Riding the Belfast to Dublin Enterprise Train
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- čas přidán 20. 06. 2019
- The Enterprise Train is the cross-border service between Belfast and Dublin, and is jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann (IE) and NI Railways (Translink). It operates on the Belfast-Dublin railway line.
After we'd finished All The Stations Ireland, we came home by taking the train back to Dublin (and the boat back from there), but we made this quick video about being on board the Enterprise.
We also noted that all announcements are made only in English, but items available to purchase are dual priced both Pounds and Euros. There is also an accessable area with wheelchair space.
1:35 One of the best auto-caption erorrs I've seen in a long while "I didn't even touch you sexy huge look"
VooDooTrois “seriously huge, look.”
Or material coffee, that aint the best
You may be interested to know, Geoff, that the Enterprise carriages are maintained by Translink NIR at Belfast York Road, while the locomotives are looked after by Irish Rail. There are 4 sets - three are needed for service every day; the fourth is spare. Two sets start the day in Belfast while the third begins its diagram in Dublin Connolly.
a very welcome addition to my inbox, thanks guys :) Live long and prosper!
I hope it`s nt the last time we hear that theme music.
Was I the only one to wait until the end credits finished to watch a Geoficky blooper and not see one? :( Great video as usual.
Comfortable seats! Aligned with the windows! The Department for Transport wouldn't allow either in Britain.
@@lesliedodds4011 I used to enjoy rail travel in Britain when the seats were aligned with the windows, even if the trains only reached 125mph, that is until most of the comfortable seats were replaced with cramped airline style. The HS2 line is an expensive vanity project (like Tony Blair's Millenium Dome and the London Olympics) and goes to Curzon Street in Birmingham-very useful!! As for HS3, that is at the moment, just electioneering, but should it ever get built, I suspect that it will be the Irish who will get the contracts, as far from being thick, they can certainly build a railway
@@MervynPartin HS2 line as far as i can see will go ahead because theve taking the existing line as far as it can go AND THEY WANT OVER 200 MPH trains for quicker journeys the old tunnels like kilsby well built for its time is hard to look after now;; these tunnels are always flooding and being drained like seven oaks and cost millions to keep. New tunnels they can boar straight through and using concrete are dryer and can have lights in them as we see with channel tunnel and europe ;They are working on HS2 as we speak HS3 is just moving it along to other cities and probably up into scotland but london to birmingham will be the test for the rest theyll probably use the old system for freight what i ment being Irish myself we will just be giving left overs to keep us happy indeed .
Leslie Dodds You do realize that Ireland has its own high speed lines in progress it’s just not completely publicly broadcast around the country at the moment our rail lines are being upgraded in the coming years and even so they are completely getting a new rolling stock for the dart and everything.
@@Mgaffo222 Do you think you will see a HS line between belfast and Dublin maybe take it on to cork .
I hear they are looking into it as a plan for the future I would really hope so as it would be a huge benefit to the country
I travelled on this service a couple of years ago whilst in Ireland for work. As a regular commuter into London, it's not an exaggeration to say this puts GB rail companies to shame. Comfortable seats, friendly staff, full breakfast served and reliable. This is how train travel is meant to be!
Absolutely love this train! Went on it and made a video and couldn’t be happier with my experience!
Looked very comfy, quiet and smooth.
Just watched it with auto subtitles. I do that sometimes for a laugh.
Apparently the Sunday service also stops at Lisbon :)
I saw that too! Ha Ha
The next stop is horse a time
Lisburn (suburb of Belfast) NOT Lisbon (the Portuguese capital). Do not confuse the two.
tim bowerman That's the joke!
@@TIMBOWERMAN They are referring to an error in the subtitles.
Giving Geoff free tea, did they know what they were letting themselves into!
Did this in May 2019 - May 21, 2019 actually. Standard Class, but I bought my ticket on line (here in the USA) for 16 Pounds. Very enjoyable trip. Lovely scenery, comfy seat and train. Shared a table with a travelling businessman, each of us working the crosswords and Sudokus. Lanyon Place station was about 700 meters from my hotel in Belfast and my hotel in Dublin was about 500 meters from Connolly Station. And for anyone reading this - visit Belfast. There are things to do in the city (the Titanic Museum will take most or all of a day) and it gives easy access to other places in Northern Ireland.
