Northern Ireland i-link

[paddington]

I'm going to NI to have a look at some of the trains and stations there. I've been to Belfast by car before but have not taken any public transport. Online information is very sparse.

It seems like the best ticketing option would be to get a Zone 4 pass on the i-link card, I would need this for 2 or 3 days. It looks like I can order a one-day pass to be posted to me before I go. I don't know how long it will take the card to arrive, and the problem is I'm not sure how much travelling I will do on the first day as I may only do a little bit and just go to the hotel. Does this mean I must decide what zones I want on my first day when I order the card?

Does anyone have a bit more information about the ticketing setup, for example, are stations barriered, are there conductors on the train or just RPIs at random, is there a buy before boarding policy or penalty fares etc.? Can I buy the pass for my second day at a machine or do I have to buy it online, and if I buy it online, how do I get it onto the card? Are machines available at all stations or is there something like a PERTIS?

 

[bangor-toad]

Hi there,
Hope you enjoy your trip over here.

You'll need to specify which zones you want when you order the card online. If you want to stay around Belfast then a zones 1 & 2 will do. If you want to travel further - up to Larne, Londonderry or Newry, you'll need a zone 4 card.
I recommend a zone 4 card for any visitors as it's still cheap and it's the most flexible covering every train, bus & coach within NI (with no peak restrictions)

You can order a i-link card online & a have it delivered or you can buy one in a few places. The easiest being the main tourist information office in Belfast. Oddly, you can't buy an i-link card at a station alhtough it's easy to top them up there for another day / week. The main staffed stations in Belfast are Central, Great Victoria Street & Botanic. There currently are no automatic ticket machines anywhere but it's rumoured we'll some some soon...

Using the trains is easy. There are no barriered stations. The main ones are staffed and you have to validate your i-link card by presenting it to the machine. Technically there does seem to be a penalty fare area in Belfast but no-one seems to worry about it. There are conductors on almost every train and they'll sell on board without any fuss.
Buses & coaches are easy. Just present your i-link card to the machine by the driver and take your ticket.

Try the lines out to Bangor (I'm biased!), Larne & Londonderry as they're quite scenic & pleasant. The route down past Lisburn is OK but not that interesting.

Have a great trip,
Mr Toad

 

[swt class 450]

I'm going to NI to have a look at some of the trains and stations there. I've been to Belfast by car before but have not taken any public transport. Online information is very sparse.

It seems like the best ticketing option would be to get a Zone 4 pass on the i-link card, I would need this for 2 or 3 days. It looks like I can order a one-day pass to be posted to me before I go. I don't know how long it will take the card to arrive, and the problem is I'm not sure how much travelling I will do on the first day as I may only do a little bit and just go to the hotel. Does this mean I must decide what zones I want on my first day when I order the card?

Does anyone have a bit more information about the ticketing setup, for example, are stations barriered, are there conductors on the train or just RPIs at random, is there a buy before boarding policy or penalty fares etc.? Can I buy the pass for my second day at a machine or do I have to buy it online, and if I buy it online, how do I get it onto the card? Are machines available at all stations or is there something like a PERTIS?

The Northern Ireland Railways network has no TVMs (Ticket Vending Machines) or PERTIS machines (not even at their large stations). 100% of all trains have a Guard on board who will always be happy to sell tickets from a very basic handheld ticket machine. A few of the larger staffed stations have ticket offices where staff sell train tickets from Wayfarer TGX 200 bus ticket machines. There is no Penalty Fare system and as far as i am aware Northern Ireland Railways do not even have any RPIs. The Northern Ireland Railways network has a much simpler ticketing system (and in general the network is just much more simple) than the rest of the UK does.

 

[Hadders]

I purchased a Zone 4 iLink card at Great Victoria Street station a couple of years ago. I can't remember if it was on the rail station side or bus station part but I definitely got it there.

 

[sheff1]

Oddly, you can't buy an i-link card at a station

This leaflet https://www.translink.co.uk/Global/4525 ILink User Guide.pdf suggests you can buy it at "main stations". Not sure what qualifies as a main station, but would expect Belfast Central and Great Victoria St to qualify.

If arriving by air the easiest thing to do is buy at the airport.

 

[paddington]

Thanks all.

100% of all trains have a Guard on board who will always be happy to sell tickets from a very basic handheld ticket machine.

So just to confirm, is this basic handheld machine able to read the smartcard and issue tickets on it?

Do the conductors take both card and cash?

(Cash - because in addition to being a train enthusiast I also collect banknotes, and despite having a nice collection from around the world, I keep forgetting that I don't even have half of the notes used in the UK, hence this trip shall also rectify this situation...)

 

[swt class 450]

Thanks all.



So just to confirm, is this basic handheld machine able to read the smartcard and issue tickets on it?

