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STATIONS

HEUSTON RE-DEVELOPMENT

Platform 4 was re-opened on 16 August. Platform 5 remained closed and work commenced on a new concourse for platforms 6, 7 and 8. The temporary tented cover was removed.

IÉ has sought tenders for the restoration and renovation of the 150-year old cast iron train shed roof at Heuston, which is a heritage listed protected building

OTHER STATIONS

Foynes   During the summer there was a partial collapse of the train shed roof, which extends over the tracks. It was reported that Limerick County Council has served IÉ with an order requiring the listed building to be maintained.

Kilkenny   ‘McDonagh Junction’ is the name given to the €100m commercial development at Kilkenny McDonagh station involving a private developer, Kilkenny County Council and CIÉ. The development will incorporate an anchor store, 40 retail units, a 120-bedroom hotel, office space including science and technology starter units and 138 residential units.

New Station 1   Planning permission has been granted for a large housing and commercial development located between Howth Junction and Portmarnock stations. The developers of the 140-acre site have indicated that they are prepared to pay for a new railway station to serve the new town. It is envisaged that 10,000 people will live in the new town, which will have 3,400 new homes and 80,600 square metres of shops, offices, leisure and community facilities. The €2 billion development will take 10 to 15 years to complete.

New Station 2   Planning permission for a large development of 2,300 houses and apartments on the site of the former Phoenix Park racecourse in Dublin stipulated that the developer can construct no more that 500 homes before the completion of a new railway station. The area is already served by Ashtown station on the Dublin-Maynooth line, which is less than 1/2 mile from the development.

Portarlington   Approval has been given for 111 additional parking spaces in Portarlington station representing an investment of €200,000. The existing car park cannot handle the big increase in business over recent years and cars have to park on surrounding roads.

Platform Extensions   To allow 6-car railcars operate between Arklow and Dublin, the platforms at Wicklow and Rathdrum will be lengthened, raised and re-surfaced. This work, along with the previously announced extensions to Enfield (down only) and Kilcock to accommodate 8-car trains, represents an investment of €2.24m and will be completed by the end of the year. Work started in Enfield in September.

Buffets   The buffet in Kent station, Cork, has closed. It was home to a fine collection of railway company crests from around the world. The collection is in the safe custody of IÉ’s Heritage Department and it is intended to restore the display to a suitable location in Cork station. The buffet in Rosslare Europort has been let to an outside catering company.

DEPOTS

Drogheda   Construction work on the new railcar maintenance depot nears completion. Over the August Public Holiday weekend, the bay platform, No. 3, and up sidings at Drogheda were temporarily taken out of service to allow track connections to be made to the new depot. Alterations were made to connections from platform 3 to the up main line. Associated signals were also modified as a result of the track changes and all trains used the down platform during the commissioning period. There were further alterations on 17 and 24 August.

The temporary level crossing at the Belfast end was taken out of use and the buffer stop on the bay platform, No. 3, was moved 22 metres towards Belfast on 24 August.

The first railcar to be repaired at the depot was 2614/17, which arrived in mid-September for its annual exam. The wheel lathe was commissioned on 24 September using railcar 2605/16.

Inchicore   IÉ has applied for planning permission to convert the Bus Maintenance Shop (BMS) in Inchicore Works into offices. The 3,000 square-metre workshop will be converted into 4,500 square-metres of office space consisting of open plan on the ground floor and a new mezzanine. The existing woodworking shed is to be demolished. The Infrastructure Department based in the former L&NWR Hotel, North Wall, and in Tara House, Tara Street, will be re-located to Inchicore.

Train Washes   In recent years new train washes have been installed and commissioned in Fairview, Heuston and Cork. Exterior train cleanliness has improved as a result. The train wash at Heuston represents an investment of €1m. In a related matter, IÉ awarded a €2m contract to ISS Ltd., Dublin, for carriage cleaning services.

The remainder of this article appears in IRRS Journal number 152, published October 2003.

 

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Copyright © 2004 by Irish Railway Record Society Ltd.
Revised: January 07, 2004 .