A train at Belfast Grand Central, the station that replaced Lanyon Place as the Enterprise's Belfast terminus in October 2024.
Photo: Rossographer / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)Dublin to Belfast by Train
An international route between Ireland and United Kingdom.
Reviewed by Eurotraintrip on 2026-07-30
- Duration
- 2h 05m – 2h 20m
- Price from
- 15.99 EUR
- Distance
- 180 km
- Operators
- Iarnród ÉireannTranslink (NI Railways)
- Frequency
- Hourly Enterprise departures — 15 trains a day Monday to Saturday from 6am, 8 on Sundays
Compare and book Dublin–Belfast tickets
Check pricesWhat makes Dublin to Belfast different
- The Enterprise is the only train service in the world jointly operated by a railway company from an EU member state (Iarnród Éireann) and one from the UK (Translink/NI Railways) — a cross-border joint venture dating back to the service's original 1947 launch as the 'Enterprise Express'.
- Enterprise trains have called at Belfast Grand Central — a GBP340 million transport hub — only since it opened on 13 October 2024, replacing both Belfast Great Victoria Street and, as of July 2024, Lanyon Place; the current Belfast terminus is barely two years old.
- Cross-border Enterprise journeys rose 57% after the October 2024 timetable change moved the service to hourly departures (up from as few as 8 trains a day before), with nearly 200,000 passenger journeys a month at the height of summer 2025 — a case of frequency, not speed, driving demand on this specific route.
Dublin station
Departs from Dublin Connolly, the city's main northside terminus since 1844 (opened as Dublin Station, renamed Amiens Street, then renamed Connolly in 1966 for the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Rising) — Enterprise services use platforms among the station's seven, under its landmark Italianate clock tower, with the Luas Red Line tram stop directly outside and DART suburban trains sharing the same building.
Belfast station
Arrives at Belfast Grand Central, which opened for rail services on 13 October 2024, replacing the previous Great Victoria Street and Lanyon Place stations — at GBP340 million it's the largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland, with 8 rail platforms and 26 bus stands under one roof, roughly double the combined capacity of the two stations it replaced.
Train vs. other options
There's no direct scheduled flight between Dublin and Belfast, so the real alternative is driving the M1 motorway — a roughly 170km, 2 to 2.5 hour trip that can run longer with congestion near either city, making the Enterprise's 2-hour-ish city-centre-to-city-centre run competitive once you factor in city-centre parking.
Booking tips
- Book online well ahead through irishrail.ie if you're starting in Dublin, or translink.co.uk if you're starting in Belfast — the cheapest advance webfares must be booked at least 3 days before travel and often sell out earlier, while walk-up fares bought at the station can cost roughly double.
- Compare prices in both currencies before you pay — Irish Rail quotes Enterprise fares in euro and Translink quotes the same physical train in sterling, and because the two currencies float independently, whichever side of the border you book from can come out meaningfully cheaper on a given day.
- If you're a student or under 26, check Irish Rail's Leap Card and young-adult concession fares before paying the standard adult single — they bring one-way tickets down well below the flexible fare.
Good to know: Because Enterprise is a genuine joint venture, Irish Rail's irishrail.ie sells every seat in euro while Translink's translink.co.uk sells the identical train in sterling — there's no single 'official' price, and the cheaper portal shifts with the exchange rate, so it's worth pricing both before paying rather than defaulting to whichever country you're booking from.
While you're in Belfast
Belfast City Hall, in Donegall Square at the heart of the city centre.
Photo: Ardfern / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)Belfast City Hall's dome anchors Donegall Square in the compact city centre, a short walk from both the Cathedral Quarter and St George's Market, one of the city's oldest attractions, still trading Friday to Sunday.
Full Belfast travel guide →Frequently asked questions
How long does the train from Dublin to Belfast take?
The Enterprise takes around 2 hours 8 minutes on its standard Dublin Connolly to Belfast Grand Central run; journey times vary slightly with how many intermediate stations (Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry, Portadown and others) a given service calls at.
Do I need a passport to take the train from Dublin to Belfast?
No routine passport check applies on this service — the Common Travel Area between Ireland and the UK, in place since 1923, means Irish and British citizens cross this border without immigration control. It's still sensible to carry photo ID, since immigration officers can occasionally board and ask passengers to prove their citizenship or right to be in the UK.
Which station does the Dublin to Belfast train arrive at?
It arrives at Belfast Grand Central, which replaced the previous Lanyon Place terminus in October 2024. If you have an older itinerary, app, or guidebook referencing Lanyon Place or Belfast Central, double-check it's been updated — Enterprise no longer calls there.