Dublin Heuston railway station

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Dublin Heuston
Baile Átha Cliath Stáisiún Heuston
Iarnród Éireann
Luas
Hueston Station.jpg
Dublin Heuston railway station
Location St. John's Road, Dublin 8
Republic of Ireland
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Owned by Iarnród Éireann
Operated by Iarnród Éireann
Platforms 12 (including 3 for Luas)
Construction
Structure type At-grade
Other information
Station code 1
Key dates
1846 Station opened as Kingsbridge Station
1966 Renamed as Heuston Station
1998,2004 & 2005 Station refurbished and partially rebuilt

Dublin Heuston /ˈhjuːstən/ (Irish: Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) is one of Ireland's main railway stations, serving the south, southwest and west. It is operated by Iarnród Éireann (IE), the national railway operator. It also houses the head office of IE's parent company, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ).

History

The station opened on 4 August 1846[1] as the terminus and headquarters of the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR). It was originally called Kingsbridge Station from the nearby Kings Bridge over the Liffey, but was renamed in 1966 after Sean Heuston, an Easter Rising leader who had worked in the station offices.

Designed by Sancton Wood, the handsome original buildings remain. The five panels along the front represent, in order:

  • VIII.VIC - being the Act of Parliament that incorporated the GS&WR
  • The Coat of Arms of Cork City
  • The Coat of Arms of Dublin City
  • The Coat of Arms of Limerick City
  • AD. 1844 - being the year of incorporation of the GS&WR

Since its renewal (by Quinn Savage Smyth architects and engineers Buro Happold) it includes two branches of Eason's, as well as some dining facilities, including a Supermacs, and a pub.

Operation

Rail services

InterCity

InterCity services from Heuston go to and from Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Mayo, and Kerry.

Commuter

Commuter Services stop at all stations to Portlaoise Mondays to Saturdays and Sundays to Kildare

All services leave the station on a triple line as far as Inchicore, quadruple line until Hazelhatch, and thereafter only double line (one each way).

This is the main line to Cork with key service terminus and transfer points in the cork bound direction at

For a full list of stops on these routes, and route descriptions, see Rail transport in Ireland.

Links to other main stations

Although there is a physical rail link between Connolly Station and Heuston, via the Phoenix Park Tunnel, this is usually only used for freight and rolling stock movements. Once or twice a year special trains may operate, usually from Cork to Connolly for Gaelic Athletic Association matches in Croke Park. A more regular service along this route, with up to four journeys an hour, is planned to begin in Spring 2016.[2]

However the Luas light rail red line connects the two stations (apart from off peak Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays)[3] Dublin Bus has a direct service to Connolly, but this operates as a special service for Dublin Airport so fares are not at commuter level.

Platforms

There are nine platforms - eight terminal platforms and one through platform. Platform 1 is an extension to Platform 2, and reachable only via that platform. Prior to Heuston's recent upgrade, there were five terminal platforms.

The through platform is numbered Platform 10, and is situated on the Phoenix Park Tunnel line, which connects to Connolly Station. There is no platform nine. Platform 10 is some distance from the main concourse, and is not used for any regular scheduled trains.

Future

The Iarnród Éireann initiative plans to have a DART Underground tunnel linking Heuston with Pearse Station and onwards to a new Spencer Dock Docklands railway station. An underground station would be constructed at Heuston.

Construction has been indefinitely delayed due to lack of funding, however planning and design is still ongoing under the heading of the DART underground project.[4]

Inchicore Works

The main IÉ maintenance depot, at Inchicore, is approximately three kilometres (two miles) away.

Gallery

Preceding station Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann Following station
Terminus   Commuter
South Western Commuter
  Park West &
Cherry Orchard
Terminus   InterCity
Dublin-Cork
  Portlaoise
Terminus   InterCity
Dublin-Waterford
  Newbridge
  InterCity
Dublin-Limerick via Thurles
 
Terminus   InterCity
Dublin-Galway
  Hazelhatch
& Celbridge
Terminus   InterCity
Dublin-Westport/Ballina
  Kildare
or
Newbridge
Terminus   InterCity
Dublin-Tralee
  Portlaoise
  From 2016  
Drumcondra   Commuter
South Western Commuter
  Park West &
Cherry Orchard
  Future  
Christchurch   DART
Line 2
  Inchicore
Preceding station   Luas   Following station
Museum
towards Connolly or The Point
  Red Line   James's
towards Tallaght

See also

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. http://www.luas.ie/red-line-frequency.html
  4. Irish Rail DART Underground Webpage

External links