I travelled this in 2016 I enjoyed it so much, it was so comfortable awesome video.
Great video guys
I love the Enterprise service I think it's the best mode of travel between Belfast and Dublin.
The trains on the route date from 1997 and were refurbished in 2015/16 the locos on the trains date from 1995.
Looking forward to the Whitehead railway museum bonus video
The Featherston Flyer (ie the Wairarapa Line ) uses 5 sets of 5-9 x late Mk2 carriages on its 100km length ..very comfortable with power points for every seat...excellent lighting...new blue pattern moquette ..tables!!...but still no coffee machine...
I hope to ride this train sometime soon. To see Geoff do a video on it is fantastic. I have been watching for a number of years now and is one of the few creators I have notifications turned on for.
Was on the Enterprise in March between Newry and Dublin (twice during my trip!) on the Saturday after having done Dundalk Parkrun with an old college friend - he drove me back to Newry just to get the Enterprise!,then on my way to Dublin to catch my flight home on the Monday morning. Compared to what we get on the West Highland Line,I was wowed by how comfy and quick the Enterprise is! Loved it!
Great video - Always wanted to do the Enterprise train. Oh, and great scarf Vicki!
Brilliant video! I alway enjoy a trip on the Enterprise train! It's also the only regular loco hauled train in Northern Ireland!
I have never understood why this channel has comparatively fewer subscribers. I mean it's such good quality content!
Pure class love the seats.
Only learned recently that these coaches are identical (apart from the bogies) to the coaches of the original class 373 Eurostar units. Once you see it you can't unsee it!
Outstanding Video and Commentary Geoff and Vicki!😃.
I think this is one of the most attractive train interiors I've seen
Super video! Bonus points if you got ATOS Ann with English accent pronouncing Dundalk, Drogheda and Dublin Connolly.
That made me smile when I was in Belfast too!
She used to infest Northern which caused some confusion in the Geordietacht. "This train is for NewCARSTLE, calling et PrudHOE and Mitrocenter" One of the (so far) few good thigs about the Arriva take over was her immediate dismissal.The now voices are mostly Tykes, but at least they try to get the pronunciation right.
I,m sure Japanese buses all have the same lovely lady doing it.
Same Japanese lady..lest it seem ambiguous
these videos keep me sane :)
Belfast to Dublin was the most targeted train during the troubles , But thankfully it can be enjoyed again at leisure 💤💤💤💤
Glad to see this upload. I have made that journey a number of times between 1989 and 2004. Old GM locos with BR coaching stock to the newer trains. Great Victoria Street was much handier than Belfast (not so) Central Station. Great video. Thanks again.
I never thought I'd salivate at the thought of having a fry up served to me on a train! 😮
Loving the earrings Vic.
No mention of how the rolling stock is almost identical to the original Eurostar sets? Built by De Dietrich iirc.
Was the tea "Earl Grey, hot"?
The east coast mainline has a service called 'The Flying Scotsman' which has carried that name officially since 1924, though it was commonly referred to as such since the 19th century. So considerably older than the Enterprise.
I was on the Enterprise a year or so ago, and it was an Irish Rail set. I think the Enterprise sets were being refurbished, so Iarnród Éireann supplied a replacement train. All announcements were bilingual then, using the standard IÉ announcer, with Belfast Central/Lanyon Place announced just as Belfast/Béal Firste.
Interesting. So Iarnród Éireann presumably have all stations in Ireland voiced as Gaeilge as well, Port a' Dúnáin, Lios na gCearrbhach etc, but NIR just uses their own monolingual ones? I was sad there was no Gaeilge on this service, considering its all around the carriages themselves (like a standard Iarnród Éireann set)
@@ailinos wonder is it because unionist customers might take offence?
@@manusmacgearailt667 But if they walked through the carriage they'd see signs with Irish on them. Water has uisce above it, soap has gallúnach etc etc
@@ailinos The Enterprise feels more NIR than IÉ to me, and the monolingual announcements are part of that.
@@qwertyTRiG Yeah, for sure. I just find it so strange that they've signs onboard as Gaeilge, but no announcements
Nice Video!
