Most of the transport system in Ireland is in public hands, either side of the Irish border. The Irish road network has evolved separately in the two jurisdictions into which Ireland is divided, while the Irish rail network was mostly created prior to the partition of Ireland.
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. The service makes up the core of Dublin's suburban railway network, stretching from Greystones, County Wicklow, in the south to Howth and Malahide in north County Dublin. The DART serves 31 stations and consists of 53 route kilometres of electrified railway, and carries in the region of 20 million passengers per year. In a similar manner to the Berlin S-Bahn, the DART blends elements of a commuter rail service and a rapid transit system.
Córas Iompair Éireann, or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of the Republic of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the Republic and jointly with its Northern Ireland counterpart, the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, for the railway service between Dublin and Belfast, via Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry and Portadown. The company is headquartered at Heuston Station, Dublin. It is a statutory corporation whose members are appointed by the Minister for Transport.
Bus Éireann is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). The company's primary hub is Busáras, located in Store Street, Dublin. In 2022 it operated 229 Public Service Obligation Routes, 14 expressway routes and 8940 school transport routes.
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area around the border area between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Connolly station or Dublin Connolly is the busiest railway station in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterCity, Enterprise and commuter services to the north, north-west, south-east and south-west. The north–south Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) and Luas red line light rail services also pass through the station. The station offices are the headquarters of Irish Rail, Iarnród Éireann. Opened in 1844 as Dublin Station, the ornate facade has a distinctive Italianate tower at its centre.
Duleek is a small town in County Meath, Ireland.
Dunboyne is a town in County Meath, Ireland, 15 km (9 mi) north-west of Dublin city centre. It is a commuter town for Dublin. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 censuses, the population of Dunboyne more than doubled from 3,080 to 7,272 inhabitants. As per the 2022 census, the population decreased slightly to 7,155. The town is in a townland and civil parish of the same name.
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland jointly nationalised the company in 1953, and the company was liquidated in 1958: assets were split on national lines between the Ulster Transport Authority and Córas Iompair Éireann.
The Belfast–Dublin Line is the busiest railway route on the island of Ireland, connecting Dublin Connolly station in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast Grand Central station in Northern Ireland. It is the only railway line that crosses the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border.
Drogheda MacBride railway station is a railway station that serves Drogheda in County Louth, Ireland.
The Dublin Suburban Rail network, branded as Commuter, is a railway network that serves the city of Dublin, Ireland, most of the Greater Dublin Area and outlying towns. The system is made up of five lines:
Commuter is a brand of suburban rail services operated by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland, serving the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. This brand is distinct from the longer distance InterCity brand, and Dublin's higher frequency DART brand. Most Commuter services share a track with InterCity services. During the first decade of the new millennium, Iarnród Éireann put a significant amount of effort into upgrading its network, with new tracks, signalling, station upgrades and trains. Commuter services are operated by diesel multiple unit train sets.
The Dublin-Navan line is a partially-open commuter rail line between Dublin and the town of Navan in County Meath. Since September 2010, train services operate from Docklands Station to M3 Parkway, with an extension to Navan itself proposed.
M3 Parkway is a Park and Ride railway station in County Meath beside Dunboyne and the M3 Motorway.
Navan Junction was a railway station serving the town of Navan in County Meath. As the name suggests, the station was located at the junction of two railway lines. The first was a branch line off the main line between Belfast and Dublin, which connected Drogheda and Oldcastle, and opened in 1850. The second, which opened in 1862, was also a branch line, this time off the line from Dublin to Sligo, connecting Clonsilla and Navan. This line was later extended as far as Kingscourt in 1865.
Navan railway station is a former train station which served the town of Navan in County Meath, Ireland.
Duleek railway station is a former railway station that served the town of Duleek in County Meath. Located on the Drogheda-Oldcastle branch line and operated by the GNR(I), the station opened in 1850 and closed to passenger services, along with the rest of the line, in 1958.
Kingscourt railway station is a former railway station in Kingscourt, County Cavan, Ireland.
The Oldcastle branch line was a railway line in County Meath, Ireland. It was part of a branch line off the main line between Belfast and Dublin, connecting to Drogheda. This line was connected to the Midland Great Western line from Clonsilla to Navan in 1862. The Oldcastle line itself was not opened until March 17, 1863 and served passengers for almost a hundred years.
