Enterprise passengers from Belfast to Dublin could pay double – BBC News

Rail passengers traveling on the Enterprise rail service from Belfast to Dublin could pay more than double what passengers traveling in the other direction would pay.

It can even be cheaper to travel first class from Dublin’s Connolly station to Belfast than to travel standard class from Belfast to Connolly.

The Enterprise service is jointly operated by Translink and Irish Rail.

However, depending on which side of the Irish border you buy your ticket from will determine how much you have to pay, and the differences can be huge.

Figures from the Translink and Irish Rail websites show that passengers traveling from Belfast Lanyon Place to Dublin Connolly Station on the 8am service on July 1 would pay:

Passengers traveling on the 7:35 am service from Dublin Connolly Station to Belfast Lanyon Place on the same day will pay:

Andrew McDonald, an independent rail activist, does not believe there is any justification for the price difference.

“I know Translink and Irish Rail work together when it comes to their cross-border services, but it feels like, when it comes to the actual pricing and ticket structure, they are just doing their own thing,” he told BBC Radio Ulster’s Evening Extra. program.

“Maybe a little more communication about how we can meet in the middle with ticket prices would be more beneficial.

“Maybe there’s a strategy behind it that we’re not aware of, but if there’s a strategy behind it, it would be nice to know why, because ultimately it’s us, the people who use the services, who suffer. .”

Currently you can only book tickets for the Enterprise on the website in the country where your trip originates.

Currently, passengers from Northern Ireland cannot reserve a seat on standard or web saver fares.

Steve Bradley, chairman of rail lobby group Into the West, said there should be “no equivalent of a fine depending on which side of the border” you buy your ticket for the Enterprise service.

“It is simply not justified to charge different people completely different prices for the same trip just depending on where they start and where they end,” he added.

Translink said in a statement that the Enterprise service is operated as a joint venture by Irish Rail and Translink and that each company “has its own ticketing/IT systems, fare structures and special offers and operates in different jurisdictions with different government policies”.

“The Government of the Republic of Ireland has reduced public transport fares by 20% across the board, including Enterprise tickets for travel from south of the border,” it added.

“All Enterprise customers from Northern Ireland will be able to book their seats online later this year.”

BBC News NI gathered the public’s views on the price differences outside Lanyon Place train station on Tuesday afternoon.

A woman from Northern Ireland said it was “one island” and prices “should be the same”.

“It’s the same, don’t make it complicated, just keep it the same,” she added.

“It just confuses people.”

Another man from the Republic of Ireland said passengers from Northern Ireland were “suffering great losses”.

He added that the subsidy cannot continue “always” in the Republic of Ireland, but to encourage the use of public transport “that is not a bad thing” and as a beneficiary of it “I am smiling”.