If you could open one railway station

[Darrman]

Irish Rail or Translink have been given enough money to open a railway station anywhere on the operational network. Where do you open it? The budget does not include anything for laying down new track, but will cover any other operational expense necessary.

I'm going to try to be reasonably objective and judge by town populations. The largest town passed through (loosely defined as having a station once named for it on an operational line) without stopping is Dunleer (population 2,143). I wouldn't stop Enterprises there, leaving it to be served the six trains terminating in Dundalk and seven departing from Dundalk, plus the train that terminates in Newry.

After that comes Newmarket-on-Fergus (population 1,887), which would have every Ennis and Galway train call, so nine a day each way. However, the former station site is three kilometres away from the village's centre and would slow Limerick-Ennis times further.

In third place is Kilmallock (population 1,761), which I think would be a good choice if there were regular Cork-Limerick services. But there aren't, so I'll assume a similar stopping pattern to Charleville: six from Dublin, seven from Cork.

Up next is Ballysadare (population 1,747), which is quite close to Sligo. Sligo services largely don't skip stations after Maynooth, so eight trains a day would call. Sligo trains are already slow with many stops, however.

Finally for what I'll compare is what the census knows as "Killucan and Rathwire" (population 1,574). Also being on the way to Sligo, the same service provisions would apply. There's a passing loop already in Killucan, meaning trains already stop there. However, the station is isolated, located 2.6km from the centre of Killucan. It could be relocated to better serve Kinnegad (pop. 3,064) in addition, but at best the station would be 3km from Killucan and 4km from Kinnegad, and it would then be off of the passing loop.

With the old station site actually within the town, I'd probably go for Dunleer here. But it's difficult to select one station and there are many factors that could be considered, and I could be convinced otherwise.

[Westcorkrailway]

Maybe something on the limerick junction to limerick line comes to mind. Although to be fair that might cause delays for the cork train! 

[Brack]

Navan?

[Westcorkrailway]

Now that the tracks are going down… adare!

[Ironroad]

Ballyfermot by reason of population

[Darrman]

On 27/4/2024 at 9:46 PM, Westcorkrailway said:

Maybe something on the limerick junction to limerick line comes to mind. Although to be fair that might cause delays for the cork train! 

The only stations in all of County Limerick are Colbert and Castleconnell (and the tip of Charleville's platforms). Both of them are in the northeast of the county. Dromkeen has the loop, though it's in the middle of nowhere, Caherconlish (the largest village) is 4.5 kilometres away from Boher (also in the middle of nowhere) and Pallasgreen and Oola are small villages of 200 and 300, though at least the stop would be in the village. I suppose it's worth mentioning the Ballysimon park and ride idea too, which could take traffic from the N24 and M7.

On 27/4/2024 at 9:49 PM, Brack said:

Navan?

A town of over 30,000 with a railway line passing through, and there's no passenger service. Sure it would be a roundabout route, but I'm not going to hold my breath for the direct one to be built. Upgrading the track to have speeds of more than 25 mph is the main issue.

On 27/4/2024 at 10:01 PM, Westcorkrailway said:

Now that the tracks are going down… adare!

Considering they're going to the bother of rebuilding the Foynes branch, it would be silly not to. Will they do it for the Ryder Cup?

 

On 28/4/2024 at 4:36 PM, Ironroad said:

Ballyfermot by reason of population

This is probably the most sensible answer: an extra commuter station in Dublin in an area currently bypassed. Building it with the Dart upgrades would be the most sensible time to do it.

[minister_for_hardship]

Kilmallock, Buttevant, Blarney.

[Branchline121]

Dunleer probably.

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

Manorhamilton 

[jhb171achill]

Navan would seem by far the biggest populatuion wise outside Dublin - and the track is there!

[irishrailways52]

navan. and reopen the line to kingscourt. re open gibstown halt. my grandad has memories of beet trains there. 

[airfixfan]

Cashelnagore!

[Darrman]

On 29/4/2024 at 6:18 PM, minister_for_hardship said:

Kilmallock, Buttevant, Blarney.

These would be good calls for intermediate Limerick-Cork stops.

On 29/4/2024 at 9:30 PM, Branchline121 said:

Dunleer probably.

There's quite a distance between Drogheda and Dundalk and Dunleer is a decently sized town.

