Prince Watch/Conor Pope: A "one-time train user" from Galway has written in to query the pricing policy operating within Iarnród Éireann.

Having secured tickets to see U2's first Croke Park concert on Friday June 24th, Tara Ní Nualláin decided to leave her car at home and take the train. It was the first time "in quite a few years" she had travelled by train.

"In light of the U2 concert I presumed that the train would be full-to-bursting, and so I arrived early. I was informed that although I was going one-way to Dublin, a return ticket was the same price and thus better value. At €39 for the ticket I have to say I was surprised at the notion of value."

She was surprised further when she boarded the train and found it "not even close to full". As the journey progressed, she says, tickets were sold to passengers who had boarded at the smaller stations along the way.

"People around me were informed of the value of the return ticket at the same price as the one-way. Then a regular customer asked why the ticket was more expensive on a Friday. The conductor explained that the regular cost of a return or one-way ticket from Galway to Dublin is €29 but on the days when demand is highest, Friday and Sunday, the price rises to €39."

Ní Nualláin was fascinated by this logic. "Rather than charge a fare that would insure full use of the train on such a popular route," she says, "the charge is raised to a point that makes it more cost effective to travel by car. €39 would have adequately covered the cost of petrol for the same journey. No wonder the traffic on the Galway-Dublin road is so bad and the train is half-empty, when there is no incentive for people to use the train. Rip-off Ireland triumphs again!"

A spokeswoman for Iarnród Éireann confirmed that prices do rise at weekends but said the company also offers a range of discounted fares to encourage people to travel on off-peak days. "The objective is to attract customers to travel on off-peak services while offering best possible value," she said. "The day saver fare - a same-day return from Galway every day excluding Fridays and Sundays - is €28, while a monthly saver costs €39. Our staff are advised to always give our customers the benefit of the cheapest available fare, so a single journey on Monday through Thursday and on Saturday costs the same as the day saver fare, while on Fridays and Sundays the monthly saver fare applies."

What's More:

Last week we alerted readers to the comparatively high price of cornflakes in a Spar on Westmoreland Street. Of course, there are two Spar outlets on the street where the price for the same size box of cereal differs by almost €1. The Coleman's Spar outlet on the Temple Bar side of the street sells Kellogg's cornflakes for €3.30 for a 500g box. To its credit, the Spar across the road manages to sell the product for €2.28.