Rail passengers travelling from Newry to Belfast are having to fork out more than double the price of a ticket from Dundalk to the same destination – even though it’s a shorter journey.
The discrepancy between Enterprise train prices was discussed in the Stormont Assembly on Monday, with Infrastructure minister John O’Dowd describing it as an “anomaly” and that Translink was working to rectify the issue.
As of Monday afternoon, a single ticket from Newry to the new £340m Grand Central Station currently stands at £14.50, while a single ticket from Dundalk to Belfast was €8.19 (£6.85), a difference of more than 111%.
The prices were the same regardless of whether it was for a ticket booked on the same day, or for a journey weeks in advance.
A same day return ticket for a Newry to Belfast journey comes to £23, while a return journey from Dundalk comes to €16.38 (£13.69).
The Irish News previously reported on discrepancies between how rail commuters from Belfast were facing 20% more for journeys from the city to Dublin, compared to those in Dublin making the reverse trip.
SDLP MLA Justin McNulty questioned Mr O’Dowd about the difference during a plenary sitting of the Assembly on Monday.
He said: “A same day return from Belfast is 68% more expensive than from Dundalk to Belfast. Can the minister explain why passengers travelling from Newry are expected to pay more for a shorter journey and how does that encourage people to use public transport?”
The infrastructure minister said the price difference was primarily due to greater level of subsidies being provided to Irish Rail from the government in Dublin.
“The Dublin government has been able to subsidise Iarnrod Eireann (Irish Rail) to a higher degree than I’ve been able to,” Mr O’Dowd told MLAs.
“They seem to have quite a healthy bank balance at the moment and they are able to subsidise public transport to a greater degree than we’ve been able to, that’s the reason for it.
“I am aware that Translink are making some adjustments to the prices of fares Belfast to Dublin in a bid to correct that anomaly.”
A Translink spokesperson said: “An iLink card offers Translink customers travel between Newry and Belfast for £19 per day. This also allows for unlimited journeys within the travel zone, for example using Metro or Glider services in Belfast.
“Both companies are subsidised in different ways and to different levels. In the south the ROI government subsidises fares to a higher level and have discounted public transport fares by 20% across the board.
“Translink has recently introduced a new online fares structure for the Enterprise service which is more closely aligned with Irish Rail’s web fares structure.
“We always encourage our passengers to review their best fare option online.”
