Annual Rail Ticket Costs

[DangerM]

I am coming up to renewing my annual ticket and I'm seriously considering driving to Wicklow town and getting the train from there. Can anyone shed any light on why there is a huge jump on price between a ticket starting at Wicklow versus a ticket starting at Rathdum, Arklow or Gorey.

An annual ticket from Wicklow to Dublin is €1,770.00, from Rathdrum to Dublin it's €2,440.00, from Arklow up it's €2,590.00 and Gorey it's €2,700.00.

So the difference between the cost of an annual ticket between Wicklow and Rathdrum is €670 yet the cost between Rathdrum and Gorey is only €260.

Anyone else think this is bizarre? The train journey between Wicklow and Rathdrum is typically only 10 minutes whereas between Rathdrum and Gorey it's 30 minutes approx.

[Mark Gleeson]

The fares are based on distance zones

Wicklow 47.87km Zone D 41-48km
Rathdrum is 61.95km Zone F 57-72km
Arklow is 81.25 Zone G 73-92km
Gorey is 98.15 Zone H 93-108km

So its a jump from zone D to F

The further away you get the zones tend to get wider

We believe Irish Rail will be overhauling its ticketing price structure in the medium term and we will be involved to some degree in that process. Clearly we need a per/km approach to even out bumps. Though on average the fare paid wouldn't change, some people might pay more others less.

We highly recommend Greystones, train every 30 minutes all day, large free car park to the south of Greystones, €1030 per annum.

[DangerM]

Thanks Mark, Greystones might be the solution alright. It still doesn't make total sense when you look at the mileage difference between D & F and then F & H and compare it to the jumps in prices for each zone.

[Mark Gleeson]

Thanks Mark, Greystones might be the solution alright. It still doesn't make total sense when you look at the mileage difference between D & F and then F & H and compare it to the jumps in prices for each zone.

Does anything make sense with Irish Rail? The zones get wider as the distance increases. Zone A-E are quite small

Annual and monthly intercity fares are the same by distance for each route, so you are paying the same as the Portlaois and Northern line despite having far fewer trains and a slower service