Dublin Connolly railway station

Dublin Connolly Baile Átha Cliath Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile
Dublin Connolly railway station façade in 2006
Location	1 Amiens Street, Dublin Republic of Ireland
Coordinates
Owned by	Iarnród Éireann
Operated by	Iarnród Éireann
Platforms	9 (including 2 for Luas)
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Station code	CNLLY
Fare zone	Suburban 1
Key dates
29 November 1844	Opened, as Amiens Street
1966	Renamed Connolly Station
1983	Station upgraded
1999	Station refurbished and partially rebuilt

Dublin Connolly (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. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides intercity and commuter services to the north, north-west and south-east. The North-South Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) service also passes through the station. The station offices are the headquarters of Irish Rail, Iarnród Éireann.

History

Main article: History of rail transport in Ireland

The station opened on 29 November 1844 by the Dublin and Drogheda Railway Company as Dublin Station, but was renamed Amiens Street Station ten years later after the street on which it is located. Originally the station served only a single mainline to Drogheda, and in 1853 through services to Belfast commenced. 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 City of Dublin Junction had a separate station known as Amiens Street Junction consisting of the present platforms 5, 6, and 7 (currently used by DART and Commuter services) with a separate street entrance. After the amalgamation of the GNR (I) at the end of the 1950s, this station became part of Amiens Street and the separate entrance fell into disuse. The City of Dublin Junction Railway allowed services to run from Amiens Street through to Westland Row to Rosslare and the South East. Services to Sligo were transferred to Westland Row (Pearse Station) running non-stop through the station in 1937, with the closure of Broadstone Station by CIÉ (see also MGWR). Services to Galway and Mayo also 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 from Heuston Station. During the 1960s, Sunday trains to Cork, Limerick and Waterford operated from Connolly platforms 5, 6 & 7 through the Phoenix Park Tunnel to avoid the cost of opening Heuston 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, other main stations were renamed after patriots executed for their roles in the Rising.

At the commencement of DART services in 1984, the City of Dublin Junction Railway entrance was refurbished and reopened for commuters.

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/café and shops were installed. The former DART/Suburban station entrance (City of Dublin Junction Railway entrance) and the secondary station hall built with the DART (further north on Amiens Street) were again closed, but a new entrance on the International Financial Services Centre side was opened. In 2004, the Luas Red Line began serving the station. As part of the preparation for this, the ramp that had been a bus terminus was demolished and replaced with a two-platform tram station connected to the main concourse by escalators and lift.

Docklands railway station

The opening of Docklands Station in March 2007 has provided an extra terminus station to take pressure from Dublin Connolly. During Monday to Friday peak times, trains from M3 Parkway and Dunboyne arrive at Docklands. It also provides an alternative terminus for the Western Commuter line to Mullingar if needed.

Docklands is the planned terminus for services to Navan.

As part of the DART Underground, Docklands will be replaced or supplemented by a new underground Spencer Dock station further increasing capacity in Connolly Station.

City Centre Resignalling Project

According to Iarnród Éireann, the project will provide the ability to operate 20 trains in both directions through the Howth Junction to Grand Canal Dock line, which caters for Howth DARTs, Malahide DARTs, Northern Commuter trains, Belfast Enterprise services, Sligo Intercity and Maynooth commuter services, as well as other services in the Connolly to Grand Canal Dock area. This will mean that more trains travel through Connolly rather than terminating, it will also eventually facilitate the use of the Phoenix Park rail tunnel for commuter rail connections. The project began in March 2015 and is currently underway. It is expected to be completed by late 2016 or early 2017.

Services

Connolly has seven platforms; four terminal (1-4) for trains from the North, and three through - the former Amiens Street Junction station - (5-7), for trains from the South. The ticket office is open from 06:30 hrs to 19:00 hrs, Monday to Sunday.

InterCity

There are three InterCity routes served:

• The Enterprise service to Belfast (intermediate stops, Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry, Portadown and Lisburn)
• Sligo Mac Diarmada (some main stops, Maynooth, Mullingar, Longford and Carrick on Shannon)
• Rosslare Europort, via Dublin Pearse and the "Loopline Bridge" (selected stops, Arklow, Gorey, Wexford). The 16:37 departure from Connolly to Rosslare Europort offers a connection to ferries for Wales and France.

