Extra transport services for Christmas rush

The festive season is upon us and extra transport services are being put in place to get shoppers and revellers to their destinations…

The festive season is upon us and extra transport services are being put in place to get shoppers and revellers to their destinations.

The new LUAS night link service is in operation until 23 December. There will be trams every half hour after 12.30am with the last tram leaving the city centre at 3am.

For the pre-Christmas rush DART and Commuter services will operate normally every day and weekend up to 9pm on Christmas Eve. There will be no services on Christmas Day and St Stephen's Day. Full services will resume on 27 thin time for the post-Christmas sales.

DART upgrade works on the north side will be suspended for the three weekends before Christmas, meaning services on these routes will operate normally from now to Christmas Eve.

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Iarnod Eireann is also boosting its services on key routes.

From December 12th a new service will operate at 5.10 pm from Connolly to Balbriggan to relieve pressure on the 5.13 service.

A new late evening train will also operate at 11.20 pm from Pearse to Drogheda. There will also be an extra service each way in the evening between Dublin and Carlow, departing Heuston at 7.45pm and leaving Carlow at 9.17 pm.

The Cork-Cobh line is now closed between Glounthane and Cobh, due to safety works on the line. Bus transfers are available between Glounthaune, Fota, Carrigaloe, Rushbrooke and Cobh until the service recommences on January 10 th. Commuter Services and InterCity services on the Cork-Mallow line will not be affected.

There are a number of Christmas events around Dublin which may cause some problems for motorists.

Smithfield on Ice has returned and will continue until January 9 th, so expect extra traffic at peak times. Parking is available in Statoil Ushers Island, Thomas St, Ilac Center, Jervis Center and Parnell St. The LUAS stops 100 meters from the Smithfield entrance.

7UP Christmas on Ice continues at the RDS until January 9 th, so expect some traffic delays in the Donnybrook area.

Bus Eireann is running a special bus service from Dublin to the Navan Races on Sunday December 12 th. The buses are departing 90 minutes before the start of the first race and returning to Dublin immediately after the meeting finishes.

Those intending to travel abroad should be warned that all Irish Ferries services on the Dublin/Holyhead and Rosslare/Pemroe routes are cancelled due to continuing industrial action.

However, all Stena Line sailings are running to timetable.