BUS ÉIREANN HAS said that it will be bringing 30,000 passengers to and from Dublin city on Sunday for the Phoenix Park Mass by Pope Francis.

The scale of the challenge faced by transport operators is being made clear ahead of the weekend with Dublin Bus users also being warned to expect delays.

Bus Éireann says it is doubling its capacity to the capital on Sunday with over 800 trips being made over the course of the day across the commuter and Expressway services

Bookings are still being taken on various routes but Bus Éireann has said that there is “limited remaining availability” and that online booking will cease on Friday afternoon.

To facilitate the numbers involved, Bus Éireann is putting on special Intercity services to and from both Dublin city and Knock in addition to the regularly timetabled services.

A full list of these extra services is available on the Bus Éireann website with the first buses departing at 5.30 am on a number of routes including from Galway, Donegal and Letterkenny.

All of the return buses as part of the extra Expressway services will depart from Knock at 1 pm and from Busáras in Dublin at 7 pm.

Within Dublin city, Dublin Bus services will continue to operate as per the usual timetable but diversions in the capital will likely mean delays and some stops will not be in use.

Due to the disruption, there will be no real-time passenger information on Dublin Bus services.

The general advice for public transport users in Dublin this weekend is to allow extra time for their journey and to be aware that they may be forced to use alternative stops.