balbriggan station tried to charge me 33 for a return to Arklow

[Colm Donoghue]

last week I was going to arklow. went to balbriggan station and asked for a return to Arklow.
a short intake of breath ( similar to a canny tradesman trying to up the bill) and "it'll be dear, I don't remember selling one of those before."
the guy then tried to tell me it'd be 33 euros. I told him it was about 15 or so from connolly. I then got a single to connolly and got a ticket there for 16.50 and a single for the next morning back to balbriggan. the train was due in about 4 mins so I couldn't stand my ground and argue that he was trying to screw me.

so I paid 3.70 + 3.70 + 16.50 or 23.90. I still think this seems a bit more than it should have.

I went to check online before I went to balbriggan station but as only commuter trains run that way, the online system doesn't let you buy tickets ( or even tell you the price)

Also the train stopped in Kilcoole.
there is a PIS display (turned off) on the platform and the only way out of the station is by a kissing gate. Not much use if you had luggage or needed to get off the platform in a rush, or were a mobility impaired passenger....

[Thomas Ralph]

Pricing on part-suburban part-Intercity routes seems extremely random at times. My fiancée and I have paid the following prices for student tickets:
Single Balbriggan-Belfast Central €14.00
Single Connolly-Belfast Central €18.00
Single Pearse-Belfast Central €23.50
Return Connolly-Belfast Central €36.50
Single Sandymount-Sydenham €27.50
Return Sandymount-Sydenham €37.50
Single Sydenham-Connolly £13.25
Single Sydenham-Cork £21.50
Single Belfast Central-Balbriggan £10.00
(Sydenham is a commuter station about as far beyond Belfast Central as Lansdowne Road is from Pearse.)
Not sure how they come up with some of those.

On a side point bear in mind that using two or more separate tickets for the one journey is against IÉ's by-laws.

[ThomasJ]

Single Connolly-Belfast Central €18.00
Single Pearse-Belfast Central €23.50


Random would sound right!!! €5.50 difference between connolly and pearse :eek:

[Mark Gleeson]

You met the weird IE fares matrix its the intercity vs suburban fares difference

Belfast Pearse is considered the same the Belfast Connolly by NIR :D

[Morgase]

On a side point bear in mind that using two or more separate tickets for the one journey is against IÉ's by-laws.

I didn't know this. What is the logic behind such a rule?

[philip]

I didn't know this. What is the logic behind such a rule?
€ or should I say IR£ or even £ seeing as IE are stuck in a time warp.

[Terrontress]

€ or should I say IR£ or even £ seeing as IE are stuck in a time warp.

If you have to leave the ticket barriers in Connolly to get your ticket for the next portion of the journey, does that count as two journeys?

[Mark Gleeson]

Its not illegal to use two tickets to complete the journey, it is illegal to rebook en route and continue by the same train

It is completely fine to use two tickets where the value of the two tickets is the same or more than the actual fare.

So for instance I have done Newry Connolly and exiting platform 1 take the right turn at the door wave my monthly dublin area ticket at the inspector and head over the P5, two tickets one journey

Irrespective of the rules if you have to change enroute there is nothing IE can do to stop you buying a ticket to/from the change point

So cheapest way to Arklow is actually to get a ticket to Greystones which is only 3.70 single and then onwards to Arklow, now that is against the rules unless you arrive and leave Greystones by DART exit the station and then re enter thus having broken the journey

[Thomas Ralph]

I didn't know this. What is the logic behind such a rule?
To make extra money would seem to be the only valid answer.

Having said that I have (necessarily) done a multiple-ticket journey before, it was cross-border using a Faircard and they don't issue Faircard tickets past Dundalk.

In the UK you're allowed to use multiple tickets if one of the tickets is a season ticket or if the train you're using calls at the station where you change over the ticket you're using.

[shweeney]

Kilcoole is just a 1 platform halt and used to only have one train a day in each direction - think it has 3 each way now. The display dates from when the Irish Open was being played in Druids Glen and IE laid on some special trains. I think its been off ever since.