THERE WILL BE minute – literally – changes to Dublin train timetables for autumn as Irish Rail seeks to counteract leaf fall challenges on its tracks.

Morning and evening peak services on the Dart and Dublin commuter routes will see the changes. Journey times for affected services will be extended by between 1–3 minutes in all but one instance. 

It’s the second consecutive year Irish Rail has opted to introduce an autumn timetable for the greater Dublin area. It is aimed at improving punctuality.

The changes will kick in on Monday 21 September and run until 12 December.

Customers are particularly asked to note earlier departure times on morning services.

Explaining the move, Irish Rail said: “Autumn leaf fall causes low rail adhesion, with leaves – especially in damp and wet autumnal conditions – creating a greasy layer on the rail that is the equivalent of black ice on roads.”

To ensure safety, train drivers must drive more cautiously and accelerate and decelerate more slowly at times when rails are affected, it continued.

Morning services on Dart and Dublin commuter services will be slightly earlier to aim to arrive at scheduled times.

Evening services will depart as scheduled but will have a slightly later arrival time.

While the vast majority of services will experience only 1–3 minutes of extra travel time, the weekday 6.10am service from Newbridge to Grand Canal Dock will leave six minutes earlier, at 6.04am.

There are no changes to intercity services and other routes. 

Irish Rail said alongside its new timetable, it has made efforts to reduce low rail adhesion through vegetation management, specialised water-jetting, and targeted treatments, among other measures.