Loco-Hauled Passenger Trains
I wrote this article in 2018 giving an introduction to the relatively small amount of loco haulage that remains in Ireland, as well as the railway sights of interest that exist around the country. Effectively, all loco haulage is centred on Dublin’s two stations – Connolly (trains to Belfast) and Heuston (trains to Cork), and the only class of loco with booked workings are the 1990s-built General Motors 201 Class machines.
Travelling to Ireland
These days, the main gateway to the Emerald Isle is arguably Dublin Airport. The airport is not rail-served, and is about five miles to the north of the city. Back in the 1990s I remember the bus journeys between the two as being slow, tedious and unpredictable, but since the 2007 opening of the Dublin Port Tunnel, it now boasts a 10-minute frequency of express buses that reach the eastern extremity of the Luas light rail network at The Point in 15 minutes, the Busáras adjacent to Connolly station in 30 and Heuston station in 50.
European Traction 