Heuston railway station

Heuston Station
Stáisiún Heuston
Iarnród Éireann
Luas

Heuston Station
Location St John's Road, Dublin 8
Republic of Ireland
Coordinates 53°20′47″N 6°17′34″W / 53.346451°N 6.292662°W / 53.346451; -6.292662Coordinates: 53°20′47″N 6°17′34″W / 53.346451°N 6.292662°W / 53.346451; -6.292662
Owned by Iarnród Éireann
Operated by Iarnród Éireann
Platforms 12 (including 3 for Luas)
Construction
Structure type At-grade
Other information
Station code HSTON
Fare zone Suburban 1
Key dates
1846 Station opened as Kingsbridge Station
1966 Renamed as Heuston Station
1998,2004 & 2005 Station refurbished and partially rebuilt

Heuston Station /ˈhjuːstən/ (Irish: Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) is one of Ireland's main railway stations, serving the south, southwest and west.[1] It is operated by Iarnród Éireann (IÉ), the national railway operator. It also houses the head office of its parent company - Córas Iompair Éireann(CIÉ).

History

The station opened on 4 August 1846[2] as the terminus and headquarters of the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR). It was originally called Kingsbridge Station after the nearby Kings Bridge over the River Liffey. In 1966, on the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising it was renamed "Heuston Station", in honour of Sean Heuston, an executed leader of the Rising, who had worked in the station's offices.

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

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.

Although there is a physical rail link between Connolly Station and Heuston, via the Phoenix Park Tunnel, this was usually only used for freight and rolling stock movements. Once or twice a year special trains operated, usually from Cork to Connolly for Gaelic Athletic Association matches in Croke Park. A more regular service along this route, with four journeys an hour, began on 21 November 2016.[3]

However the Luas light rail red line connects the two stations (apart from off peak Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays)[4] 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.[5]

Inchicore Works

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

Preceding station   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
  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. ↑ CIE annual report which names the station as "Heuston Station".
  2. ↑ "Dublin Kingsbridge station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  3. ↑ "Plans for four trains an hour in Phoenix Park tunnel next year". The Herald. 9 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  4. ↑ http://www.luas.ie/red-line-frequency.html
  5. ↑ Irish Rail DART Underground Webpage
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