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Ticket barrier and leap card entrance at Heuston Station Alamy Stock Photo
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Commuters need minimum of €2.50 on their Leap card to use rail services in new fare zones
The new zones have been in place since Monday. Here’s a reminder of how they work – and what they’ll cost you.
ADULTS TRAVELLING ON Irish Rail now need a balance of at least €2.50 on their Leap card in order to use it.
It comes with new fare zones introduced by Irish Rail that have expanded the area Leap cards can be used, now covering a 50km radius around Dublin.
Until this week, Dublin passengers with short train journeys had been able to pay using their Leap Card but those from towns further away in the commuter belt needed to purchase a ticket.
The new zones have been in place since Monday. Here’s a reminder of how they work – and what they’ll cost you.
The Leap area is divided into four zones, which will have different fares applied.
In Zone 1, where train passengers were already eligible to pay with a Leap Card, the 90-minute fare will remain unchanged (€2 for Adult, €1 for Young Adult/Student and €0.65 for Child Leap Cards).
Zone 2 will cover areas including Gormanston, Skerries, Kilcock, Sallins & Naas, Greystones and Kilcoole. The fare will cost €3.90 for an Adult, €1.95 for Young Adult/Student and €1.95 for Child Leap Cards.
Drogheda, Enfield, Newbridge and Wicklow Town will be included in Zone 3 and be charged €6 for an Adult, €3 for Young Adult/Student and €3 for Child Leap Cards.
Zone 4 will be furthest from the city centre, covering areas like Kildare Town and Rathdrum at a cost of €7.50 for an Adult, €3.75 for Young Adult/Student and €3.75 for Child Leap Cards.
Irish Rail Communications Manager Barry Kenny has explained that the new fares largely won’t be reducing costs in Zone 2 but that there will be decreases for those living further out in Zones 3 and 4.
Train travel between Dublin Connolly and Newbridge, for example, costs €9.85, while getting from Dublin Heuston to Kildare Town costs €9.75.
The weekly cap for travel in all four zones for an Adult Leap Card is €67.20
“We’re encouraging all customers who use the Leap Card to make sure to touch on and touch off for your journey, so that you aren’t charged a higher fare than you’re due,” Kenny said, speaking on RTÉ Radio One last week.
He said that cash fares are also available for the journeys but that “Leap will always be the cheaper option”.
Changes to monthly and annual tickets will be applied “on people’s next renewal of those”.
With reporting by Lauren Boland
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