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Our fellow DFA Heiner Schuster was good enough to submit an article to the Guide about the historic steam trains of Ireland. Only fair of me to update the topic... what sort of an iron horse will you be riding in today's Ireland?
I recently took my first rail journey here to answer exactly that question. Iranrod Eirann ("Ear and Road, Erin") is the Irish Amtrak. That's a bit inaccurate, as Iranrod Eirann's train carriages are actually habitable.
And, OK, in fairness to the rail service of my native land, the one time that I road Amtrak it did not crash.
The system works differently from country to country here in Europe, so pay attention: in Ireland, buy your ticket before boarding the train. There are none available from the conductors, once the train is moving. They will just turf those without tickets out on their unlucky ear. Wham! Man, those steel rails are hard. So: buy your ticket before you go, either from the ticket window at the station, over the phone, or online.
Purchasing a ticket for my second attempt, I was able to stay aboard the train long enough to have a good look around. Metal tubing, felt and fake leather seats, set back to back so that four people may sit over scarred tabled. Windows dirty from brushing branches and the dust the locomotive kicks up. Storage racks overhead, and under seat too.
Dining cars where adventuresome DFAs can stock up on coffee, crisps, and drinks!
The train runs quietly enough, except the loudspeaker. That is designed to assure that no one will snooze through their destination. It has also been known to wake the dead.
What scenery? Stone walls. Sheep. Cattle. Hills. Silhouettes of December trees. Cars driving on parallel roads, falling behind. Small houses. Abandoned farm buildings. Larger modern structures set farther back from the rail line. Croagh Patrick- shapely as a pyramid, one thousand times as high. Beautiful. Lakes. Steeples. Sunset.
And the scenery within.... A young lad trying to sleep off last night's excesses. A couple wearing football colors, drinking Lucozade and passing the time with a coloring book. (What's the story with that?) Teenaged girls having a goss about who was looking how. Windows rattling with the belch from one. Mobile phones everywhere. Old lads in suitcoats, headed for Dublin.
This Irish Rail experience may not sound like much, but believe me! Compared with Hungarian carriages, ours seemed fast, comfortable and interesting enough! More than sufficient to deliver the many backpackers to their destinations.
That's enough to get you moving! Further information- including schedules- is available online. Bottom line: I enjoyed my trip on Irish Rail, except the belch and the part about landing on my ear. Happy (t)rails!
- Added to the DFA Guide, September 2004.
Guide Index Red words? Check the Dub Glossary!