Mullingar railway station

Mullingar railway station serves the town of Mullingar in County Westmeath, Ireland.

Mullingar

An Muileann gCearr
A view of the train station and its adjacent carpark, 2015
LocationClonmore Road
Mullingar
County Westmeath
N91 HKR4
Ireland
Coordinates53.5228°N 7.3460°W / 53.5228; -7.3460
Operated byIarnród Éireann
Platforms3
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Other information
Station codeMLGAR
Fare zoneG
History
OpenedOctober 2, 1848 (1848-10-02)
Services
Preceding station   Iarnród Éireann   Following station
Enfield   InterCity
Dublin-Sligo		   Edgeworthstown
Enfield   Commuter
Western Commuter		   Edgeworthstown or Terminus
Disused railways
Killucan
Line open, station closed		   Midland Great Western Railway
Dublin-Sligo		   Clonhugh
Line open, station closed
  Midland Great Western Railway
Dublin-Galway		   Moate
Line and station closed

Mullingar station is served by national rail company Iarnród Éireann's Dublin to Longford Commuter service and Dublin to Sligo InterCity service.[1]

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland has a secondary base in the town. A turntable remains here used by steam locomotives a couple of times a year.

History

The station opened on 2 October 1848.[2] The Midland Great Western Railway line to Mullingar from Dublin opened in stages from 1846 to 1848, arriving in Mullingar on 2 October 1848. This was to a temporary station, adjacent to the greyhound stadium. The original main line ran from Dublin (Broadstone) to Galway via Mullingar and Athlone, the Mullingar to Galway section opening in August 1851. The present station opened with the branch line to Longford on 14 December 1855.

There were two secondary stations in Mullingar. Canal Crossing cattle bank was on the Sligo Line and on the Athlone Line, Newbrook racecourse had its own station. This was unique in that it was a two platformed station with both platforms on the Down Line.

Mullingar to Athlone Line

There was a railway line to Athlone but it is now disused. It was part of the Midland Great Western Railway Dublin to Galway inter-city rail service. In 2006, calls were made for the line to Athlone (via Moate) to be reopened to facilitate more services between Galway and Dublin.[3] However, this plan was dropped in favour of creating a new cycling route.

Today Dublin to Galway intercity services go from Dublin Heuston via Portarlington to Athlone line.[4]

Mullingar station looking towards Dublin with the former line to Athlone coming in from the right

See also

References
  1. "Dublin - Sligo - Monday - Sunday (excluding public holidays) - Valid from 30.09.2019 until further notice" (PDF). Iarnród Éireann. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  2. "Mullingar station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-07.
  3. "Closed Mullingar to Athlone rail line raised at meeting". Westmeath Examiner. February 16, 2012.
  4. "Dublin - Galway - Monday to Saturday (excluding public holidays) Valid from 18.11.2019 until further notice" (PDF). Iarnród Éireann. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
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