Enterprise is the name of the train which runs between Dublin and Belfast on the island of Ireland. This service connects the Republic of Ireland with Northern Ireland which is in another country, the United Kingdom. There is a common travel area between the two countries so there are no immigration or customs checks on the journey.
Heading northbound from Dublin the train stops at Drogheda and Dundalk in Ireland, then Newry, Portadown and Lisburn in Northern Ireland before reaching Belfast. Tickets cost around €20 each way in standard class. First Plus costs €61 one way or €99.00 return however you can get it cheaper by upgrading a standard class ticket.
Connolly Station
There are two main stations in Dublin which are Heuston and Connolly. Services to the south and west of Ireland depart from Heuston while those to the north and west depart from Connolly. Online electronic tickets are not yet available so tickets booked online must be collected from a machine.
Enterprise First Plus Carriage
Standard Class seats are arranged two by two with tables in between most pairs. In First Plus, seats are arranged two by one with tables between most pairs. There are always a couple of seats which have only a pull down table to cater for all tastes.
Enterprise First Plus On Board Service
Once everyone is on board and the train starts moving, the Enterprise First Plus attendant comes around a tray of complimentary welcome drinks. You can choose from apple juice or orange juice and I chose apple on this trip. Shortly after, you are offered the menu and a newspaper.
Overall Thoughts
The Enterprise is the perfect way to travel from Dublin to Belfast or vice versa. The service is fast, well priced and very comfortable. Tourists should also use this service instead of the bus as it runs along the coast and provides a gorgeous view of the Irish Sea and the countryside along the way.
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My husband and I took this train last October for a day trip to Belfast, and it was a lovely experience. Although we weren’t in First, the seats/tables were clean and very comfortable, and service was fast and friendly. Definitely easier — and faster! — than going by bus, and the price is certainly right. They’re also very accommodating about letting you pay in euros or pounds, whatever you have handy.
One amusing memory was of our seat mate referring to the servers as “trolley dollies” … which makes sense, as they were wheeling around a cart with food and drinks — only our “dolly” was a man, so maybe not QUITE appropriate 😀
I am really happy to hear you enjoyed the experience! I agree, it really is nice – in both classes. Much better than the bus all round. I should have mentioned in the post that they accept Euros and Pounds and don’t really mind which. You can also pay in either currency by card.
The people with the trolleys are standard on the trains here – in the Netherlands it’s usually a person with like a big pack of the things to sell all around their body. It’s very different! Not sure what the male version of dolly is in this case! haha! Thanks for the comment!
I took the train from Belfast to Dublin in the summer of 1989 as part of a 5 week+ stay in the North and Republic, visiting every county in each. “The Troubles” were still going on so it was quite a different experience, not including of course much older train cars. The train was stopped in Newry–then we all got onto busses, traveled South and got back on the train in Dundalk. Someone had called in a bomb threat at the boarder, so the train continued on with just the crew across the relevant area. I never ran across another American in nearly 2 1/2 weeks in the North, and I’m sure I was the only one on the train that day. I was rather concerned having never been evacuated for a bomb threat before, but to everyone else it seemed matter of fact. They were all just annoyed at the inconvenience. I remember my fellow travelers saying it happened quite frequently. No bomb was ever discovered or detonated, but of course every time they had to take the warning threat seriously.
Seeing this beautiful, newly refurbished train is quite a treat. I enjoyed the review.
I agree with your assessment of the brekkie though. Very mean portion. I also see they gave you a Belfast paper, The Telegraph. Was the Irish Times or Independent offered? I mean it makes sense getting the news from the place you’re headed TO….I just wonder if the Dublin counterpart is available too.
That’s a great story – I heard that there were often bomb threats called against the train during the Troubles. Obviously things were completely different over here during that time. Interesting to hear your first hand experience, I am pleased you shared it.
I appreciate your kind comments on the review. Interestingly, it was only the Belfast newspaper that was offered on this service. I am not sure if this was because we were heading to Belfast and on the return you get a Dublin paper or not.
Perhaps I’ll have to do the return service again sometime just to check out the newspaper situation! Thanks again!
You are quite welcome! Thanks for jogging my memories with your report.
There are so many beautiful sights in Northern Ireland that I wasn’t going to let terrorism stop me from experiencing them. Plus I was young and no one could tell me it wasn’t safe. 😉 Prices were fantastically cheap (£8 /night for a beautiful B & B right in the town center with a Full Irish breakfast where you got everything & more on that menu without having to choose) and the people were without exception warm and friendly and welcoming–especially once they heard my American accent. Whether Catholic or Protestant they were just fed up. Killings, bombings, burnt-out busses, soldiers with machine guns riding atop tanks in Belfast, police ID checks on the road before EVERY major town….they just wanted it all to be over.
Thankfully it wasn’t too long after that it was!
You’ll be happy to hear Northern Ireland is still beautiful and the people are still warm and friendly. While the prices are not quite as good as what you describe, they certainly are still quite reasonable compared to the Republic. Hopefully with the UK leaving the European Union that the hard border will not return. The political parties on both sides have committed to maintaining the Common Travel Area so hopefully this will come to pass and no changes to the current situation will be needed. Any change would be quite bad!