Nices I have also started using that train for work and I will be back soon to use the service again when I next visit Ireland for work. I also found the seats great to seat on for over 2 hours. Batter than a plane trip between Dublin and Belfast.
There isn’t a flight between Dublin and Belfast.
West Mids Trainspotting there is
Not a direct one - you can fly but you’d have to go via Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool or London and it would take loads more time than taking the train.
@@WMTrainspotting I just Googled "Belfast Dublin Flight" and the first result was Loganair 1 day 3 hours. That's an average speed of about 4mph. I assume they use a hot air balloon.
Actually it's via Carlisle Lake District Airport which I have to admit I've never heard of.
I fell for that on the Enterprise plus... ordered food and then got the bill afterwards :)
If you're paying at least 50% extra for first class and yet they charge you for meals is it really worth paying more just to have a comfy seat and more space?
You are amazing
Needs more full breakfast plate scenes.
I saw a vid about this service by Paul Lucas and I would love to ride it. Seems to be no long border control process unlike the time I went to Toronto by train from NY on Amtrak's Maple Leaf service. Congrats on completing the journey by public transport from Land's End to John o' Groats
I'm going to Toronto later this year and was thinking of going on the Maple Leaf. Apparently it stops for an hour at the border!
Currently, there are no border control formalities on passing between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (or vice versa), as both countries are in a Common Travel Area. What happens in the future depends primarily on the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union.
David Wood Not so, the Common Travel Area agreement is nothing to do with the EU.
@@barrygower6733 As you rightly point out, the CTA is a bilateral agreement between the Irish and British governments. However, if the UK leaves the EU and declines to remain in the EU single market, the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland becomes an external border of the EU for the first time (as both the UK and Ireland joined the then EEC on the same day, 1 January 1973) which could make the current CTA arrangements might become untenable.
Rather than attempting to pull apart these complexities, I answered Avery's question in a way that was accurate today as well as noting the possibility of future change. My sincere hope is that any future changes will not imperil the CTA or the Good Friday Agreement; I can only hope that the value of free movement across that border and the relative peace in the island of Ireland are uppermost in the minds of those taking decisions.
There are no border stops / delays.
Fact about the Enterprise coaches, they are made by now defunct French rolling stock manufacturer De Dietrich (now part of Alstom).
Bravo (!!)
4:26 The begloved gentleman who delivers your tray of tea and... errr... sundries? seems rather abrupt about it. *Crash!* _Here's your tea!!_
Ice Karma You are right, the guy delivering the breakfast seemed to just bang it down on table and walk off, nothing friendly about it!!
Needs a "fecking" in there for the full effect.
Delivered with grace and finesse
It's good to have though.I still watch the Ireland clips.
Traveling 1st class. Also you are lucky to arrive on time. Some of the Enterprise trains can arrive a little late.
the enterprise coaches were built by de detrich which also made the old eurostar coches....
“Calling at” ? Why not, as you said correctly, “Stopping at”. That makes so much more sense
@4:29 when your waiter wears disposable gloves 🧐
An actually popular train channel that reviews Irish railways
Love your earrings, Vicki
The first "Enterprise" service in 1947 was timetabled at 2h 15m, steam-hauled (though that was non-stop). As others have commented, the train is lovely (looks much nicer than the last time I did it, on the old NIR Mk2s!) but sadly slower than road.
Much more comfortable than road though - I'll happily spend an extra 30 minutes on that train journey over the M1
Here's a fun fact the Enterprise Train that you rode on is the most bombed train since the blitz in 1941, I'm mostly talking about the war from 1969 to 1998
Also the single web fare on the Irish Rail website is €20, and other €20 if you want to travel by 1st class. Also your Enterprise ticket gives you free travel to Titanic Quarter Station in Belfast and Tara Street & Pearce Stations in Dublin.
Do you know if I can board at Titanic Quarter to go to Dublin with a web purchased ticket? Or should we just take a taxi?
Where was the after credits outtake?
What's next? All the Cal Mac ferries? Going from John O' Groats to Lands' End without using any intercity trains or sleepers and only using local bus services would be interesting.
Not into pictures of food but surprised you didn’t show the breakfast so I can compare it to LNERs..
Ive been on the Enterprise tran From Potadown to Dublin ive got Family in Portadown.
