead line renewal, train protection system works, level crossing works, Woodbrook Station works | Dun Laoghaire to Greystones DART, Connolly to Rosslare Europort Intercity |
Our Partners
- FR2 Infrastructure – Constructability advise and project and planning controls
- Staging Diagrams – Staging diagrams for possession planning
Possession Planning – Current Possession Calendars
Our Partners
- FR2 Infrastructure – Constructability advise and project and planning controls
- Staging Diagrams – Staging diagrams for possession planning
Possession Planning – Current Possession Calendars
✨ Support Our Mission ✨
Help us continue building tools that simplify complexity!
Every contribution fuels new features and improvements
Thank you for being part of our journey! 🚀
