Dublin Connolly railway station

Coordinates: 53°21′06″N 06°14′57″W / 53.35167°N 6.24917°W / 53.35167; -6.24917

Dublin Connolly
Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile
Dublin Connolly railway station
Location
Place	Dublin city centre, Amiens Street
Local authority	Dublin City Council
Operations
Station code	100
Platforms in use	7 (+2 Luas)
History
1844	Station opened as Amiens Street
1966	Renamed as Connolly Station
Iarnród Éireann - Ireland railway stations
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Dublin Connolly, commonly called Connolly station (Irish: Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile), is one of the main railway stations in Dublin, Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. Opened in 1844 as Amiens Street Station, the ornate facade has a distinctive Italianate tower at its centre. Situated on the north side of the River Liffey, it provides intercity and commuter services to the north, northwest and southeast of the island. The north-south Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) service also passes through the station. The station offices serve as the headquarters of the Irish Rail firm Iarnród Éireann.

History

Main article: History of rail transport in Ireland

The station was opened on 29 November 1844^[1] by the Dublin and Drogheda Railway Company as Dublin Station, but was renamed ten years later as Amiens Street Station after the street on which it is located. Originally the station served only a single mainline to Drogheda, and only in 1853 did through services to Belfast commence. In 1891, the City of Dublin Junction Railway connected the station with Westland Row Station (now Pearse Station) on the city's south side. The C of D Jctn was a separate station known as Amiens St Junction and consisted of the present platforms 5, 6, and 7 (currently used by the DART) with a separate street entrance. After the amalgamation of the GNR (I) at the end of the 1950s this station became part of the overall Amiens St and the separate entrance fell into disuse. The C of D Jctn Rly allowed services to run from Amiens St., through to Westland Row, and onwards to Rosslare and the Southeast. Services to Sligo were transferred to Westland Row (Pearse Stn) operating through the station non-stop in 1937, with the closure of Broadstone Station by CIÉ (see also MGWR). Services to Galway and Mayo also originated/terminated at Westland Row, operating through Connolly Station after 1937, running via Mullingar and Athlone. This was discontinued in the 1970s in favour of running services out of Heuston Station on the better quality Cork line. Passenger running between Mullingar/Athlone ceased completely in 1987. During the 1960s, Sunday trains to Cork, Limerick and Waterford operated from Connolly platforms 5, 6 & 7 (running through the Phoenix Park tunnel) to avoid the cost of opening Heuston (Kingsbridge) for the limited Sunday traffic demand at that time.

In 1941 the station took a direct hit from a German bomb.

In 1966, the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, the station's name was changed to Connolly Station after Irish revolutionary and socialist James Connolly. At the same time, several other main stations in the Republic were renamed after patriots executed for their roles in the Rising.

At the commencement of DART services in 1984, the C of D Jctn Rly entrance was refurbished and reopened for commuter traffic.

During the late 1990s, Connolly Station was completely renovated and partially rebuilt. An entirely new station hall was built, the roof over Platforms 1-4 was replaced, and a new bar/cafe and shops were installed. The former DART/Suburban station entrance (C of D Jctn Rly entrance) and the secondary station hall built with the DART (further north on Amiens St) were again closed, but a new entrance on the International Financial Services Centre side was opened. In 2004, the Luas Red Line (to Tallaght) began serving the station. As part of the preparation for this, the ramp, which had been a bus terminus, was demolished and replaced with a 2-platform tram station connected to the main concourse by escalators and lift.

Services

Connolly has seven platforms in total; four terminal (1-4) for trains approaching from the north, and three through - the former Amiens St Jctn station - (5-7), for trains either terminating or passing from the south.

There are three Intercity routes served:

• The Enterprise service to Belfast (intermediate stops, Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry, Portadown)
• Sligo Mac Diarmada (some main stops, Maynooth, Mullingar, Longford)
• Rosslare Europort, via Pearse Station and the "loop line" bridge (selected stops, Arklow, Gorey, Wexford)

Suburban services run on the same routes, as far as Drogheda, Dundalk, Maynooth and Gorey or Enniscorthy. The aforementioned DART service uses some of the platforms equipped with overhead electrics (Platforms 5, 6, and 7). Terminal platform 4 is also electrified, although electric trains rarely use it.

Future

Iarnród Éireann has proposed a major realignment of local services into the capital in order to ease the congestion at Connolly. The opening of Docklands station has provided an alternative terminus for the Western Commuter line to Mullingar. It is planned that these services will form the basis for the planned line to Dunboyne and Navan. IÉ plan to retain Docklands station as a terminus for services from Pace. Docklands will be just across the road from the proposed Spencer Dock station on the Interconnector which will divert DART services from the north away from Connolly, further increasing capacity.

Connections

While Connolly connects Dublin to the east coast of Ireland and to Sligo, Heuston Station serves the south and west of the country. Connolly station is connected to Heuston via the Luas tram system. Rail links also exist connecting the two stations passing through a tunnel under the Phoenix Park. Passenger services seldom use this section, with its main purpose being the transfer of rolling stock and locomotives (the main service depot for Iarnród Éireann is at Inchicore, just outside Heuston).

Preceding station	Iarnród Éireann			Following station
Drogheda MacBride		Enterprise Dublin-Belfast		Terminus
Maynooth		Intercity Dublin-Sligo
Terminus		Intercity Dublin-Rosslare		Tara Street
		Commuter South Eastern Commuter
Howth Junction		Commuter Northern Commuter		Tara Street
Drumcondra		Commuter Western Commuter (City Branch)
Clontarf Road		DART Trans-Dublin		Tara Street
		From 2015
Drumcondra		DART Line 1		Tara Street
Preceding station		Luas		Following station
Terminus		Red Line		Busáras towards Tallaght or Saggart
	Disused railways
Great Victoria Street		Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Enterprise Express		Terminus

See also

• Dublin Connolly DART station

Gallery

• 

  Main Hall

• 

  DART and Commuter trains at Dublin Connolly station

• 

  The Luas tram stop

References

• Johnson, S. (1997). Johnson's Atlas & Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland, Midland Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-85780-044-3.
• O'Connor, K. (1999). The Great Northern Railway in Ironing the Land, The Coming of the Railways to Ireland, pp. 23-45. Gill & Macmillan Ltd. ISBN 0-7171-2747-8. (see also RTÉ TV series of same title)

1. ^ "Dublin Amiens Street" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-08-31. 

External links

• Station information from irishrail.ie