The station in late 2006 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | St John's Road West Dublin 8, D08 E2CV Ireland | ||||
| Coordinates | 53°20′47″N6°17′33″W / 53.3465°N 6.2925°W /53.3465; -6.2925 | ||||
| Owned by | Iarnród Éireann | ||||
| Operated by | Iarnród Éireann | ||||
| Line | Dublin–Cork line | ||||
| Platforms | 9 | ||||
| Bus operators |
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| Connections | |||||
| Construction | |||||
| Structure type | At-grade | ||||
| Parking | Yes | ||||
| Bicycle facilities | Yes | ||||
| Accessible | Yes | ||||
| Architect | Sancton Wood (terminal) John MacNeill (train shed)[1][2] | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | HSTON, 1[3] | ||||
| Fare zone | Suburban 1 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Opened | 4 August 1846; 179 years ago (1846-08-04) | ||||
| Electrified | No | ||||
| Previous names | Kingsbridge Station | ||||
| Original company | Great Southern and Western Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Great Southern and Western Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | Great Southern Railways | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1846 | Station opened as Kingsbridge Station | ||||
| 1966 | Renamed as Heuston Station | ||||
| 1998, 2004 and 2005 | Station refurbished and partially rebuilt | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2015 | |||||
| 2016 | |||||
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| 2019 | |||||
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Heuston Station, (/ˈhjuːstən/ ⓘHEW-stən;Irish:Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known asDublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largestrailway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated byIarnród Éireann (IÉ), the national railway operator. It also houses the head office of its parent company,Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ).[5] The station is named in honour ofSeán Heuston, an executed leader of the 1916Easter Rising, who had worked in the station's offices.
In 1836, a committee of Commissioners was appointed by the British Government to identify a system of rail routes throughout Ireland which would best serve the interests of the country as a whole.[6] In their report of 1838, Kingsbridge, or 'King's Bridge', was selected as the optimum location for a terminus in Dublin which would most conveniently serve a main trunk railway line to the southern and western districts of Ireland.[6] The site had been known asKingsbridge since the completion of the nearbyKing's Bridge over theRiver Liffey in 1828.[7]
TheGreat Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) company was authorised by an Act passed in 1844 and began selecting a site in Dublin for their main city terminus, as well as the site of their headquarters.[6] In a series of pamphlets, the promoters of a proposed rail link toCashel, County Tipperary argued that Kingsbridge was the better choice for a Dublin terminus over a competing proposal for aPortobello terminus, due to it being conveniently located next to thequays,Smithfield cattle market, hay and straw markets, wool and butter cranes, woollen, cotton, iron and leather warehouses, theLinenhall area, as well as sites of strategic military importance such asthe Royal Barracks.[6]
An Incorporation Act entitled “An Act for Making and Maintaining a Railway from the City of Dublin to the Town ofCashel, with a Branch to the Town ofCarlow" was passed and established in law.[6] On 28 October 1845 the Great Southern and Western Railway Company bought a site in Dublin adjoining the Military Road, and another parcel of ground, fromHenry John Temple, Lord Viscount Palmerston for £1,600.[a] In December 1845 the GS&WR began advertising for tenders for building the Kingsbridge railway terminus on the land they had recently bought.[6]
The station opened on 4 August 1846 as the terminus and headquarters of the Great Southern and Western Railway with theFreeman's Journal describing how "carriages of all classes were densely crowded with passengers, thus giving early evidence of the vast traffic which is likely to accrue on the line when in full and perfect operation".[6] The first regular passenger train service from the station commenced later that month with the running of two trains each way daily between Dublin and Carlow (Carlow-bound trains departed Dublin at 9am and 5pm).[6] Trains were scheduled to take about 2hr 35min for the 56 mi (90 km) stretch to Carlow from where conventionalmail coach connections could carry passengers onwards to Kilkenny, Clonmel, Waterford or Cork.[8]
The passenger terminal and buildings were built to designs by London-born architectSancton Wood, and the train sheds and infrastructure were designed by Irish-born railway engineerJohn MacNeill.[1] Regarding the architectural merits of the passenger terminal, historianMaurice Craig described it thus: "a delightful building, a renaissancepalazzo, gay and full-blooded, with fruityswags and little domed towers on the wings, a thoroughgoing formal composition, excellently articulated".[9]
When first constructed the station had only two platforms separated by 5 carriage lines. Two of the lines were subsequently replaced by a two-sided platform and the remaining carriage line also removed. An additional platform, created in 1872 on the south side of the station, beyond the station roof, was known as the "military platform" - the intention being that military personnel could be kept separate from the rest of the public.[10] Due to the need to cater for increased demand and reduce delays, three new platforms were incorporated in August 2002 as part of a€170,000,000 development incorporating improved signalling and approach track-work.[11]
In 1966, on the 50th anniversary of theEaster Rising, it was renamed "Heuston Station" in honour ofSeán Heuston, a young railway worker who commanded a nearby post in the 1916Easter Rising. Heuston was one of the 16 executed by the British after that Rising, and had previously worked in the station's offices.[7]
