Irish Railway Record Society

STATIONS

Athy   The down platform was extended to 174m in February. It remained in use with a usable length of 60m during the work. The former signal cabin was in the way and was demolished on 31 January.

Connolly   Platform 1 has been excavated and a new concrete base installed.

Cork   A planning application by Manor Park Homes for development of what has become known as Horgans Quay/Kent Station area was refused in February. Cork City Council said: '… the development is fundamentally unacceptable in principle given the lack of a comprehensive approach by the applicants / landowners to the redevelopment of the entire strategic Kent Station/Horgans Quay lands. In addition as outlined there are serious design issues within both sub-areas, which cannot be rectified under this application’.

Thirteen grounds for refusal were noted including failures to adequately provide for ‘a new Kent Station’, for a National Primary Road, ‘to provide a high quality public realm and any public open space’, ‘to provide the Quayside Amenity Area in any form on Horgans Quay’, ‘to conserve the Goods Depot (Protected Structure)’, ‘to provide pedestrian linkages from the development to the City Centre’, ‘Tall building unacceptable as a matter of principle due to location and scale’ and ‘the general building height is contrary to the development plan’.

‘The principle of a phased redevelopment of the Horgans Quay / Kent Station lands is fully supported by the planning authority. However in any possible reapplication the onus will be on the applicants in conjunction with the landowners to submit an urban design master plan to the agreement of the planning authority for the entire Kent Station / Horgans Quay landholding’.

In a related matter, Cork City Council had identified the north docklands site on CIÉ owned land close to Kent station as their preferred location for an events centre capable of staging conferences for up to 2,000 people and concerts for up to 6,000. It stated that at least two developers have expressed an interest in building it, but that no agreement has been reached with CIÉ or its development partners on the site, Manor Park Homes.

Dunleer   In recent years growing population in Dunleer and its hinterland has brought calls for re-opening of the station. A meeting took place between IÉ and Dunleer Community Development Board on Tuesday March 6. It was reported that IÉ said that there was a greater chance of re-opening the station when the population of Dunleer was about 5,000 but that there were also issues about the high cost of building a new station.

Ennis   Car parking is to be increased from 37 to 174 spaces.

Galway   On 22 February, the Chairman of CIÉ Dr John Lynch announced plans for a major transportation centre at Ceannt Station Galway to create ‘a new urban quarter, which complements and enhances the best of Galway’. By 2015, rail passenger demand is projected to increase from 1.25m journeys to 3m per annum. Bus passengers will also increase from 1.8m to almost 4m per annum.

Plans include three platforms and 25 bus bays, approximately 500 parking spaces dedicated for public transport users, enhanced set-down facilities for cars, and rank facilities for taxis. The proposal includes 800 residential units, new squares and pedestrian zones, retail and commercial development, bars, restaurants, hotels and leisure facilities on the 5.97-hectare site. The total cost of the public transport investment was quoted at €85m with social Infrastructure (public spaces and cultural facilities) investment quoted at €45m. The gross office floor space will be 23,000m² and gross retail floor space will be 37,000m². There will be 1,555 car parking spaces for commercial and residential uses.

In mid-March, there was a two-day public consultation in which questions could be asked of the architects and consultants involved. It was revealed that the proposal includes two 15-storey blocks flanking the line on the approach to the station.

In March, CIÉ sought expressions of interest from developers to deliver the commercial components of scheme, which will finance the investment in public transport and social infrastructure of the scheme. CIÉ expect to lodge a planning application in September 2007 and hope that construction can commence in 2008, with the transport interchange to be developed first. CIÉ hopes the work will be completed by 2015.

Grand Canal Dock   Newspapers reported that CIÉ would receive about €50m, representing 25% of the rent, from a proposed 10-storey office block development on a 0.3-acre plot it owns at Grand Canal Dock. CIÉ retains freehold of the site with the developer having a 999-year lease. It was reported that the €200m office block has planning permission and financing.

Gorey   IÉ is planning to add 150 car parking spaces.

New Station   In January, CIÉ chairman Dr John Lynch said the company was examining the feasibility of developing a new station between Croke Park and Dorset St on the Newcomen-Glasnevin Junction line to serve the proposed new national children's hospital at the site of the Mater Hospital.

Phoenix Park   Work continues on constructing this new station between Ashtown and Castleknock. The overbridge station structure was in place by February.

Portmarnock   Such is the growth of DART passenger numbers at Portmarnock that the car park, enlarged some years ago, is now seriously inadequate. To alleviate the problem, IÉ now plans to build a double-deck car park on the existing site and anticipates applying for planning permission in 2007.

A developer has submitted plans to realign and widen Station Road to the east and west of the overbridge to provide for two-way traffic and provide footpaths, a pedestrian crossing and public lighting in the area. The Portmarnock Local Area Plan requires that Station Road be improved and widened and the overbridge be widened before further development takes place in the area. CIÉ gave consent for ‘the project subject to the technical approvals of both IÉ and the Railway Safety Commission'. CIÉ also required that Fingal County Council, as the local roads authority, agree the details of the project.

Tara Street   New stairs and exit from the up and down platforms to Townsend St opened on Tuesday 10 April. They are situated to the south end of the platforms and will relieve the crowding issues when full trains disgorge their passengers in quick succession. They are only open in peak periods.

CIÉ said it would submit revised proposals for the development of Tara St station, which will avoid the need for an 18-month closure required by the 2002 proposal. Consultants Faber Maunsell have been appointed to oversee the revised plan, and the total cost of the project is expected to be about €125m. CIÉ said changes are structural to the basement so the station can be kept open during the redevelopment and will comprise all office space, rather than a mix of office and retail. About 25,000 people a day use the station. When the work is complete, it will have a capacity of 15,000 passengers / hour.

The plans will feature around 13,000 sq metres of office space with a rooftop restaurant, a basement car park and a limited number of car parking spaces. CIÉ hopes the development will be ‘self-financing’ and would also fund redeveloping the railway station.

  The remainder of this article appears in IRRS Journal number 163, published June 2007.

Copyright © 2007 by Irish Railway Record Society Ltd.
Revised: August 12, 2007 .