SailRail - break of journey on Irish side

[lyndhurst25]

I'm thinking of doing a trip from northern England to the Western or Southern coast of the Irish Republic using SailRail. From what I understand there are 3 ferry routes from Great Britain.

1) "Southern Sea Corridor" Fishguard-Rosslare - Advance or Standby single tickets available from any GB station. No through fares to Irish stations available since 2007 due to "absence of connecting rail services".

2) "Central Sea Corridor" Holyhead-Dublin/Dun Laoghaire - Advance or Standby single tickets available from any GB station. Through fares to available to any RoI or Northern Ireland station.

3) "Northern Sea Corridor" Cairnryan-Belfast - Anytime Return or Day Single tickets available. I'm trying to work out from which GB to which RoI/NI stations these fares are available but on checking brfares.com it all seems a bit hit and miss and not the same as the zonal system shown in my NFM97 RailLinks book. I need to investigate this further to find out if this is deliberate or an oversight!

Anyway, my main question is how long do you have to complete your outward and return journeys in Ireland and are overnight break(s) of journey allowed on the Irish side? I'm not even sure that "break of journey" is a concept that exists in Irish railway ticketing! Are the rules different for the Anytime tickets via Cairnryan compared with the Advance/Standby tickets via Holyhead?

Thanks.

(Also, from brfares.com, what is "ZPO Port Tax - £10" showing on fares to Belfast NI via Cairnryan from some Scottish stations?)

 

[reb0118]

I'm not even sure that "break of journey" is a concept that exists in Irish railway ticketing!

When travelling on a priv from Dublin to Belfast the ticket was valid for three day IIRC. I got at Drogheda for a few hours and was collared on the platform when I returned and told that you couldn't break you journey - I pointed out the three day validity and 'cause I was "BR" he let me off. No break of journey on Irish Rail I believe. The "man in sat61" agrees with me.

(Also, from brfares.com, what is "ZPO Port Tax - £10" showing on fares to Belfast NI via Cairnryan from some Scottish stations?)

This looks like the £10 port tax that railway staff pay to cross the Irish Sea - is this for a return as it is £5 each way

 

[island]

All single tickets for over a certain distance in Ireland are printed with a three-day validity for some odd reason.

However, Irish Rail tickets do allow break of journey according to the Irish Rail Conditions of Carriage (but not finishing or starting short if the shorter fare is higher!) I'll see if I can find a link.

 

[Eire Sprinter]

I'm thinking of doing a trip from northern England to the Western or Southern coast of the Irish Republic using SailRail. From what I understand there are 3 ferry routes from Great Britain.

1) "Southern Sea Corridor" Fishguard-Rosslare - Advance or Standby single tickets available from any GB station. No through fares to Irish stations available since 2007 due to "absence of connecting rail services".

Which site is showing the phrase "absence of connecting rail services"? Can understand where the use of the phrase is coming from but it disappoints me and feels unfair that a site would paint all Rosslare connections with the same brush as the overnight sailing each way is rail connected. I.e. the 02.45 sailing from Fishguard arriving Rosslare 06.15hrs. has an onwards weekdays train at 07.20. Since last September the 21.00 sailing from Rosslare to Fishguard has an evening train reaching Rosslare at 19.25hrs.

The morning sailing at 09.00 ex Rosslare has no train connection into it. The evening arrival at 18.00hrs (14.30 ex Fishguard) has no onward train connection so the phrase "absence of connecting rail services" certainly holds true for these sailings.

In case it's of help Irish Rail still issue SailRail ticketing from stations in Ireland to stations in GB via Rosslare-Fishguard. But in terms of buying a ticket only certain stations actually sell them. So it's possible to buy say Wicklow to Bristol via Rosslare but the ticket would need to be bought at Connolly in Dublin (or by phone).

3) "Northern Sea Corridor" Cairnryan-Belfast - Anytime Return or Day Single tickets available. I'm trying to work out from which GB to which RoI/NI stations these fares are available but on checking brfares.com it all seems a bit hit and miss and not the same as the zonal system shown in my NFM97 RailLinks book. I need to investigate this further to find out if this is deliberate or an oversight!

Should be available to NI stations plus stations on the line from Belfast to Dublin.
http://www.stenaline.ie/ferry/rail-and-sail/scotland/

Anyway, my main question is how long do you have to complete your outward and return journeys in Ireland and are overnight break(s) of journey allowed on the Irish side? I'm not even sure that "break of journey" is a concept that exists in Irish railway ticketing!

