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.
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- Main entrance outside
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- Inside it’s a typical station
Facilities at the station are basic with one coffee shop type place at the concourse. The Belfast Enterprise train boards from platform 2 on the right hand side and is appropriately signposted.
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- That’s right, the Belfast train!
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- The new livery from 2015
There is no lounge for Enterprise First Plus passengers so arriving 10-15 minutes before departure should be ample time to board. First Plus passengers have dedicated attendants who you will see waiting at the door to check your ticket as you board.
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.
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- Half of a First Plus carriage
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- The single seats and table
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- View from my seat
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- The line runs along the coast
All seats have charging ports for devices located in easy reach. These were added in the Enterprise mid-life refurbishment which was completed in 2016. There is free wireless Internet provided also and I found the service to be very good.
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- A roomy train toilet
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- All singing, all dancing sink
Toilets are located between the carriages. The display which shows destination and next stop also shows whether the toilets are occupied or vacant. The toilets are kept clean throughout and really are not very busy.
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.
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- Welcome drink
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- Newspaper and Menu
All services before midday are breakfast services on the Enterprise. This means you can have a proper Irish breakfast to start or continue your day. To see the rest of the menu, it is available on this page of the Irish Rail web site. A conductor comes around immediately after leaving to check your ticket at your seat.
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- Menu cover
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- The breakfast options
My choice was the Enterprise Plus Full Breakfast where you choose six items from the list on the menu. From the list, I selected the sausage, bacon, potato bread, black pudding, white pudding and poached egg. The eggs are cooked any way you like which is a nice touch. Toast and tea or coffee completes the meal.
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- All the goodies have arrived!
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- A tasty looking spread
It is unfortunate that only one of each item is provided with the breakfast. The sausages – well sausage – is delicious and to only have one is a bit poor. It is literally six items and for €12.15 it is expensive for what you actually get. You pay much less in Dublin for a full Irish and it would be a plate full of food.
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- Two slices of toast
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- This is the tea
Despite that, there are condiments, jam, butter – everything you could possibly need is provided with the tray. The quality of the food is outstanding, I just thought there could have been more of it. Perhaps that’s just because I am quite greedy!
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.
Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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… Read more »
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!