Am i correct in saying this journey (if you buy in advance) that this journey is only £16. Thats insane
It's only about 100 miles so £16 is reasonable one-way but I don't think it's incredibly cheap.
Did they say you can only buy tickets 3 days in advance? If so that sounds strange. I think in Britain you can buy tickets 6 weeks in advance.
Not really. I recently took 10 hour epic journey from Belgrade to Podgorica for 17 euros. UK trains way too expensive.
@@edwilson5416 Yes i know. this is probably around about the correct price for this sort of journey in other places but compared to England it is still insane. A Bath - London child ticket is £30
It’s only “insane” if you are used to UK train prices. In other parts of Europe it would be normal or maybe a bit expensive even with comfy seats. But then again there is complimentary tea & coffee, so, that’s worth at least an extra fiver.
@@caw25sha Rather late on this reply, but saying as no-one actually replied to your question I figured I would. You can buy several weeks in advance, not sure how many exactly, but as long as you book more than 3 days in advance you can book online for a reduced fee. After that, you can't get the cheap fare. (Oh and none of our trains or buses in NI actually take credit/debit cards on board to pay for tickets - its cash, preferable exact change, or a ticket bought at the booth in the station where you can pay by card)
@andrew74797 - the complimentary tea & coffee is only for the "Enterprise Plus" seats which is basically first class. That being said, the rest of the seats are still pretty decent with about 80% of them being around a table of 4 and a tea/coffee is £1.75.
I live in Newry and used to get the Enterprise into Belfast for starting work at 10am - which was amazing, cuz it is much better than the earlier trains which are packed and they are the "smaller" commuter trains unless you get the like 6am train! Our monthly travel pass was around £210, which technically offered unlimited travel for the month through-out the entire of NI (a monthly Zone 4 card), so it really wasn't too expensive either. (Parking alone in Belfast is over £120+ a month, plus fuel, etc and traffic is a nightmare).
The main drawback of the Enterprise is the crappy timetable - they only run around every 2 hours. Which if you think about how regularly trains run between large cities in the UK, every 2+ hours is insanely poor. Newry train station got a "million-pound upgrade" a few years ago and everyone was excited thinking it meant we would get better service - nope, we have a huge train station building with two vending machines, a one-person ticket office (which is usually closed as the same person checks ticket to let you onto the platform). It's a bit of a joke, because the only trains we get bar the super early ones are the Enterprise, we get no "slow trains" - over 98% of them terminate at Portadown.
I have walked that line in South Armagh many times,
You don't need to walk - they run trains!
Seriously though, I assume you mean you work for the railway as a track inspector?
@@caw25sha foot patrols during the troubles
saw an enterprise train halfway between dublin and cork last week and was very confused
There is two types of Enterprise the Dublin to Cork one and the Dublin to Belfast one
They also use the locos to haul freight and backup for the Grand Hibernian train. The coaches could have been getting tested
Another fantastic film from you two! May I ask a question more? You left Ireland via Dublin, what ship did you get for that crossing? The Stena Line nerd is interested.
@Michael John Dennis That's because only eastern Europeans would put up with the pathetic wages that Irish Ferries pay their crew - looks like Stena Line treats their crew well and that must be why the Irish workers flock to them?
Firstly I am Glad you didn't wear red and secondly was the tea Earl Gray?
This looks like a very nice train and 8 times daily service on a regional line isn't bad either. Are you planning anymore "all the stations trips" in the future? Perhaps Australian Railway networks.
Thank you for reaching out and sharing some parts of Ireland that I have not travelled to. I travelled on the old CIE brown trains. Do you still use them??
Don't you just have to love "Make it so" Vicki.
👍👍👍
Whilst the Enterprise service is lovely and I've been on it a good few times, it's quicker to go by road from Dublin to Belfast than it is by train. Can often do it 20-30 mins faster than the train. The line is besieged by speed restrictions and shares the DART north Dublin line and it can often be stuck behind one of those and there are few passing loops. The line desperately needs upgrading but I believe a recent application for such has been rejected as too expensive. Even coaches make it quicker to Belfast than the Enterprise service. It really needs to have two services. A full non-stop service to Belfast and a stopping-type service that exists today. Many complain for an express service it stops in too many places on the way hence slowing the journey time.
