Over a period of 18 months, Irish Rail has disbursed almost €31,000 to passengers as compensation for delayed train services. This refund was applicable to 1,794 commuters whose train services were delayed by an hour or more. The scheme allowed passengers to receive half their fare back for a train delayed between 60 to 120 minutes, and a full refund for a delay over two hours. The average refund amounted to just over €17.
Despite these delayed services, Irish Rail states that since the beginning of 2023, a vast majority (99.9%) of its services have run smoothly without significant delays.
Train delay data provided by Irish Rail reveals that in this 18-month timeframe, 528 train services were reported late by an hour or two. The Dublin to Belfast route experienced the highest delay count, with 110 trains running 60 to 120 minutes behind schedule. The routes from Cork to Dublin and Galway to Dublin witnessed similar delays with 54 and 45 cases respectively.
Frequency reduction on certain Drogheda commuter line trains led to increased waiting times. Dart had 66 instances of delays over an hour, while there were 26 such cases on the Westport line, 29 each on Sligo and Northern line trains, and 22 each for services to Rosslare and Waterford.
In terms of substantial delays exceeding two hours, 17 services were significantly late on the Belfast Enterprise route. Similarly, 14 services to Cork, 11 to Galway, and 10 to Sligo noted delays above 120 minutes. On a brighter note, no delays over two hours were reported on certain routes, including those to Cobh, Midleton, Mallow in Cork, and Limerick Junction in Co Tipperary.
Consequently, a total of 86 significant delays compelled Irish Rail to provide a complete 100% fare refund. This included 63 cases in 2023 and a reduced count of 23 cases in the first half of this year.
Emphasising the rarity of such delay-prone services, an Irish Rail spokesperson said that only a minute fraction of their services experienced delays that warranted refunds. He also reminded passengers of their right to claim refunds should they encounter substantial service disruptions lasting 60 minutes or more.