[2] Until 2013, Ireland was the only European Union state that had not implemented EU Directive 91/440 and related legislation, having derogated from its obligation to split train operations and infrastructure businesses, and allow open access by private companies to the rail network.

The Belfast – Dublin service, jointly operated with Northern Ireland Railways, is branded separately as Enterprise.

Intercity services run to/from Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Ennis, Galway, Waterford, Rosslare Europort, Sligo, Westport, Wexford and Ballina.

[7] A new service began on 29 March 2010 from Limerick to Galway, as part of the Western Rail Corridor, reopening the long-closed line.

[citation needed] The north–south route along Dublin's eastern coastal side is also host to DART, Ireland's only electrified heavy-rail service.

[citation needed] The following is a simplified table of Monday - Friday off-peak services, various irregular calling patterns have been omitted for clarity.

Iarnród Éireann Freight is subdivided into three sections: The Enterprise route (Dublin to Belfast) is well regarded.

[citation needed] The Cork-Dublin route was formerly the "premier line" of the Great Southern and Western Railway, one of the biggest pre-CIÉ operators.

Rolling stock on this route consists of Mark 4 trains, which were built in Spain, complete with DVTs for faster turn-around.

22000 Class DMUs built in South Korea came into service from early 2007 replacing older coaching stock on most other InterCity routes.

[12] The former Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey TD had announced that an additional 51 railcars had been ordered for the company for a planned introduction on services between Dublin, Louth, and Meath.

[13] Although the majority of Iarnród Éireann's stations are simply named after the towns they serve, a number of stations in major towns and cities were renamed after leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, on its 50th anniversary in 1966:[14] IÉ's Network Catering unit used to provide a trolley service of food and drink, a snack car and (on some routes) a restaurant service.

The framework for the DART fleet is planned for up to 600 vehicles formed into four-car and eight-car sets, split into both pure EMU and BEMU trains.