Iarnród Éireann [ˈiəɾʲnʲˌɾʲoːdʲ ˈeːɾʲənʲ] (IÉ; in
English Irish Rail), is the national railway system operator of the
Republic of Ireland. Established on
2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of
Córas Iompair Éireann (CIE). It operates all internal
intercity,
suburban and
commuter railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with
Northern Ireland Railways, the
Enterprise service between
Dublin and
Belfast. In 2006, Iarnród Éireann carried 43.1 million passengers; and this number is expected to rise to 48 million by 2009 and over 100 million by 2016. On 16 April 2008 passengers on the 1000 Sligo-Dublin service were left stranded for two hours at Clonsilla station, without any alternative transport to Dublin available. All services on this line were cancelled for the remainder of the day, disrupting thousands of rush-hour commuters. This incident has once again caused long-suffering Irish Rail customers to call into question the company's ability to organise a piss-up in a brewery.
As it is at the time of this posting. XD