Christmas exodus gets under way

Ireland's transport system is preparing for its busiest period of the year as the annual Christmas exodus gets under way this evening.

Hundreds of thousands of journeys will be made on public and private transport over the coming days and AA Roadwatch is expecting tomorrow to be the busiest day on the country's roads.

Dublin airport will see the most traffic over the next two days with an estimated 620,000 journeys being made. Iarnród Éireann will carry some 400,000 passengers over the festive period while Bus Éireann will cater for about 200,000 travellers across the country.

Private ferry and bus companies will carry thousands more.

Last minute shoppers will also add to the congestion as retailers look to tomorrow – the last full shopping day before Christmas – as their last chance to buck the recession and improve on last year’s dramatically reduced seasonal takings.

A repeat of the Arctic conditions which resulted in misery for retailers and travellers alike last year is not expected and the country's roads will see increased traffic from midday tomorrow.

“Last Christmas Day, the lowest December air temperature ever in Ireland was measured as -17.5°C at Straide, Co. Mayo” said Aoife Carragher, head of AA Roadwatch.

“This year temperatures are expected to hover around a balmy 10°C for the big day, and while motorists will be much more confident as they set out on their journey home for Christmas, it is still vital to keep road safety at the forefront of our minds during the festive period.”

As ever, motorists are advised to keep speed down, ensure all passengers wear their seat belts and never to drink and drive.

Iarnród Éireann is advising passengers to book their seats in advance and to arrive early.

Most services will end by 9pm on Christmas Eve and there will be no rail services across Dart, commuter and Intercity on Christmas Day and St Stephens' Day.

Ireland's ferry companies are also busy. Irish Ferries said it was experiencing a "buoyant Christmas" and Stena Line said it was expecting to carry almost 111,000 passengers and 32,000 cars over the holiday period.

Stena Line’s communications manager, Eamonn Hewitt said: “There is still some availability but we would advise our customers not to leave it much longer to book as they could end up missing out on their turkey dinner”

Bus Éireann will operate a normal timetable on Christmas Eve but most services will finish by 9pm. There will be no service on Christmas Day and a Sunday service will operate on St Stephen’s Day.

All Bus Éireann/Eurolines Cross-Channel Services are cancelled on New Years Eve with city services ending between 8.30 and 9pm. New Year Day will see a regular Sunday operation in place.

Details of air, rail, road and ferry Christmas timetables are available online.