Kilkenny railway station

Kilkenny railway station (MacDonagh Station), (Irish: Stáisiún Mhic Donncha) serves the city of Kilkenny in County Kilkenny.

This article is about the station in Ireland. For the station in South Australia, see Kilkenny railway station, Adelaide.

Kilkenny MacDonagh

Stáisiún Cill Chainnigh Mhic Donncha
Kilkenny MacDonagh station in 2018
LocationDublin Road, Kilkenny, County Kilkenny, R95 AWY8
Ireland
Coordinates52.654167°N 7.243611°W / 52.654167; -7.243611
Owned byIarnród Éireann
Operated byIarnród Éireann
Platforms2
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Other information
Station codeKKNNY
Fare zoneK

It is a station on the Dublin to Waterford intercity route.[1] and was given the name MacDonagh on 10 April 1966 in commemoration of Thomas MacDonagh, one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916.

It is on a short spur off the main railway line, at a distance of approximately 4.5 km from the Lavistown Loop Line. This requires trains to exit the station in the same direction from which they entered. This meant shunting the locomotive from one end of the train to the other. Today the use of IE 22000 Class railcars has eliminated the need for this procedure.

Previous station

The station opened on 12 May 1848[2] as the terminus of the Waterford and Kilkenny Railway.

On 14 November 1850 the Irish South-Eastern Railway connection to Carlow was opened, which branched off at Lavistown.[3] In 1867 the line from Waterford was extended from Kilkenny to Portlaoise (formerly Maryborough).[4] This line closed in 1962. A branch line from Kilkenny to Castlecomer was opened in 1919 and closed on 1 January 1963.[5]

The old station can be seen at the bottom of the platforms, facing north. There were 3 platforms: 2 through, and 1 bay facing Waterford/Dublin via Carlow. The two through tracks carried on over a bridge, onwards to Maryborough (Now Portlaoise) or Castlecomer. This allowed running of trains from Dublin to Waterford without the need for a runaround. However, when many rural lines in the Irish Railway network shut down, the station reverted to its current state. The old Building had separate waiting-rooms for Ladies and Gentlemen and an underpass to the island platform. Formerly, locomotives could run around here, although since 2011 this is not possible any more.

Present day

In 2011 the tracks northwest of the two platforms were lifted, and a connection between the two platforms was built across them. This provides level access to Platform 2, creating a layout similar to Howth railway station and abolishing the runaround facility. The footbridge, formerly the only connection between the platforms, was difficult to climb during cold weather.

The old cargo shed south of the tracks has been transformed into the new station building and is equipped with

  • 1 TVM
  • A ticket office
  • A now defunct FasTrack office
  • A small shop
  • Toilets

It is fully accessible with a ramp from outside.

Bus Éireann services X4, 073 & 374 stop outside the station at a bus shelter at the side of the station.

Services
Preceding station   Iarnród Éireann   Following station
Muine Bheag   InterCity
Dublin-Waterford		   Thomastown

See also

References
  1. http://www.irishrail.ie/index.jsp?p=119&n=147 Archived 2019-04-02 at the Wayback Machine Irish Rail Printable Timetables
  2. "Kilkenny station" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
  3. "Opening of the Railway line to Kilkenny". Ask about Ireland. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  4. "Railway Station". Ask about Ireland. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  5. "The Castlecomer Branch". Irish Railway Record Society. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
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