DART and Commuter

Commuter services run on the same routes, as far as Drogheda, Dundalk, Maynooth and Gorey or Enniscorthy. DART uses platforms equipped with overhead wires (Platforms 4, 5, 6, and 7). Terminal platform 4 is also electrified, which is used by one DART service daily, Monday to Friday, the 07:50 to Malahide.

Future

Connolly Station Area Redevelopment

This project will involve redeveloping the east section of the Connolly station area "to provide 81,500 sq. m. of mixed commercial, residential community and leisure uses comprising 50,200 sq. m. of office accommodation; 106 apartments; a hotel; retail and restaurants and a crèche."

In April 2012 CIÉ received planning approval from Dublin city Council for the redevelopment. The project will not go ahead until property market in Dublin improves and CIÉ can acquire private sector funding. This project was put to tender by CIÉ in Autumn 2015.

Arrivals/Departures board in 2006

Departures board in June 2015

Connections

While Connolly connects Dublin to the East Coast of Ireland and to Sligo, Dublin Heuston serves the South and West of the country. Connolly Station is connected to Heuston via the Luas tram. Rail links connect the two stations passing through a tunnel under the Phoenix Park. Passenger services seldom use this, its main purpose being the transfer of rolling stock and locomotives (the main service depot is at Inchicore, just outside Heuston). This line will be used from late 2016 or early 2017 connecting South Western commuters to the DART network.

Commuter 2800 Class (left) and DART 8200 Class (right) trains at Dublin Connolly Station

Preceding station	Iarnród Éireann			Following station
Drogheda MacBride		Enterprise Dublin-Belfast		Terminus
Maynooth or Drumcondra		InterCity Dublin-Sligo
Terminus		InterCity Dublin-Rosslare		Tara Street
		Commuter South Eastern Commuter
Howth Junction or Rush & Lusk		Commuter Northern Commuter		Tara Street or Terminus
Drumcondra or Maynooth		Commuter Western Commuter (City Branch)
Clontarf Road		DART Trans-Dublin		Tara Street or Terminus
	From 2016
Drumcondra		Commuter South Western Commuter		Tara Street
	Future
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

Rail and ferry connections at Dublin Port

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
	Ferry services
Terminus		Irish Ferries Ferry		Holyhead
Terminus		Stena Line Ferry		Holyhead

The station is connected by bus to Dublin Port with Stena Line ferries from the Ferry Terminal to Holyhead, with connecting trains along the North Wales Coast Line to Bangor (Gwynedd) railway station, Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Chester, Crewe and stations to London Euston. SailRail is promoted as a viable alternative to air transport by using trains and ferries to reach places across the Irish Sea.

Holyhead can also be reached by Irish Ferries or Stena Line from Dublin Port, reached by walking beside the tram lines around the corner from Amiens Street, Dublin into Store Street or by Luas one stop to Busáras where Dublin Bus operates a service to the Ferry Terminal, or Dublin Bus route 53 or to take a taxi.

Platform 3 at Connolly Station with a 29000 Class arriving on platform 4

Former ferry and DART connection at Dún Laoghaire

The ferry service from Dún Laoghaire was discontinued indefinitely in September 2014. Passengers traveled on the DART to Dún Laoghaire to sail using the Stena Line service. Now the route is a bus via Dublin Port to Holyhead as above.

Rail and ferry connections at Rosslare Europort

InterCity trains from Connolly to Rosslare Europort connect with the evening ferry to Fishguard Harbour with through ticketing to places including Carmarthen, Llanelli and Swansea.

Irish Ferries and Stena Line operate ferries from Rosslare Europort to Cherbourg in France. There is also a seasonal route to Roscoff operated by Irish Ferries.

See also

• List of railway stations in Ireland
• Dublin Connolly DART station

Gallery

• 

  Main Concourse

• 

  Mainline sheds at Connolly Station

• 

  NIR Locomotive 8208 leading an Enterprise service to Belfast Central

• 

  The Luas tram stop

Bibliography

• 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)

External links

• Irish Rail Dublin Connolly Station Website
• Luas Connolly Stop information