Dublin Connolly railway station

History

The station opened on 29 November 1844 by the Dublin and Drogheda Railway Company as Dublin Station, but was renamed Amiens Street Station ten years later after the street on which it is located. Originally the station served only a single mainline to Drogheda, and in 1853 through services to Belfast commenced. In 1891, the City of Dublin Junction Railway connected the station with Westland Row Station (now Pearse Station) on the city's South side. The City of Dublin Junction had a separate station known as Amiens Street Junction consisting of the present platforms 5, 6, and 7 (currently used by DART and Commuter services) with a separate street entrance. After the amalgamation of the GNR (I) at the end of the 1950s, this station became part of Amiens Street and the separate entrance fell into disuse. The City of Dublin Junction Railway allowed services to run from Amiens Street through to Westland Row to Rosslare and the South East. Services to Sligo were transferred to Westland Row (Pearse Station) running non-stop through the station in 1937, with the closure of Broadstone Station by CIÉ (see also MGWR). Services to Galway and Mayo also terminated at Westland Row, operating through Connolly Station after 1937, running via Mullingar and Athlone. This was discontinued in the 1970s in favour of running services from Heuston Station. Sunday trains to Cork, Limerick and Waterford during the 1960s operated from Connolly platforms 5, 6 and 7 through the Phoenix Park Tunnel, so as to avoid the cost of opening Heuston for the limited Sunday traffic demand at that time.

In 1941 the station took a direct hit from a German bomb.

In 1966, the 50th anniversary of the Easter Rising, the station's name was changed to Connolly Station after Irish revolutionary and socialist James Connolly. At the same time, other main stations were renamed after patriots executed for their roles in the Rising.

At the commencement of DART services in 1984, the City of Dublin Junction Railway entrance was refurbished and reopened for commuters.

During the late 1990s, Connolly Station was completely renovated and partially rebuilt. An entirely new station hall was built, the roof over platforms 1 to 4 was replaced, and a new bar/café and shops were installed. The former DART/Suburban station entrance (City of Dublin Junction Railway entrance) and the secondary station hall built with the DART (further north on Amiens Street) were again closed, but a new entrance on the International Financial Services Centre side was opened. The Luas Red Line began serving the station in 2004. As part of the preparation for this, the ramp that had been a bus terminus was demolished and replaced with a two-platform tram station connected to the main concourse by escalators and lift.

Docklands railway station

The opening of Docklands Station in March 2007 has provided an extra terminus station to take pressure from Dublin Connolly. During Monday to Friday peak times, trains from M3 Parkway and Dunboyne arrive at Docklands. It also provides an alternative terminus for the Western Commuter line to Mullingar if needed.

Docklands is the planned terminus for services to Navan.

As part of the DART Underground, Docklands will be replaced or supplemented by a new underground Spencer Dock station; this will further increase capacity in Connolly Station.

City Centre Resignalling Project

According to Iarnród Éireann, the project has provided the ability to operate 20 trains per hour in both directions through the Howth Junction to Grand Canal Dock line, which caters for Howth DARTs, Malahide DARTs, Northern Commuter trains, Belfast Enterprise services, Sligo InterCity, Western and South Western Commuter services, as well as other services in the Connolly to Grand Canal Dock area. This mean that more trains travel through Connolly rather than terminating; it has also facilitated the use of the Phoenix Park rail tunnel for commuter rail connections. The project began in March 2015 and was commissioned on 17 July 2016.

Services

Connolly has seven platforms; four terminal (1-4) for trains from Northern Ireland, and three through - the former Amiens Street Junction station - (5-7), for trains from the South. The ticket office is open from 06:30 hrs to 19:00 hrs, Monday to Sunday.

InterCity

There are three InterCity routes served:

DART and Commuter

Commuter services run on the same routes, as far as Drogheda, Dundalk, Maynooth, Newbridge and Gorey or Enniscorthy. DART uses platforms equipped with overhead wires (Platforms 4, 5, 6, and 7). Terminal platform 4 is also electrified, which is used by one DART service daily, Monday to Friday, the 07:50 to Malahide.

Connolly Station Area Redevelopment

This project will involve redeveloping the east section of the Connolly station area "to provide 81,500 sq. m. of mixed commercial, residential community and leisure uses comprising 50,200 sq. m. of office accommodation; 106 apartments; a hotel; retail and restaurants and a crèche."

In April 2012 CIÉ received planning approval from Dublin city Council for the redevelopment. The project will not go ahead until property market in Dublin improves and CIÉ can acquire private sector funding. This project was put to tender by CIÉ in Autumn 2015.

Connections

While Connolly mainly connects Dublin to the East Coast of Ireland and to Sligo, Dublin Heuston serves the South and West of the country. Connolly Station is connected to Heuston via the Luas tram. Rail links connect the two stations passing through a tunnel under the Phoenix Park. Since 21 November 2016, passenger services regularly use it. Up until then, its main purpose was the transfer of rolling stock and locomotives (the main service depot is at Inchicore, just outside Heuston).

Rail and ferry connections at Dublin Port

The station is connected by bus to Dublin Port with Stena Line ferries from the Ferry Terminal to Holyhead, with connecting trains along the North Wales Coast Line to Bangor (Gwynedd) railway station, Llandudno Junction, Colwyn Bay, Rhyl, Prestatyn, Chester, Crewe and stations to London Euston. SailRail is promoted as a viable alternative to air transport by using trains and ferries to reach places across the Irish Sea.

Holyhead can also be reached by Irish Ferries or Stena Line from Dublin Port, reached by walking beside the tram lines around the corner from Amiens Street, Dublin into Store Street or by Luas one stop to Busáras where Dublin Bus operates a service to the Ferry Terminal, or Dublin Bus route 53 or to take a taxi.

Former ferry and DART connection at Dún Laoghaire

The ferry service from Dún Laoghaire was discontinued indefinitely in September 2014. Passengers traveled on the DART to Dún Laoghaire to sail using the Stena Line service. Now the route is a bus via Dublin Port to Holyhead as above.

Rail and ferry connections at Rosslare Europort

InterCity trains from Connolly to Rosslare Europort connect with the evening ferry to Fishguard Harbour with through ticketing to places including Carmarthen, Llanelli and Swansea.

Irish Ferries and Stena Line operate ferries from Rosslare Europort to Cherbourg in France. There is also a seasonal route to Roscoff operated by Irish Ferries.