Ballybrophy railway station
Ballybrophy Baile Uí Bhróithe  | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Ballybrophy Station | |||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Other names | Heavens Entrance | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Station Road, Ballybrophy, County Laois, R32 DW66 Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°53′58″N 7°36′9″W / 52.89944°N 7.60250°W | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Iarnród Éireann | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operated by | Iarnród Éireann | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1847 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Ballybrophy is a railway station in the village of Ballybrophy, County Laois, Ireland, halfway between Borris-in-Ossory and Rathdowney in the Barony of Clandonagh.
The station is an exchange point for passengers on Dublin to Cork services to connect to Limerick via Nenagh services.[1]
Station name
[edit]The station opened on 1 September 1847[2] as Roscrea & Borris. It was later renamed Roscrea & Parsonstown Junction in 1858, and renamed again in 1871 as Ballybrophy.[3]
Facilities
[edit]Lifts were fitted to the footbridge in late 2007. Therefore, disabled passengers who cannot use steps and are boarding or alighting from trains to Cork and Limerick via Limerick Junction are no longer required to cross the tracks at ground level, as was previously the case.[4] This was only possible when trains were clear of the tracks.
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Proposed developments
[edit]Ballybrophy's railway station is a connection point between the main Dublin-Cork main line and the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line. The branch line is lightly travelled, as the principal route between Dublin and Limerick is via Limerick Junction. Since the introduction of a two-hourly Dublin-Limerick service in 2008, this journey does not usually require a change of train.[citation needed]
Up until the mid-1980s the line to Limerick via Nenagh diverged from the mainline via a junction that faced Cork. This was replaced by a siding connection when the mainline was resignalled. For trains to enter the Nenagh branch from the Dublin bound mainline requires trains to set back into the bay platform before proceeding to Nenagh and Limerick. A train travelling from Dublin to Limerick via Nenagh would need to set back from the Down mainline onto the Up mainline before pulling forward into the bay platform.[citation needed] Prior to 1967, the only route from Dublin to Limerick that did not entail a reversal was via Athenry and the former Sligo to Limerick line of the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway.[citation needed]
Some of those[who?] who favour retaining the line have theorised[citation needed] that replacing the south facing connection at Ballybrophy with a new line east to the more populated Borris-in-Ossory, and joining the line nearer Portlaoise would be better for Dublin connections.[original research?] However, in addition to the substantial capital cost of this work, substantial parts of the line would still need to be re-laid nearer Limerick to eliminate severe speed restrictions.[citation needed] The M7 motorway from Dublin to Limerick also dissuades rail usage.[citation needed]
Proposed closure
[edit]In November 2016 it was announced the line was very likely to close in 2018 as the demand for the service was low and CIE/IE wished to close it to save money.[5] This was subsequently ruled out by Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann).[6]
Petitioned upgrades
[edit]The North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership have campaigned to improve the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line service, including issuing an online petition.[7] It is hoped[by whom?] that, as soon as an ongoing continuous welded rail (CWR) relay project is completed between Cloughjordan and Roscrea stations, that further improvements such as the signalling system on the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line will then be upgraded to help improve the speed limits imposed on trains travelling on the line.[7]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Timetables". Irish Rail. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ^ "Ballybrophy station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
- ^ Johnson, Stephen (1997). Johnson's Atlas and Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland. Ian Allan Publishing Ltd (December 1, 1997). p. 81. ISBN 1857800443.
- ^ "Ballybrophy". Irish Rail.
- ^ "Rail Review 2016" (PDF). Ireland: National Transport Authority. August 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Rail closure claims rejected by Iarnród Éireann; Taoiseach rules out rail lines being axed". Irish Examiner. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ a b "Rail group welcomes investment in local line". nenaghguardian.ie. 21 January 2021.
External links
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