On 29/4/2024 at 9:51 PM, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Manorhamilton 

A fan of the SLNCR?

On 29/4/2024 at 11:32 PM, jhb171achill said:

Navan would seem by far the biggest populatuion wise outside Dublin - and the track is there!

On 3/5/2024 at 12:24 PM, irishrailways52 said:

navan. and reopen the line to kingscourt. re open gibstown halt. my grandad has memories of beet trains there. 

Unfortunately the greenways have gone into Kingscourt, so good luck getting rid of them. Navan's the largest town in Ireland without a passenger station (disregarding County Dublin and Belfast suburbs), but I won't hold my breath for the MGWR route ever being rebuilt and I don't know how much longer the GNR route will last. Hopefully the Taras come back soon.

On 3/5/2024 at 1:17 PM, airfixfan said:

Cashelnagore!

I had to look this one up - it was on the Swilly. Google Street View has a nice view of it: not a house for miles!

[Gabhal Luimnigh]

34 minutes ago, Darrman said:

 

A fan of the SLNCR?

Yep and why not!

[airfixfan]

Typical Swilly station miles from nowhere 

[spudfan]

Our own! The Londonderry and Loughswilly station at Carndonagh.

Carndonagh Railway Station, CHURCHLAND QUARTERS, Carndonagh, DONEGAL - Buildings of Ireland

Carndonagh railway station - Wikipedia

[Horsetan]

On 29/4/2024 at 9:51 PM, Gabhal Luimnigh said:

Manorhamilton 

If we're including long closed routes, I wouldn't mind seeing Newport, Mulrany, and Achill Sound open for railway business again.

[Broithe]

4 hours ago, Horsetan said:

If we're including long closed routes, I wouldn't mind seeing Newport, Mulrany, and Achill Sound open for railway business again.

And a lot of Birr station is still there.

[Ironroad]

6 hours ago, Broithe said:

And a lot of Birr station is still there.

Memories of being there in the summer of '61 on a silver train.

[Horsetan]

15 hours ago, Broithe said:

And a lot of Birr station is still there.

It looks like you'd have to demolish the houses/offices built at right-angles to the platform across the trackbed, plus reinstate a few bridges along the route to Roscrea.

[Broithe]

39 minutes ago, Horsetan said:

It looks like you'd have to demolish the houses/offices built at right-angles to the platform across the trackbed, plus reinstate a few bridges along the route to Roscrea.

Only one end of the building is in the way and the roads are generally fairly minor, a few level crossings would do - it wouldn't be a hugely frequent service schedule.

[Maitland]

Ramsey IOM. Of course, they'd have to reopen the line from Douglas via St Johns to get to it.

[Westcorkrailway]

Ballymartle, South Cork 

[commerlad]

3 hours ago, Maitland said:

Ramsey IOM. Of course, they'd have to reopen the line from Douglas via St Johns to get to it.

And at that, I would add Peel to make St John's a junction again where the trains split.

2nd choice would be Foxdale.

[Flying Snail]

If I was to stick to the rules stipulated by Darrman then Mountrath (Kilbricken), a particularly nice Sancton Wood station that's now sadly derelict.

If I were to stretch the rules a little, then Moate ( okay, a lot - but technically it still has rails through it), for the obvious reason that it would reinstate the Mullingar and Athlone link (not commercially viable, but I often thought it would make a nice heritage railway between two big towns - in which guise it might even happily co-exist with the greenway. It would need a very generous benefactor though)

If I were to continue that train of thought and throw the rules completely out the window, then Valentia  Harbour .... reinstating that station means reinstating the whole line 

[Branchline121]

I already posted a comment on this thread before, but if I was asked a second time I’d say Cabra, or, as many others have said, Navan. If we were opening Navan on the GNRI branch, I’d also reinstate Duleek, and maybe extend the line into Kells. Finally, if there was infinite money for building new lines, I’d love to see Navan—Armagh to open as envisaged back in the 19th century to tie in with the All-Island Strategic Rail Review, it’d certainly be a useful diversionary route!

[jhb171achill]

I dream of Achill….

[gibbo675]

Hi Folks,

This station on my dock layout needs reopening as it is currently being used as a stacking ground for my part painted APT project, section blocked ! :

If I move all this clutter then I could actually fit the stairs to get between the booking office on the bridge to the platforms below.

