54°21′24″N6°39′26″W / 54.3568°N 6.6573°W /54.3568; -6.6573
Armagh | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Loughgall Road in Armagh – the old GNRI railway station was where theUlsterbus sign (extreme right) is today | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Armagh,County Armagh Northern Ireland UK | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Ulster Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | Great Northern Railway (Ireland) | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1 March 1848 | Station opened | ||||
| 1865 | Newry and Armagh Railway completed | ||||
| 12 June 1889 | Armagh rail disaster | ||||
| 1910 | Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway completed | ||||
| 1932 | passenger service withdrawn from Armagh – Keady section of CKA | ||||
| 1933 | Armagh – Markethill section of N&A closed | ||||
| 1 October 1957 | Station closed | ||||
| |||||
Armagh railway station was a railway station that servedArmagh inCounty Armagh,Northern Ireland.
TheUlster Railway opened Armagh station in 1848, linking the city withBelfast.[1] The Ulster Railway was extended from Armagh toMonaghan in 1858[1] andClones in 1863.[2]
TheNewry and Armagh Railway (N&A) opened in 1864, and had its own temporary terminus just outside Armagh until it started using the Ulster Railway station in 1865.[1]
TheCastleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway (CK&A) was completed in 1910.[1] In 1876 the Ulster Railway became part of the newGreat Northern Railway (GNR), which took over the N&A in 1879 and the CKA in 1911.[3]
TheArmagh rail disaster, which killed 80 people and injured 260, occurred on 12 June 1889 on the N&A line near Armagh.[4] Anexcursion train had to climb a steep gradient, but the locomotive stalled. The crew decided to divide the train but, when they did so, the rear portion had inadequate brake power and ran back down the gradient, colliding with a following train. Most of the eighty people killed were women. It was previously thought that more children were killed, but most children were saved by jumping out of windows.
Thepartition of Ireland in 1922 hastened the railways' decline, and the GNR closed theKeady –Castleblayney section of the CKA in 1923.[5] The GNR withdrew passenger trains from the Armagh – Keady section of the CKA in 1932 and closed the Armagh –Markethill section of the N&A in 1933.[5] TheGovernment of Northern Ireland made the GNR Board close the remaining lines serving Armagh on Monday 1 October 1957: the goods branch from Armagh to Keady and the main line through Armagh fromPortadown as far as the border atGlaslough on the way to Monaghan.[5][6]
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richhill Line and station closed | Ulster Railway | Killylea Line and station closed | ||
| Richhill Line and station closed | Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Portadown to Clones 1876-1936 | Killylea Line and station closed | ||
| Retreat Halt Line and station closed | Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Portadown to Clones 1936-1957 | Killylea Line and station closed | ||
| Terminus | Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Castleblayney, Keady and Armagh Railway | Irish Street Halt Line and station closed | ||
| Hamiltonsbawn Line and station closed | Great Northern Railway Newry and Armagh Railway | Terminus | ||
| Proposed Services | ||||
| Monaghan | All-Island Strategic Rail Review Mullingar-Portadown Line | Portadown | ||
As of 2013, it was reported that a future reopened railway line toPortadown was under consideration.[7] The then minister for Northern Ireland'sDepartment for Regional Development,Danny Kennedy, indicated possible railway restoration plans.[8] In proposals, published in 2014, the Armagh Line was also included in a list of potential projects.[9]
The All-Island Strategic Rail Review published in 2023 recommended the reinstatement of services to the station as part of a line betweenMullingar andPortadown.[10]
