Irish Railway Record Society

STATIONS  

Athlone   The 1970s cement store at Athlone Southern station has been demolished to extend the car park.

Heuston   IÉ are investing €13.5m in a total re-roofing of the 1840’s train shed. The station building and train shed are listed structures and IÉ consulted with various heritage experts when drawing up the plans. Work will include replacement of 390 wrought iron roof trusses with new mild steel structures. The hollow cast iron columns, which hold up the roof and form down pipes from the roof gutters, will be checked for structural integrity. It was estimated that up to 15 of the 64 would need replacement. The 8,500 square metre roof, made from timber with some Perspex see-through panels, covers and Platforms Nos. 2 to 5 and will be replaced - in some parts with glass. The original profile of the roof will be reinstated through a "lantern" feature, which was originally provided for ventilation. The train shed was designed by Sir John McNeill. No disruption of rail services is envisaged during the eighteen-month project.

New Station   In December, IÉ applied to Fingal County Council, Dublin , for planning permission for a new station 'in Ashtown townland on a site of 1.06 acres, north of the N3 Dublin-Navan Road and south of the Royal Canal . The site is situated on the Dublin-Sligo railway line and will take access off the N3 approximately 300 metres east of the existing Esso service station. The site is partly owned by CIÉ and the access road and car parking for the proposed station forms part of Flynn & O'Flaherty's Phoenix Park Racecourse development granted permission by Fingal County Council’. The proposed development includes a 604 square metre two-storey  station building, containing a 16 square metre retail unit, with street access at the upper level above the platforms. Newspapers reported that the developers were funding the €6m station, which is expected to open in 2007. Dublin City Council will only permit 500 of the 2,300 new homes to be built before the new station is operational.

Sligo Line   Following completion of extensions to up and down Sligo line platforms at Mullingar, 8-car railcars commenced operation on Dublin-Longford services on Thursday 30 September. The main beneficiaries were Maynooth line passengers as all railcars could now be 8-car, including the 17.15 Connolly-Longford, which changed from a crowded 6-car 2700 or 2800-class railcar to an 8-car 2900-class.

The platform at Carrick-on-Shannon has been extended towards Sligo and the reverse curve at the Dublin end has been removed. Carrick-on-Shannon is having a loop installed north of the station as part of the Mini-CTC project and work commenced on it in October. The platform at Ballymote, which is on the up side, has been extended. Collooney’s single platform is particularly short and extension is hampered by the former goods store at one end and an underbridge at the other. To overcome this, the track has been slewed into the middle to allow it be extended to the standard length of 174 metres. During the work the station is closed and trains do not stop. A substitute bus is provided to take passengers to and from Ballymote station.

Other   In October, IÉ advertised for a contractor to manage "Pay and Display" car parking facilities at Athenry and Tuam stations, for a two year period. Tuam station is closed for rail services. The contract is to commence in January 2005.

The remainder of this article appears in IRRS Journal number 156, published February 2005.

Copyright © 2005 by Irish Railway Record Society Ltd.
Revised: June 14, 2005 .