I was surprised it took so long, even allowing for the stops. But if they introduced an express wouldn't it still get stuck behind the local Dublin trains?
@@caw25sha Having looked at the alignment of the Railway from Malahide into Connolly station it looks like it would be possible to put in a 3rd track for express trains, between Malahide and Clongriffen, and from Raheny to Connolly - in the cutting sections they just have to move the platforms further back from the tracks.
5:14 "Any other line in Island, Northern Ireland..."
She said Ireland
Hello, please, how much is the train ticket from Belfast to Dublin and how long does the trip take? Thank you
You only get the complimentary drinks and snacks in First class
What I wouldn't do to have those wonderful trains in Britain, Ireland, and the rest of Europe here in America.
Is there a good reason for it not to have Irish Rail or NI Rail branding on the outside of the train
Mista Fozz Irish Rail branding is both in the Irish language and has the colours of the Irish flag. As a result, people in a few of the areas the train passes through might take offence and take it out on the actual train. Even when the Irish Rail locomotives and trains come up into Northern Ireland (that aren't allocated to the Enterprise), they are in a plain grey and black livery with no logo! Additionally, it just reinforces the fact that the service is shared.
I'm from Portadown 🙈, get the enterprise to Belfast for University
Did you need your passport through the borders ?
P.s I love your content so inspiring, am now travelling to all my favourite stations !
As far as I'm aware you don't, there are no border checkpoints on the roads crossing between the UK and Ireland, the road edge line just changes colour and there's a sign noting that the speed limit signs change units.
They are both in the common travel area.
Not at all. No ID is necessary. Oileán amháin, Éire amháin!!
However, any tourists, students etc - eg Chinese, Indians etc - who have only a UK or Irish visa and need a visa to enter the other country probably shouldn't risk it without checking they have the correct documentation, even if in practice they might get away with it.
I've heard of some foreign travellers inadvertently falling afoul of that mostly invisible border due to visa issues.
EU citizens, Americans, Australians etc are presumably fine since they don't need a visa to enter either the UK or Republic of Ireland as short term tourists.
The annunciator sounds like my music teacher
How is the stowage for luggage? I'm traveling in a group of 4 and we will all have one pilot case of either carry on or medium size? Did I miss it in the video?
They have ample storage space
@@matthewpepper1548 thank you for the response. We actually already used it in 2019. We stowed some under the seats others above on a rack and the largest under a table if I remember correctly
So the windows from the seats you were at didn't point to the sea views, correct? For that trip only the single seats have the best views I think
I bought the tickets but does anyone know how to reserve the seats??
Isn't flying Scotsman the longest named service, as it's still on the timetable now if memory serves correctly?
It's still running but southbound only for some baffling reason. WHY LNER?
@@caw25sha yeah thought it was does seem daft that!
Highland Chieftain (to/from Inverness) and Northern Lights (to/from Aberdeen) are both longer. The former is the longest.
As previously mentioned, I wonder why is Flying Scotsman is one way (and the wrong way)
@@simonwest9450 We seem to be at cross purposes here. Some people seem to be talking about the longest distance but I assumed the discussion was about Vicky saying the Enterprise had been in continuous service for the longest period of time of any named service.
There's a difference between the Enterprise which is the name of the service and the Flying Scotsman (for example) which is a single train each day, ie not all Edinburgh-London trains are called Flying Scotsman.
If the new IETs were like that, they wouldn't be getting the complaints of being a downgrade on a HST
When is the wedding??
Too late
i did this trip in 2013 and it was very slow for an international train journey. Is it still slow?
Line passenger operating speed is 90mph. So they are restricted to that.
Have you posted pics of your breakfast anywhere?
Lol u sat in the same seats on the same coach we did 2 years ago
Enterprise loco looks likes a BR class 91 and 88/68
Not electric though. The IE/NIR 201 class is a bit like BR class 66.
Was there any suitcase storage?
Can you tell from the room in the carriages that they run on 5'3" ?
As far as I know the standard width of the carriages in Ireland is the same as it is in GB even though the track gauge itself is wider (meaning the tracks are closer together in Ireland)
Only some very old carriages that are no longer in use made use of the Irish loading gauge (eg. 10'2" wide Park Royal carriages).
