NIR

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Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) is the state railway company in Northern Ireland and is part of Translink, a state transport company. The rail network is compact and mainly consists of connections to and from Belfast.

Summary

  • FIP tickets are valid on all train services.

Validity of FIP Tickets

FIP Coupon: ✅FIP 50 Tickets: ✅

Train Categories and Reservations

Regional Trains
FIP accepted No reservation possible

NIR operates various regional train services from Belfast. Regional trains cannot be reserved and can be used with FIP.

Intercity (Enterprise)
FIP accepted Reservation possible

NIR operates the Enterprise Service between Dublin and Belfast together with CIE.

Class Categories

  • Second Class: Standard class, usable with FIP 50 Tickets and FIP Coupons of both first and second class.

  • Enterprise Plus: First class on the Dublin – Belfast connection. Can be used with 1st class FIP Coupons, and with a surcharge also with 2nd class FIP Coupons.

Ticket and Reservation Purchase

Online

FIP 50 Tickets cannot be purchased online.

Irish Rail Website
Reservations (2nd class) for the Enterprise Service (Dublin – Belfast).
Reservation Costs
1st Class: -
2nd Class: 0 € / 2.50 €

Reservations

Reservations for 2nd class can be purchased online. To do so, the passenger option must first be selected:

Open passenger options
Select Free Travel Pass
Then the “Adults” selection can be deselected and the “Free Travel Pass” option selected.

Reservations for 2nd class are issued free of charge. Only on some heavily used services are reservation fees of 2.50 € charged.

The prices displayed for Premier Class include the price difference between 1st and 2nd class, so these reservations can be booked to travel in Premier Class with a 2nd class FIP Card.

Reservations for 1st class FIP Coupons cannot be booked online via Irish Rail.

Personal Tip

In Ireland, the names of passengers are generally displayed on the reservation indicators in the trains. If this is not desired, the booking can indicate that the ticket number should be displayed instead.

To Booking Website
Translink WhatsApp
Reservations (1st class) for the Enterprise Service (Dublin – Belfast).
Reservation Costs
1st Class: 0 €
2nd Class: -

Free reservations for the Enterprise Service can be booked via Translink’s WhatsApp customer service when the journey starts in Belfast. Only reservations for 1st class (Enterprise Plus) with a 1st class FIP Coupon are issued.

To do so, a message must be sent to the WhatsApp number +44 7583122646 stating the travel details (date, time, departure and destination station) as well as the number of travellers. It is recommended to write the message in English.

Additional Information

On-Site

Translink Ticket Office

Stations with ticket offices can be found using the Translink station finder. The relevant ticket offices are referred to as “customer information desk”.

FIP 50 Tickets can be purchased at Translink ticket offices.

Additional Information
Irish Rail Ticket Office
Reservations and FIP 50 Tickets for the Enterprise Service (Dublin – Belfast).

Irish Rail ticket offices are available at the larger InterCity stations. To check whether a station has a ticket office, the relevant station can be selected in the station finder. The opening hours are listed in the “General information” and “Opening Hours” sections if a ticket office is available. The ticket offices are referred to as “Station Booking Offices” on the website.

FIP 50 Tickets

FIP 50 Tickets can be purchased at the “Station Booking Offices” of Irish Rail.

Additional Information

On the Train

FIP 50 Tickets must be purchased before boarding. On the Enterprise Service, it is possible to purchase the upgrade between 1st and 2nd class on the train.

Discounts

Children up to 5 years of age travel free of charge. Young people up to 16 years of age receive a 50% discount on the adult fare. Persons aged 16 and over pay the full FIP adult fare.1

Special Tariff Conditions

Break of Journey

Break of journey is only permitted in order to catch connecting trains.1

Sources

  1. Rail Delivery Group ↩︎ ↩︎