Kilkenny railway station

Kilkenny MacDonagh
Stáisiún Cill Chainnigh Mhic Donncha
Iarnród Éireann
Kilkenny station in 2018
Location Dublin Road, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, R95 AWY8
Republic of Ireland
Coordinates 52°39′15″N 7°14′37″W / 52.654167°N 7.243611°W / 52.654167; -7.243611Coordinates: 52°39′15″N 7°14′37″W / 52.654167°N 7.243611°W / 52.654167; -7.243611
Owned by Iarnród Éireann
Operated by Iarnród Éireann
Platforms 2
Construction
Structure type At-grade
Other information
Station code KKNNY
Fare zone K

Kilkenny railway station (MacDonagh Station), (Irish: Stáisiún Mhic Donncha) serves the city of Kilkenny in County Kilkenny.

It is a station on the Dublin to Waterford intercity route.[1] and was given the name MacDonagh on 10 April 1966 in commemoration of Thomas MacDonagh, one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916.

It is on a short spur off the main railway line, at a distance of approximately 4.5 km from the Lavistown Loop Line. This requires trains to exit the station in the same direction from which they entered. This meant shunting the locomotive from one end of the train to the other. Today the use of IE 22000 Class railcars has eliminated the need for this procedure.

Previous station

Kilkenny railway station 26 November 1963

The station opened on 12 May 1848[2] as the terminus of the Waterford and Kilkenny Railway.

On 14 November 1850 the Irish South-Eastern Railway connection to Carlow was opened, which branched off at Lavistown.[3] In 1867 the line from Waterford was extended from Kilkenny to Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough).[4] This line closed in 1962. A branch line from Kilkenny to Castlecomer was opened in 1919 and closed on 1 January 1963.[5]

The old station can be seen at the bottom of the platforms, facing north. There were 3 platforms: 2 through, and 1 bay facing Waterford/Dublin via Carlow. The two through tracks carried on over a bridge, onwards to Maryborough (Now Portlaoise) or Castlecomer. This allowed running of trains from Dublin to Waterford without the need for a runaround. However, when many rural lines in the Irish Railway network shut down, the station reverted to its current state. The old Building had separate waiting-rooms for Ladies and Gentlemen and an underpass to the island platform. Formerly, locomotives could run around here, although since 2011 this is not possible any more.

Present day

In 2011 the tracks northwest of the two platforms were lifted, and a connection between the two platforms was built across them. This provides level access to Platform 2, creating a layout similar to Howth railway station and abolishing the runaround facility. The footbridge, formerly the only connection between the platforms, was difficult to climb during cold weather.

The old cargo shed south of the tracks has been transformed into the new station building and is equipped with

  • 1 TVM
  • A ticket office
  • A now defunct FasTrack office
  • A small shop
  • Toilets

It is fully accessible with a ramp from outside.

Bus Éireann services X4, X7, 073 & 374 stop outside the station at a bus shelter at the side of the station.

Services

Preceding station   Iarnród Éireann   Following station
Muine Bheag   InterCity
Dublin-Waterford		   Thomastown

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=119&n=147 Irish Rail Printable Timetables
  2. ↑ "Kilkenny station" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  3. ↑ "Opening of the Railway line to Kilkenny". Ask about Ireland. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Railway Station". Ask about Ireland. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "The Castlecomer Branch". Irish Railway Record Society. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.