Do the conductors take both card and cash?

(Cash - because in addition to being a train enthusiast I also collect banknotes, and despite having a nice collection from around the world, I keep forgetting that I don't even have half of the notes used in the UK, hence this trip shall also rectify this situation...)

Yes their machine can still sell the full range of single / return / daily / weekly tickets across Northern Ireland stations. Yes it does indeed read smartcards. What i meant is it is very small and basic compared to an Avantix machine and prints on receipt paper (which is pretty much the same as if you buy a ticket in one of their ticket offices as well). And yes all Guards accept both cash and card payments.

 

[najaB]

And yes all Guards accept both cash and card payments.

I've had two guards refuse to take a card payment. This was last October between Cultra and Central.

Edit: Thinking about it, it wasn't the last time I was over it was the time before that. So it would've been in July.

 

[swt class 450]

I've had two guards refuse to take a card payment. This was last October between Cultra and Central.

Did they tell you why? I presume they must have had a broken card payment machine?

 

[island]

Oh dear! Lots of bad information in this thread.

NI Railways operates Penalty Fares across the network at £50 plus the single fare for the journey made (source: http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/NI-Railways/NI-Railways-conditions-of-carriage/). Penalty Fares are however applicable to a limited number of stations as most NI Railways stations are unstaffed with no ticketing facilities.

NI Railways do not accept card payments on board, cash only (source: http://www.translink.co.uk/FAQs/). Enterprise services do take card payments on board, but this isn't especially useful as all Enterprise stations are staffed and gated.

Major NI Railways stations have manual ticket checks at a "gateline" both entering and exiting the platform area. There are no automatic ticket barriers.

As correctly mentioned above, all NI Railways ticket offices issue tickets on bus-style thermal stock.

 

[swt class 450]

Oh dear! Lots of bad information in this thread.

NI Railways operates Penalty Fares across the network at £50 plus the single fare for the journey made (source: http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/NI-Railways/NI-Railways-conditions-of-carriage/). Penalty Fares are however applicable to a limited number of stations as most NI Railways stations are unstaffed with no ticketing facilities.

NI Railways do not accept card payments on board, cash only (source: http://www.translink.co.uk/FAQs/). Enterprise services do take card payments on board, but this isn't especially useful as all Enterprise stations are staffed and gated.

Major NI Railways stations have manual ticket checks at a "gateline" both entering and exiting the platform area. There are no automatic ticket barriers.

As correctly mentioned above, all NI Railways ticket offices issue tickets on bus-style thermal stock.

Interesting. When i have visited Northern Ireland i have always paid cash to the Guard but i am sure i remember seeing someone paying with a card. Maybe i am thinking of the cross border Enterprise services.

I didnt realise that they had a Penalty Fare scheme. That seems so pointless as almost all of their stations dont have any ticketing facilities. It is only a few of the larger stations that have ticket offices.

 

[bangor-toad]

Hi there,
Don't beleive too much you read on the Translink website beyond the headline stuff! It's usually out of date or fantastically inaccurate. The timetables are usually pretty good though.

NI Railways operates Penalty Fares across the network at £50 plus the single fare for the journey made (source: http://www.translink.co.uk/Services/NI-Railways/NI-Railways-conditions-of-carriage/). Penalty Fares are however applicable to a limited number of stations as most NI Railways stations are unstaffed with no ticketing facilities.

Unless you are being an utter [expletive] it's never an issue. On many occasoins people arrive at one of main stations without a ticket, say they haven't got one to to gateline staff and are directed to the queue to buy one. They don't really care where you've come. Nice and simple (and rather different from many English TOCs!)

NI Railways do not accept card payments on board, cash only (source: http://www.translink.co.uk/FAQs/). Enterprise services do take card payments on board, but this isn't especially useful as all Enterprise stations are staffed and gated.

Don't beleive the website! On train card payments were introduced last summer. That's for all Translink trains and Enterprise services. Buses are cash only. I don't know about the Goldline coaches.


Whatever you go for it's easy and cheap to use public transport here. Ticketing is simple. Do you want a single or return fare? There are none of the exciting and complex options we're all so fond of / driven mad by on the mainland.

Have a great trip overe here,
Mr Toad

 

[swt class 450]

Hi there,
Don't beleive too much you read on the Translink website beyond the headline stuff! It's usually out of date or fantastically inaccurate. The timetables are usually pretty good though.




Unless you are being an utter [expletive] it's never an issue. On many occasoins people arrive at one of main stations without a ticket, say they haven't got one to to gateline staff and are directed to the queue to buy one. They don't really care where you've come. Nice and simple (and rather different from many English TOCs!)



Don't beleive the website! On train card payments were introduced last summer. That's for all Translink trains and Enterprise services. Buses are cash only. I don't know about the Goldline coaches.