Early yayyyy😂
You're 'lucky' that train had an Enterprise-liveried loco; IE are notoriously bad at keeping the three liveries of their 201-class locos on the correct trains. You often see an Inter-City (the silver/green that goes to Cork) 201 at the head of the Enterprise, or vice-versa, or even the blue Belmond loco makes appearances sometimes. And the Belmond train gets random other liveried-locos!
Yip. Enterprise even went back to the old school GM locos that used to haul the service for a while. Must have been hard up for locomotives
Very disappointed in that franchise mistake Geoff.
Try the real Norwegian smoked salmon. Norway export the not so good ones, but the real tasty ones to be found in the coldstores in Norway. Called "ørret". The more red the better taste. Which indicates you need to do all the stations in Norway as Vicki also is nicknamed Norwegian Cheese. I might add that Norwegian cheese is not that much tasty compared to the UK cheese. We have our pride called "Jarlsberg". But nothing close to Stilton.
thomasraden the jarlsberg we get In the uk is not made in Norway
Jarsberg in the EU is made in Ireland if I recall correctly.
@@IrishCraftBeerShow strange, nothing wrong with the real Norwegian stuff . Same with Swiss Emmenthal , mostly made in Germany
@@s125ish think it is just to avoid tariffs. Norway and Switzerland being outside the EU would have to pay import taxes. I'm a regular visitor to Norway and can't tell the difference, Jarsberg to me tastes the same at home and in Oslo. But I'm more of a Red Leicester fan...
we went on it about 20 years ago.. no high tech then ... old mk3's .. we were the only ones in our cartridge.. oh and no food .. cause we were in peasants class. but free tea and coffee ..
Has Belfast Central Station been re-named?
It's now Layon Place, it's a silly name change but Central was not really central just became the main station during the troubles when the old Great Victoria Station was destroyed in the 70's.
@@garygallagher5978 Thanks, the one and only time I have visited Belfast I thought that Central Station was a bit out of town.
What is annoying is that you can only purchase a single one way fare from Belfast to Dublin, not from Dublin to Belfast. Great service though.
thats because ibooking wise its 2 different companies Northern Ireland railways dont operate the services in Ireland Irish rail do and Irish rail do not operate services in Northern Ireland , Northern Ireland railways do as they are 2 different countries
You can if you book through Irish rails website
Lovely trains. Where are they made?
It's a bit sad they don't use Iron Road as the English version of the name.
I'm surprised they don't have another bash at running all the way to Cork. It's a major business centre and presumably would be a lot faster than in the 50s.
(Will you have another cup of tea Geoff? Go on, go on, go on.)
The trains are De Dietrich carriages.
You can fly Belfast to Cork far quicker and quite cheaply.
@@nigelmchugh5541 You have to take claims like "Faster than road or rail" which Flybe actually paint on the sides of their planes with a big pinch of salt. The actual travel time may be quicker but assuming you are travelling city centre to city centre you typically need to allow about an hour each end getting to/from the airports, plus the long airport faff. These pretty much wipe out any time saving but as you say it can often be cheaper with budget airlines like Flybe. (Or are they Virgin now?)
True for a lot of airports, but small airports are quicker to get through, and often parking is very cloase to the departure hall. Belfast is great that way, and depending on where I lived, it would be far quicker than changing trains in Dublin, with a possible delay there too. Horses for courses, I suppose.
It's worth noting that Iarnród Éireann is their only official name, same way as Bus Éireann isn't called 'Irish Bus'. Vicki says Iarnród Éireann though but Geoff doesn't out of laziness unfortunately :(
Do they check your passports before boarding?
Nope, because there is free travel on the island of Ireland because of a historical agreement called the Good Friday Agreement. Legally neither Ireland or the UK can prevent citizens from travelling freely (ie: no checks) between the two countries. Which is why Brexit got complicated and how we have ended up with the border in the Irish Sea.
the not quite yet warp speed enterprise do you get the cultural reference. lol
Can I just say that the interior looks a little bit like the old eurostar
Is this service running in full post-Covid?
Unfortunately not, no food or drinks provided at the moment.
where dose all the stations go next?
Isle of man
Land's End to John o'Groats, which they just finished. There will be a video posted in the next few weeks.
It's lovely but you could show more of the scenery out of the window as well.
Vicki is wearing a dr who scarf.