We spoke to several travellers who were enjoying the gentle rumble of the train to Cork at the start of a busy weekend for travel and they told us what it is that they love about travelling by train.
Gena Lynam (pictured above) is from Sandymount and regularly takes the train
“I’m going to Cork to the Crawford Art Gallery to see the Rembrandt exhibition - a collection of his prints which is very rare. I am going up and down on the same day, and will get the train back at 3.30pm. I love it, it’s so relaxing. I hate driving, so I love the train. It’s lovely, looking out at the scenery going by, seeing places you’d never see if you were going by car, because you have to watch the road all the time. It’s a great way to see the countryside and I also like the fact I can read a book or paper. I can also work, if I have to. I’m an artist myself, I paint so I go to any major art exhibition. This is the express train, which means it’s only 2.5 hours to Cork. By car it could take me three to four hours depending on traffic.”
Anis Zamri, Uzma Roszalani and Nurdina Badrulhisham are from Malaysia and are visiting friends in Cork
“We are here only three months, to study at Dublin Business School. We’re planning to visit a friend in Cork city centre for the weekend. In our own country we take public transport all the time, but in Dublin I usually travel by bus. But nationwide we take the train. It’s brilliant taking the train because you pay a reasonable price as students, and it’s less tiring. You schedule your time and it’s flexible. We can do assignments. The scenery is lovely, we’ve seen lots of animals on the trip today; sheep, horses, cows. It’s lovely to spend quality time with your partner or friends like we’re doing now. We’d like to visit Limerick next, Ireland is small enough to explore. But we want to see Galway and Belfast too. The train allows that in Ireland.”
Sarah Feeney is from Dublin and is in second year of Marketing in TUDublin
“I’m in a long distance relationship so I go to Cork every second weekend. I always travel by train. My boyfriend has a car and he would drive up but we thought the train was easier and works out cheaper, with petrol. I get to do my college work and I use the 2.5 hours to get stuff done. Driving is painful, but the train is so easy. Once the train is moving, it’s very relaxing. There’s no stress. I seem to get more done on the morning train and it’s great with wifi. I get a student ticket so it’s not expensive at all. I also find the trains are really well kept. I was at Cork Jazz festival a few weeks ago and it was really busy but the crowds were well managed.”
Marissa, Mary Ellen and and Brian Brown are on holidays from Scarsdale, New York
“Marissa just graduated from Trinity, with a Masters in Music and Media. Her thesis was a podcast called Diaspora Dispatches, which got us interested in where Brown came from. We’re heading to Limerick today to find the person without whom I would not exist, David Brown. We’re on a mission to find the first Brown. It’s a detective story attached to Marissa’s thesis. We love travelling by train in Ireland, you get work done, you have the table, it’s insanely comfortable and it’s best for American drivers not to drive on the wrong side of the road. My wife works for the Today show, and once travelled on the Orient Express so she knows trains. We wish our own long distance train travel was better so we tend to flock to the much better European train systems which are much more comfortable and reliable. The Irish service is just as good as any other service in Europe.”
Andrew and Laura Blanch are travelling to Limerick junction with daughter Esme (2) and son Henry (2 weeks old)
“My wife travels by train often to see her family. It’s not advised to have the baby in a car seat for very long and he might not be settled on the journey so that’s why we took the train. It’s very convenient, we’re from Lucan in Dublin so it’s easy access for us getting to Heuston station which is 15 minutes away, and today we used the weekend parking. Usually when I’m dropping off Laura and Esme, there’s space to drop them off, and the access is very good. This has been so relaxing with both kids and it’s great that we can walk around with them.”
Tony and Nuala Yarrow are travelling back to Portarlington after a weekend in Killarney
“We met friends and stayed in the Killarney Court Hotel for the weekend. We’ve done it three times already this year which has been lovely. We met these people on holiday years ago and we stayed friends. Thanks to free travel we go very often by train. It’s the relaxation, there’s no stress. You don’t have to worry about traffic, driving is so stressful these days and roads are so busy. We never read a book, we watch the countryside as it changes the whole time. I love looking out for wildlife; pheasant, ducks, fox or deer, but they all seem to be hibernating at the moment. I love nature. We used to go to Galway regularly by train, we’d get a bus out to Salthill then walk the whole length of the promenade and get some grub and a pint, which is a lovely day out.”
Kristyna, Jachym (12 years) Jonas (10 years) and Julie (10 years) Stouralova are from the Czech Republic and are visiting Kristyna’s sister in Cork
“My sister started studying at the university in Cork so we are here for four days and going up and down today. For me it’s very new, I usually go by car with three kids. But this is lovely as it’s nice to be able to walk around and it’s easier for me to relax with three kids. We also love the free wifi.”
Ditch the car and book yourself a relaxing weekend away - www.irishrail.ie