Rail passengers are being advised to book tickets in advance to avoid disappointment when travelling home this Christmas.

Around 400,000 passengers are expected to use Iarnród Éireann services over the next few days.

DART and Commuter services will run until approximately 9pm on Christmas Eve.

Jane Cregan from Iarnród Éireann says plan ahead for your journey and know when the last train leaves:

“Right through until Tuesday we’ll be very busy,” she said.

“We would be advising all customers to book in advance and to leave plenty of time for their journey.

“Our services will finish a little earlier than usual on Christmas Eve and then we will have no services on Christmas Day or St Stephen’s Day.”

Full rail schedules will not return fully until after Christmas - on January 6th.

Over 90,000 passengers are also expected to travel through Dublin Airport.

Irish Rail train at Heuston Station in Dublin. Image: Alamy