RailSail Ireland to UK

[Steddenm]

Earlier on today at Connolly Station in Dublin I enquired about the Sail Rail single from Dublin to London Euston - priced at €47.

The guy in the ticket office had a poke about on his computer and came back with the following ticket and route:

RailSail Single - Economy €47.00
Dublin City (CIV) - London International (CIV)

Dublin Connolly
depart 0115
Dublin Stena
arrive 0205
Transfer not included

Dublin Stena
depart 0215
Holyhead Port
arrive 0545
Stena Line ferry

Holyhead
depart 0624
Chester
arrive 0815
Transport For Wales Rail

Chester
depart 0821
Newton-le-Willows
arrive 0900
Northern

Newton-le-Willows
depart 0941
Newcastle
arrive 1219
Transpennine Express

Newcastle
depart 1227
London Kings Cross
arrive 1540
London North Eastern Railway

London Kings Cross
depart 1545
London Euston
arrive 1550
TfL Underground

Now I know that's a stupid itinary but the bit that got me was on his computer it showed "Route: LUMO+CONNEC only".

I didn't know there was such a ticket and I can't find it anywhere on BRFares and can't bring it back up on journey planners.

Could it be a glitch in the system that IÉ use?

 

[danm14]

Sail and Rail tickets issued in Ireland are carbon paper sheets filled out by hand with a pen, stapled into a booklet and stamped with a rubber stamp. They do not have route restrictions (beyond which ferry route and operator) and are not restricted to specific trains or train operators in the UK.

They are an open ticket valid for one month from date of issue, from Holyhead or Fishguard (as applicable) to your destination (and return, if applicable) by any permitted route with any train operator (and with no break of journey restrictions either despite publicity to the contrary - the ability to break your journey is clearly printed on them).

I have no idea what system Irish Rail would have gotten that itinerary and the supposed route restriction from. Wild guess - perhaps searching Trainline for a strike day, meaning via Newcastle was the only possible journey and as that isn't a permitted route it offered a split ticket somewhere?

The fare does interest me, though. I was under the impression that these Sail and Rail fares were agreed centrally (by the ferry companies and the British and Irish rail operators) - but now there seems to be three different fares depending who you book from - Irish Rail are charging €47, Stena Line €49 and Irish Ferries €60 (€59 + €1 booking fee). Until 2020, it didn't matter which ferry you used or whether you booked with the ferry company or Irish Rail - the fares were all the same (except for Irish Ferries' €1 booking fee). Does anyone have any further knowledge as to how these fares are set and agreed?

 

[Mainline421]

Interesting, I asked about SailRail at Connolly in late December and was just told to get it at the port as they couldn't sell them (website claims due to Covid).

In the end booked via Irish Ferries website the night before and they had those hand written tickets mentioned above ready and waiting when I arrived. Never linked to any intinerary beyond Holyhead (just asks for the station, nice and easy).