Dublin’s tram network is called Luas. If you are searching for a Dublin metro timetable, the distinction matters: Luas carries passengers now, while MetroLink remains a railway project in development. A winter journey needs the right line, a stop-specific departure check and a plan for the walk at either end.

This guide checks published information on 16 October 2026. Operating hours below describe the normal service framework; engineering works, holiday arrangements and weather disruption can change an individual journey.

MetroLink and Luas are different services

The MetroLink announcement of 16 September 2026 records government approval to proceed to detailed tendering. It describes a future railway between Estuary/Swords and Charlemont, including Dublin Airport, with significant enabling works expected from early 2027.

That is a project update, not an operating timetable. MetroLink is not available for an airport journey this winter. Use existing public transport services when planning today’s trip, rather than a proposed metro route shown on a future-network map.

Which Luas line do you need?

Transport for Ireland’s Luas guide describes two lines. The Red Line connects Tallaght and Saggart with Connolly and The Point through the city centre. The Green Line links Brides Glen and Broombridge through the centre.

Read the destination on the arriving tram, especially where a line has branches or different termini. A line colour alone does not identify the right service. Changing between the lines involves a walk between nearby city-centre stops around Abbey Street, O’Connell GPO and Marlborough; choose the Green Line stop for your direction.

What time does Luas start and finish?

TFI lists normal network operating hours as 05:30–00:30 Monday to Friday; 06:30–00:30 on Saturdays; and 07:00–23:00 on Sundays and public holidays. There is no service on Christmas Day.

These are not first and last departure times for every stop or direction. Check your actual boarding stop and destination through Luas’s live tram information, particularly for an early train connection or a late return. Luas operates by service frequency, so a general opening time is not a personal departure time.

For a winter evening out, plan the return before leaving home. A possible late-night Christmas extension is not something to build a journey around until the operator publishes the dates and hours applying to that service.

Tickets, Leap cards and changing services

On the current Luas Leap fare page, the adult TFI 90 Minute Fare is €2; the young-adult and student fare is €1. A separate short fare applies to selected shorter journeys. Check card eligibility and the fare for your own trip rather than assuming every ticket has the same conditions.

With a Leap card, tap on at the Luas stop before boarding and tap off after the journey, including when connecting from another mode or after reaching a cap. The operator says the 90 Minute Fare can cover qualifying multi-line and multi-mode journeys; it is not a blanket promise that every transport service accepts it. Buy any required ticket before boarding instead of expecting an onboard sale.

A dated exception: Red Line works on 17–18 October

The operator’s notice published on 9 October says engineering works will interrupt the Red Line between Heuston and Tallaght/Saggart from the first tram on Saturday 17 October to the last tram on Sunday 18 October 2026. Trams are scheduled between Heuston and The Point, with replacement buses for the affected section approximately every 15 minutes.

Check the notice’s replacement-stop table: a bus does not necessarily collect passengers at the tram platform. Fatima, Rialto, Goldenbridge and Drimnagh have alternative pickup arrangements involving a walk. The notice requires a valid Luas ticket, TFI Leap Card or Public Services Card with Free Travel for replacement buses. Full Red Line service is scheduled to resume on Monday 19 October.

These are planned engineering changes. They should not be read as a weather cancellation or a permanent winter timetable.

Winter checks for trams, buses and DART connections

Check Met Éireann’s warnings and advisories for the county and the hours of travel, then check the operator. A forecast describes conditions; an operator notice tells you what is happening to the service. This guide does not announce a current storm or cancellation.

TFI’s service-update hub links to Luas, Dublin Bus, Go-Ahead Ireland, Irish Rail and other operators. For a trip involving a tram plus a bus or DART, check both legs and the return. Leave additional transfer time, keep the relevant stop names handy and identify an alternative before waiting at an exposed stop.

Charge the phone used for journey information and carry a warm, waterproof layer for waiting outdoors. If you need step-free access, check the Luas accessibility information and lift updates for the stops on your route; a rail alternative is only useful if you can actually reach its platform.

Wet tracks and the last few minutes on foot

Luas’s pedestrian safety guidance warns that tracks can be slippery in wet and icy conditions. Use pedestrian crossings, look both ways and listen for approaching trams. Take time to cross rather than rushing because a tram is visible.

At a stop, remain behind the platform-edge line while a tram approaches, allow people to get off before boarding and respect no-access signs. The journey plan should include that short walk across the tracks or to a replacement bus, not just the time spent inside a vehicle.

Photograph: Belgard Tram Stop on a wet evening, by Marathon, from Geograph via Wikimedia Commons, dated 21 August 2026. Resized and converted to WebP; this version is shared under CC BY-SA 2.0.