Since the station's refurbishment and modernisation (by Quinn Savage Smyth architects and engineersBuro Happold)[12] its retail facilities now include a branch ofEasons, as well as some dining facilities, including a branch ofSupermacs, several cafés, a kiosk, and a largepub.[13]
A maintenance depot at theInchicore railway works is located approximately three kilometres (two miles) away and, as with Heuston Station itself, was also opened in 1846.[14]
Based on 2019National Transport Authority figures for "boardings and alightings", Heuston was then the third busiest station in Ireland, behind Connolly and Pearse stations, also in Dublin.[4] 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).[citation needed]
The following services depart Heuston on weekdays:[15][needs update]
Heuston is the terminus for the mainline to Cork, and there are key service and transfer points in the Cork-bound direction at:
| Preceding station | Following station | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | InterCity Dublin-Cork | Portlaoiseor Thurles | ||
| Terminus | InterCity Dublin-Waterford railway line | Hazelhatch and Celbridgeor Newbridge | ||
| Terminus | InterCity Dublin-Limerick via Thurles | Kildare | ||
| Terminus | InterCity Dublin–Westport/Galway railway line | Sallins and Naasor Portarlington | ||
| Terminus | InterCity Ballina branch line | Portarlington | ||
| Terminus | InterCity Mallow–Tralee line | Ballybrophy | ||
| Terminus | Commuter South Western Commuter | Park West & Cherry Orchard | ||
Before 2016, the physical rail link betweenConnolly Station and Heuston via thePhoenix Park Tunnel was usually only used for freight and rolling stock movements. Once or twice a year special trains operated, usually fromCork to Connolly forGaelic Athletic Association matches atCroke Park. A more regular service along this route began on 21 November 2016.[19]
TheLuas light rail red line connects the two stations (apart from off-peak Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays).[20]Dublin Express has a direct service toDublin Airport.[citation needed]
There are nine platforms: eight terminal platforms and one through platform. Platform 1 is an extension to Platform 2, and is reachable only via that platform. Prior to Heuston's 2002-2004 upgrade, there were five terminal platforms.[21][22]
The through platform is numbered Platform 10 and is situated on the Phoenix Park Tunnel line, which connects to Connolly Station.[22] There is no platform nine.[22] Platform 10 is some distance from the main concourse and is not used for any regularly scheduled trains.
A 2018 consultation paper for the proposedDublin MetroLink project included a reference to a potential future station, labelled "Heuston West", with connections via thePhoenix Park Tunnel toCabra.[23]
Other plans, first published in the 1970s,[24][25] suggested that a proposedDART Underground project would link underground stations at Heuston andPearse Street via a tunnel.[26][27] As of 2015, these plans were subject to review,[27] and as of mid-2018, the DART Underground project was not funded.[28]
A tram at Heuston in 2005 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Dublin Ireland | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 53°20′48″N6°17′30″W / 53.34665°N 6.2916934°W /53.34665; -6.2916934 | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Transport Infrastructure Ireland | ||||||||||
| Operated by | Luas | ||||||||||
| Line | Red | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 3 | ||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Fare zone | Central/Red 2 | ||||||||||
| Key dates | |||||||||||
| 26 September 2004 | Station opened | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
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Heuston is an interchange with Dublin'sLuas light rail tram system. Opened in 2004,[29] Heuston Luas stop is located in front of the station building; the tram tracks run perpendicular to the main line tracks. To the north of the stop, trams cross theRiver Liffey on theSeán Heuston Bridge, which was refurbished as part of the Luas construction. To the south, trams travel up Steeven's Lane, which is closed to road vehicles other than those accessingSt. Patrick's University Hospital.[30]
Heuston has three platforms. There are two outer edge platforms and two sides of an island platform. The two platforms nearest the station serve the same section of track, used for northbound trams travelling towardsConnolly orThe Point. The platform nearest St. John's Road West is for southbound trams travelling towardsTallaght andSaggart. The eastern side of the island is a terminus platform, used only in certain peak times, when extra services are run in the city centre section.
Exterior shots of the station appeared in the 1978 heist filmThe First Great Train Robbery purporting to beLondon Bridge railway station. The station was altered to represent theVictorian era including the erection of offices, signs, posters andhorse-drawn transport.[31]
The [CIÉ] books of account are kept in Heuston Station, Dublin 8 [..] Secretary of the Board [..] Heuston Station, Dublin 8
Iarnrod Éireann is planning four new platforms for Heuston Station [..] The four new platforms will be added to the existing five
the Dart Underground, previously known as the Interconnector [was] Originally conceived of in the 1972 Transportation in Dublin plan
On the basis of the issues raised [in 2008] during the design review, Iarnród Éireann [instead proposed] extending DART Underground to terminate within CIÉ lands at Inchicore as opposed to Heuston Station
the [DART Underground] project having been shelved by the Government [in 2011, does] not have government funding [and] was not included in the 10-year National Development Plan published earlier [in 2018]
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