Athlone railway station is a station which serves the town of Athlone in County Roscommon and County Westmeath. It is located in the town on the east side of the river Shannon.
The station is an interchange station between the Dublin-Galway and Dublin-Westport rail services.[1] In addition it is located adjacent to the town's bus station.
There are three platforms, of which Numbers 2 and 3 are an island platform.
Athlone has had two Railway stations of varying roles over time. They are on opposite sides of the River Shannon, connected by the White Bridge.
Midland Great Western Railwayedit
The first of these was built by the Midland Great Western Railway and opened on 1 August 1851. Designed by J.S. Mulvany, it has a long, rather austere façade, in an Italianate style. The two-storey building has a staggering seventeen-bay façade which is broken by four breakfronts. It connected Galway and Dublin via the MGWR mainline, which ran between Dublin Broadstone railway station, Mullingar and Athlone via Moate. Since 1985 it has served as engineering offices and stores for Irish Rail.[2]
Great Southern and Western Railwayedit
The second was opened in 1859 by the Great Southern and Western Railway that reached Galway via a branch of the Cork main line. For many years there was great rivalry between the two railway companies who developed the railway stations in Athlone but this was subsequently solved by arbitration.[citation needed]
In the 1920s this station was designated as the goods station for Athlone and served in that capacity until 1985 when it became the mainline railway station for the town. The design, by Wilkinson, is a simple but elegant Italianate style of five-bays and two storeys. The success of the design is in its simplicity and in the decorative features. The entrance with its three arches supported on Doric pillars and the attractive ashlar architraves on the windows all add elegance to this piece of Irish railway architecture.[citation needed]
Great Southern Railwaysedit
In 1924, the MGWR and GSWR were merged into a single company, Great Southern Railways, which rationalised all passenger services to Galway through the old MGWR station in Athlone, leaving the GSWR station primarily as a goods terminal. This changed in the 1970s and 1980s, when the national transport operator Córas Iompair Éireann switched most of its passenger services to the GSWR route via Portarlington, with the consequence that the old GSWR station was renovated and the MGWR station closed.[3][4]
The closed MGWR station, seen from a passing train.
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For the railway station in Australia see Athlone railway station Victoria This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Athlone railway station news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2015 Learn how and when to remove this message Athlone railway station is a station which serves the town of Athlone in County Roscommon and County Westmeath It is located in the town on the east side of the river Shannon AthloneBaile Atha LuainGeneral informationLocationSouthern Station Road Athlone County Westmeath N37 DF24IrelandCoordinates53 25 38 N 7 56 12 W 53 42722 N 7 93667 W 53 42722 7 93667Owned byIarnrod EireannOperated byIarnrod EireannPlatforms3Bus routes11Bus operatorsBus EireannTFI Local LinkConnections707273190440461466819850A1A2ConstructionStructure typeAt gradeOther informationStation codeATLNEFare zoneKHistoryOpened1859 The old MGWR station vteDublin toGalway Westport Legend Yearclosed Phoenix Park Tunnelto Dublin Connolly Luas Red Lineto Dublin Connolly amp The Point Dublin Heuston Luas Red Lineto Tallaght amp Saggart Inchicore Works Park West andCherry Orchard Clondalkin Fonthill Kishoge Adamstown Hazelhatch and Celbridge Straffan 1947 Sallins and Naas Newbridge Kildare Dublin Waterford line Monasterevin Portarlington Dublin to Cork line Tullamore Horseleap Branchto Mullingar 1964 Clara Athlone Ballinasloe Woodlawn Attymon Western Railway Corridorto Limerick Athenry Oranmore Galway Roscommon Castlerea Ballyhaunis Claremorris to Collooney Manulla Junction Exchangeonly Foxford Ballina Castlebar Westport to Achill 1937 Westport Quay 1978 The station is an interchange station between the Dublin Galway and Dublin Westport rail services 1 In addition it is located adjacent to the town s bus station There are three platforms of which Numbers 2 and 3 are an island platform Contents 1 History 1 1 Midland Great Western Railway 1 2 Great Southern and Western Railway 1 3 Great Southern Railways 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory editAthlone has had two Railway stations of varying roles over time They are on opposite sides of the River Shannon connected by the White Bridge Midland Great Western Railway edit The first of these was built by the Midland Great Western Railway and opened on 1 August 1851 Designed by J S Mulvany it has a long rather austere facade in an Italianate style The two storey building has a staggering seventeen bay facade which is broken by four breakfronts It connected Galway and Dublin via the MGWR mainline which ran between Dublin Broadstone railway station Mullingar and Athlone via Moate Since 1985 it has served as engineering offices and stores for Irish Rail 2 Great Southern and Western Railway edit The second was opened in 1859 by the Great Southern and Western Railway that reached Galway via a branch of the Cork main line For many years there was great rivalry between the two railway companies who developed the railway stations in Athlone but this was subsequently solved by arbitration citation needed In the 1920s this station was designated as the goods station for Athlone and served in that capacity until 1985 when it became the mainline railway station for the town The design by Wilkinson is a simple but elegant Italianate style of five bays and two storeys The success of the design is in its simplicity and in the decorative features The entrance with its three arches supported on Doric pillars and the attractive ashlar architraves on the windows all add elegance to this piece of Irish railway architecture citation needed Great Southern Railways edit In 1924 the MGWR and GSWR were merged into a single company Great Southern Railways which rationalised all passenger services to Galway through the old MGWR station in Athlone leaving the GSWR station primarily as a goods terminal This changed in the 1970s and 1980s when the national transport operator Coras Iompair Eireann switched most of its passenger services to the GSWR route via Portarlington with the consequence that the old GSWR station was renovated and the MGWR station closed 3 4 nbsp The closed MGWR station seen from a passing train See also editList of railway stations in IrelandReferences edit Timetables Irish Rail Archived from the original on 2 April 2019 Retrieved 13 August 2012 untitled Archived from the original on 14 September 2011 History of Athlone Buildings of Note Athlone ie Archived from the original on 18 May 2011 untitled Archived from the original on 14 September 2011 External links editIrish Rail Athlone Station Preceding station nbsp Iarnrod Eireann Following station Clara InterCityDublin Westport Galway railway line via Portarlington Ballinasloe InterCityDublin Westport Galway railway line via Ballyhaunis Roscommon Disused railways MoateLine and station closed Midland Great Western RailwayDublin Galway via Mullingar Ballinasloe 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