Gibbo.

[Darrman]

Since this thread's come back around, if I was to toss out any rationality I'd reopen Clonakilty, being the biased West Cork man that I am. Which by extension would force Bandon open again... And Albert Quay... Who needs the South Link Road and the skyscrapers on top of Albert Quay anyway? Black Ash park and ride could connect to the railway instead. And it's not that far from the Bandon Road either, you could put a park and ride there too. And then may as well reopen Waterfall.

(Madness with crayons excised for everyone's sake...)

Even if the West Cork never closed, I'd say there's a fair bet the first station out of Albert Quay today would be Bandon! (As of the June 1958 working timetable, the only stations not designated as halts were Albert Quay, Bandon, Ballineen, Dunmanway, Drimoleague, and Bantry, along with Skibbereen, Ballinascarthy, and Clonakilty on their branches. Clonakilty Junction is inconsistent: there's no H on the Clonakilty branch timetable, but there is on the main line.) I could try to rationally figure out how to work out how to reopen/how to prune West Cork so as to avoid total closure, but that's for another thread.

 

[Westcorkrailway]

6 hours ago, Darrman said:

Since this thread's come back around, if I was to toss out any rationality I'd reopen Clonakilty, being the biased West Cork man that I am. Which by extension would force Bandon open again... And Albert Quay... Who needs the South Link Road and the skyscrapers on top of Albert Quay anyway? Black Ash park and ride could connect to the railway instead. And it's not that far from the Bandon Road either, you could put a park and ride there too. And then may as well reopen Waterfall.

(Madness with crayons excised for everyone's sake...)

Even if the West Cork never closed, I'd say there's a fair bet the first station out of Albert Quay today would be Bandon! (As of the June 1958 working timetable, the only stations not designated as halts were Albert Quay, Bandon, Ballineen, Dunmanway, Drimoleague, and Bantry, along with Skibbereen, Ballinascarthy, and Clonakilty on their branches. Clonakilty Junction is inconsistent: there's no H on the Clonakilty branch timetable, but there is on the main line.) I could try to rationally figure out how to work out how to reopen/how to prune West Cork so as to avoid total closure, but that's for another thread.

 

In my head cannon there would be a 4 piece ICR heading to Bantry going from Albert Quay to Bandon-Ballineen-Dunmanway-Drimoleague-Bantry.and a 2 piece 2600 operating between Cork and Bandon with stops at the Crossbarry, Ballinhassig, Waterfall, and somewhere in the Wilton/Togher area and Black ash. There would be proposals to connect the line to the Aiprort with a junction somewhere around Chetwynd but twould be like the Dublin airport situation! 
 

Freight on the line would have ended at most in 2006 with the end of Sugar Beet trains, in my own personal head cannon, Clon Juncton would be closed as a station but would be where beet was loaded Wellingtonbridge style. There would have been a mixed goods train similar to that of youghal running from bantry but that would have packed up in the late 1970s. The same probobly goes for Bantry Oil trains. 
 

It would be a line constantly under threat of closure (considering lines like the Sligo and Westport lines were under threat I’m sure that’s no suprise. Infact it’s possible that West of Bandon could close altogether in the late 1970s. Though it would still be a much better deal than the current west cork system got as a 1970s closure would make re-opening very pheasable 

[Markleman]

Well, NIR/Translink's incompetence over many years has prevented a station at Knockmore. The latest proposal is now well over a decade old and progress is pretty well zero. And why a two platform station when a third on the Antrim branch would allow locals from Belfast direction to reverse there (if there were locals from the Belfast direction). This they could also give it a better service than the 1970s joke halt.

Knockmore is a prefectly good project so why am I still saying it should be built? It will happen someday. Why are we still waiting?

There are other candidates:-

Another park and ride project which they completely failed to make any progress on is the one at Templepatrick.

Egllnton (not on the previous site) might be a runner too. i was reminded of this last month when a train I was on had to stop as a plane was landing. While the runway does not cross the line there is nevertheless a restriction on trains passing during aircraft movements.

Whitehouse would surely do as well as other comparable stations (like Sydenham). No doubt though they would do the usual - say it is a good idea, draw up the plans, even get planning permission, and then fiddle about for years doing who knows what.