Whatever you go for it's easy and cheap to use public transport here. Ticketing is simple. Do you want a single or return fare? There are none of the exciting and complex options we're all so fond of / driven mad by on the mainland.

Have a great trip overe here,
Mr Toad

That makes sense. I knew i had seem people pay by card on local trains in Northern Ireland last time i visited a few months ago.

I dont think i have ever seen or heard of anyone getting a Penalty Fare or a Fine in Northern Ireland. Buying tickets seems to be nice and simple in Northern Ireland. The lack of any TVMs is good so there are no broken or card only or confusing TVMs to worry about.

The Northern Ireland Railways network seems to be run much better than in mainland UK. It is so much more simple and easy to use. The staff are generally more competent and definitely have a lot more common sense than you would get here in mainland UK.

Also out of interest do normal Single and Return tickets in Northern Ireland allow you to break your journey as many times as you like (just like in mainland UK)? I have often done this when i have visited Northern Ireland and never had a probably but i am not sure what the official rule about this is?

 

[bkhtele]

There is also an unlimited Sunday train ticket for £7

 

[swt class 450]

There is also an unlimited Sunday train ticket for £7

That is definitely quite a good value ticket. It is just a shame that it is only available on Sundays only.

 

[najaB]

That is definitely quite a good value ticket. It is just a shame that it is only available on Sundays only.

Why would you want a Sunday ticket on a Tuesday?

 

[bkhtele]

That is definitely quite a good value ticket. It is just a shame that it is only available on Sundays only.

Ops didn't pick up it was a Tuesday, sorry

 

[bkhtele]

Reply from Translink re card payment:

A pilot scheme is currently underway for card payments to be accepted onboard services. Unfortunately this is not available on all services at present.

 

[Flying Snail]

There is also an unlimited Sunday train ticket for £7

Thee is also cross-acceptance of rail and bus tickets after 6.30 pm.

Any return bus or rail ticket, the above Sunday rail ticket and equivalent Sunday (and every day during school holidays) bus day ticket can be used on both NI rail or Ulsterbus/Goldline services that the ticket is valid for, excluding cross-border travel.

 

[paddington]

So I received my card in the post (very quick - as with all mail from NI to London in my experience) but I was surprised to find that it has a big ZONE 4 printed on it.

Seems a bit odd as what if I want to buy a different zone in the future?

 

[Flying Snail]

So I received my card in the post (very quick - as with all mail from NI to London in my experience) but I was surprised to find that it has a big ZONE 4 printed on it.

Seems a bit odd as what if I want to buy a different zone in the future?

The cards are zone specific, you can only load additional z4 products to that card. If you want a different zone ticket you need to get another card for that zone.

And no, I don't understand why they have arranged it that way.

 

[swt class 450]

It really seems like a crazy arrangement to print the zones on the smartcard. I really dont understand the point as staff will be able to see what zones it is for when they scan the smartcard. It makes it very inconvinient for customers who want to change zones as they have to get a brand new smartcard.

 

[paddington]

Short report from my perspective to add to the info provided by everyone else.


The DMU trains are all relatively new, clean and quiet. Every train I caught arrived almost exactly on time, occasionally 60-90 second delays but would catch up.

Frequency on the line to (London)derry and Larne a bit low but can't be improved without double tracking, basically there seemed to be another train ready to enter almost every single track section in the opposite direction as soon as we came out of one.


Paper tickets are flimsy matters that are feel like carbon copy receipts, worse than the thermal bus tickets that are common in the UK.

No automated ticket barriers as such, but all the more urban stations have a "human" ticket barrier which is like a small gate to the platform where you have to show your ticket to station staff before passing through. These stations also have ticket offices, but seems like you can also buy a ticket at the barrier. This is the case at Gt Vic St, slightly odd since people were queueing up to buy there, and I didn't know if I should just walk past without scanning my card, until someone else did that.

If you have the smartcard you're supposed to scan it at the machines, but the staff stand so far away from the machines for some reason. They usually can't see the machines from where they are standing although a valid card will make a nice beeping noise. For example at Bangor, the guy was on the platform and the machine is inside the station building, so he had to push everyone queuing behind me several paces backwards into the building so I could reach the machine.

It was variable as to whether tickets would be checked on exiting stations, but everyone seemed to have one, in contrast with e.g. Scotland where it seems like people try to avoid the conductor if they can get away with it.

There were efficient and friendly conductors on every train, they probably know which stations have the human ticket barrier so only come around after stations where there is no way to buy a ticket. At certain places they will check everyone. Most people buying on board still use cash, but cards were accepted with no fuss if someone wanted to use one.

Some conductors would not bother scanning my smartcard when I presented it. The on-board scanner seems very slow. Not that many people had a smartcard either, so they were either infrequent travellers or overpaying.