Am inclined to think the journey must be continuous (other than for changing trains and continuing on the next available train).

In terms of break of journey p. 7 of http://www.irishrail.ie/media/ConditionsOfTravel1.pdf
My take on it is that it only refers to tickets for internal journeys in Ireland.

Hope this might be of some help and that you have a pleasant trip.

 

[lyndhurst25]

"Absence of connecting rail services" is what's printed in the NFM97 RailLinks Manual. I don't have the book with me at the moment but is says, printed in a bold box, words to the effect that through tickets via Rosslare will no longer be issued from such a date in 2007 due to ""absence of connecting rail services". It may mean poor connections on the Irish side. It is interesting (and frustrating!) to know that these tickets are still issued by Irish Rail.

With regards to GB to RoI/NI tickets via Cairnryan it's quite confusing as to what is and is not available. Stations in Scotland seem to have a good selection of destinations covering all of NI and a lot, but not all, of the RoI. From stations in England and Wales the only destination I can find via Cairnryan is Belfast NI. This wasn't the case in 2007, with through tickets being available via Stranraer from English/Welsh stations to NI/RoI stations using a zonal fare system.

Thanks for the link to the IE CoC. I'll study that later to see if it helps with my break-of-journey question.

 

[Eire Sprinter]

Thanks - interesting that - in relation to Rosslare I'd prefer that the NFM would use "poor connections" or "limited/some connections" rather than "absence of connecting rail services". Wonder is any part of that NFM available on CD.

I understand that in the event of better train connections at Rosslare it's relatively straightforward to reintroduce through ticketing to Irish stations via Rosslare-Fishguard.

The SailRail tickets issued this side are still the paper coupon type. National Rail issued tickets to stations in Ireland won't work barriers (at stations where they exist) here but nonetheless Irish Rail staff seem familiar with them so they'll open barriers/wave you through.

NIR Travel adjacent to Great Victoria Street railway station/Europa Buscentre in Belfast can issue National Rail tickets so might be able to elucidate on via Cairnryan. Their number is 028 9024 2420. I've never seen any promotion of SailRail ticketing in Northern Ireland.

 

[bkhtele]

Via Cairnryan - you can buy tickets at main UK rail stations to any station in N.Ireland. (you may have to remind them!) If you buy the return ticket it come as an Anytime single via 5 days, and the return portion is valid for a month from the date of the return joourney. Strictly you are not mean to break the journey, except the usual overnight permission where completing the journey is undesirable!

If you but the single to Ireland via Cairnryan it is printed as an anytime day single - slightly less flexible.

The simplest way to buy this ticket is at the station - decide what ferry you want to travel on and then build the journey around the ferry. Only the ferry reservation is compulsory via Cairnryan.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Sorry for the spelling errors the system would let me edit it! and I am going to bed! I think the return portion is valid 1 month.

For the Holyhead and the Cairnryan ticket I have never had a problem breaking a journey for a few hours (to improve connections for the ferry) e.g. at Glasgow or Dublin stopping for 4/5 hours en route. Not sure I would break journey for 2/3 days without further investigation. The Irish and N.Ireland companies seem quiet flexible with these tickets.

 

[lyndhurst25]

Thanks for the information. Using brfares.com I am finding fares to all NI stations via Cairnryan, but only from Scottish stations. From England & Wales I can only find fares to Belfast NI. From Scottish stations there are also fares to various RoI stations; I think Charleville was the furthest south that I found. Maybe there are ways of issuing tickets for the missing combinations in "The Manual" but unfortunately that isn't available to the general public any more.

Reading the Irish Rail Conditions of Carriage it seems that break-of-journey is allowed in the Irish Republic and that reb0118 from the post above was wrongly pulled-up for doing so! I'll have to look up what the NIR rules are too. I'm not entirely sure whether SailRail tickets are covered by the GB, RoI or NI conditions of carriage depending on where they are bought or by all three depending on where you are at the time.

 

[bkhtele]

The last Sail rail ticket I bought was in April 2012 & I bought as a through ticket from England to Carrickfergus NI at my local station. it possible that they have stopped, but I would try from your destination at a main station e.g. Euston. Not sure if fares site uploads all the Irish data like the internet sites. Also tickets bought fron Stena from Ireland seem to have some extra restrictions e.g can't travel on sleeper from Glasgow to Euston (according to Stena staff)