IRISH RAIL PASSENGERS will no longer have to print out physical tickets for their journey, as Iarnród Éireann has announced a new e-ticket option for all intercity trains.

The change has been introduced gradually for low-fare and semi-flex tickets over the last few months, but will be available for all ticket types from Tuesday, 23 January.

Barry Kenny, Corporate Communications Manager for Irish Rail, told The Journal that the the option can be chosen when booking tickets online.

Ticket-holders won’t have to queue at ticket machines to print out their ticket.

“The gates are marked that they’re QR code ready,” Kenny said.

He added that it’s similar to “what you would see at airports”.

People will still have the option to get a physical ticket instead if they want to.

Enterprise journeys are not included in the change as it is a joint service with Northern Irish Railways.

‘Long overdue’

Feljin Jose of the Dublin Commuters Coalition said the change is “long overdue”.

“This, along with the TFI Go app, will make public transport easier to use for a lot of people.

“However, there’s still the issue of a total lack of contactless payments in the Dublin area for buses, Luas, DART and Commuter trains.

“It was due many years ago but the deadlines have been pushed out so many times and the latest update says it’ll be 2025 or even 2026.

“That’s just not good enough.”

Irish Doctors for the Environment described the move as “a small step in the right direction”. 

“E-tickets have been available in other countries for years,” the group wrote on X.