Heuston railway station

Not to be confused with Euston railway station or Houston station.

Heuston Station (/ˈhjuːstən/ (listen) HEW-stən; Irish: Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iarnród 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 of Seán Heuston, an executed leader of the 1916 Easter Rising, who had worked in the station's offices.

Dublin Heuston Stáisiún Heuston
The station in late 2006
General information
Location	St John's Road West Dublin 8 D08 E2CV Ireland
Coordinates	53°20′47″N 6°17′33″W / 53.3465°N 6.2925°W / 53.3465; -6.2925
Owned by	Iarnród Éireann
Operated by	Iarnród Éireann
Line(s)	Dublin–Cork line
Platforms	9
Bus routes	C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 26 52 X25 X26 X27 X28 X30 X31 X32 145
Bus stands	2
Bus operators	Dublin Bus
Connections	Luas Red Line
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Platform levels	1
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; 177 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	19,750
2016	19,544
2017	22,296
2018	23,165
2019	22,836
Location
Dublin Heuston Location within Ireland Show map of Ireland Dublin Heuston Dublin Heuston (Dublin) Show map of Dublin Dublin Heuston Dublin Heuston (Central Dublin) Show map of Central Dublin
Notes
Passenger numbers are for a single day of usage in the year mentioned, and are the sum of the year's boardings and alightings. Source:^[4]

v t e Dublin–Cork
Legend
Phoenix Park Tunnel to Dublin Connolly Luas Red Line to Dublin Connolly & The Point Dublin Heuston Luas Red Line to Tallaght & Saggart Inchicore Works Park West and Cherry Orchard † Clondalkin/Fonthill † Kishoge unused Lucan (south) 1947 Adamstown † Hazelhatch and Celbridge † Straffan 1947 Sallins and Naas † Newbridge Curragh Racecourse 1977 Curragh Mainline 1999 Kildare Dublin–Waterford Line Monasterevin † Portarlington Dublin–Westport/Galway line Portlaoise to Kilkenny 1962 Laois Traincare Depot Mountrath 1976 Limerick–Ballybrophy line Ballybrophy Lisduff 1963 Templemore Thurles Goold's Cross 1976 to Cashel 1954 Dundrum 1976 Limerick–Rosslare line to Limerick Colbert and Rosslare Limerick Junction Emly 1963 Knocklong 1977 Kilmallock 1977 Charleville Buttevant 1977 Mallow Mallow–Tralee Line Mourne Abbey 1963 Rathduff 1976 Blarney (GSW) 1963 Cork Kent Cork–Cobh/Midleton line † Not served by services from Dublin to Cork

v t e Dublin to Galway/Westport
Legend
Year closed Phoenix Park Tunnel to Dublin Connolly Luas Red Line to Dublin Connolly & The Point Dublin Heuston Luas Red Line to Tallaght & Saggart Inchicore Works Park West and Cherry 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 Branch to Mullingar 1964 Clara Athlone Ballinasloe Woodlawn Attymon Western Railway Corridor to Limerick Athenry Oranmore Galway Roscommon Castlerea Ballyhaunis Claremorris to Collooney Manulla Junction Exchange only Foxford Ballina Castlebar Westport to Achill 1937 Westport Quay 1978

v t e Dublin–Waterford
Legend
Phoenix Park Tunnel to Dublin Connolly Luas Red Line to Dublin Connolly & The Point Dublin Heuston Luas Red Line to Tallaght & Saggart Inchicore Works Park West and Cherry Orchard M 50 Clondalkin/Fonthill Kishoge Lucan (south) 1947 Adamstown Hazelhatch and Celbridge Grand Canal Straffan 1947 Sallins and Naas River Liffey Newbridge Curragh Racecourse 1977 Curragh Mainline 1999 Kildare to Cork and Westport/Galway M7 motorway Kildangan 1963 Athy Mageney 1963 Carlow Milford 1963 Muine Bheag (Bagenalstown) to Palace East 1963 River Barrow Gowran 1963 to Portlaoise 1963 Kilkenny Lavistown loop line Bennetsbridge 1965 Thomastown River Nore Ballyhale 1963 Mullinavat 1963 Kilmacow 1963 to Limerick to Mallow 1967 Waterford West goods yard Waterford Plunkett to Rosslare 2010

v t e South Western Commuter
Legend
Phoenix Park Tunnel to Dublin Pearse or Grand Canal Dock Luas Red Line to Dublin Connolly or The Point Dublin Heuston Luas Red Line to Tallaght or Saggart   Inchicore Works   Park West and Cherry Orchard M50 motorway Clondalkin/Fonthill Kishoge (planned) Adamstown Hazelhatch and Celbridge The Grand Canal Sallins and Naas The Grand Canal River Liffey Newbridge Kildare Dublin–Waterford Line to Waterford Monasterevin The Grand Canal River Barrow Portarlington Dublin–Westport/Galway Line to Westport or Galway Portlaoise Permanent way depot Conniberry Junction Togher Inland Port (planned) Portlaoise Traincare Depot M7 motorway Dublin–Cork Line to Cork Kent

Interior of the station looking towards the track area in 2018

Ticketing area in 2018

History

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 as Kingsbridge since the completion of the nearby King's Bridge over the River Liffey in 1828.^[7]

The Great 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 to Cashel, County Tipperary argued that Kingsbridge was the better choice for a Dublin terminus over a competing proposal for a Portobello terminus, due to it being conveniently located next to the quays, Smithfield cattle market, hay and straw markets, wool and butter cranes, woollen, cotton, iron and leather warehouses, the Linenhall area, as well as sites of strategic military importance such as the Royal Barracks.^[6]

An Incorporation Act entitled “An Act for Making and Maintaining a Railway from the City of Dublin to the Town of Cashel, with a Branch to the Town of Carlow" 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, from the Right Honorable Henry John 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 the Freeman'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 conventional mail 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 architect Sancton Wood, and the train sheds and infrastructure were designed by Irish-born railway engineer John MacNeill.^[1] Regarding the architectural merits of the passenger terminal, historian Maurice Craig described it thus: "a delightful building, a renaissance palazzo, gay and full-blooded, with fruity swags 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 the Easter Rising, it was renamed "Heuston Station" in honour of Seán Heuston, a young railway worker who commanded a nearby post in the 1916 Easter 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 engineers Buro Happold)^[12] its retail facilities now include a branch of Easons, as well as some dining facilities, including a branch of Supermacs, several cafés, a kiosk, and a large pub.^[13]

A maintenance depot at the Inchicore railway works is located approximately three kilometres (two miles) away and, as with Heuston Station itself, was also opened in 1846.^[14]

Operation

Based on 2019 National 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]}

Rail services

The following services depart Heuston on weekdays:^{[15][needs update]}

• 1 train per hour (tph) to Cork Kent^[15]
• 7 trains per day (tpd) to Waterford Plunkett^[16]
• 1 tp2h to Galway Ceannt^[17]
• 3 tpd to Westport^[18]
• 1 tph to Limerick Colbert (peak times only)^[15]
• 1 tpd to Tralee Casement^[15]
• 1 tph to Portlaoise^[15]
• 1 tpd to Carlow^[15]
• 1 tpd to Athlone^[15]

Heuston is the terminus for the mainline to Cork, and there are key service and transfer points in the Cork-bound direction at:

• Kildare (for stations on the Waterford line)
• Portarlington (for routes to the west via Tullamore and Athlone)
• Portlaoise (end of commuter services from Heuston)
• Ballybrophy (junction for stations on the Limerick-Ballybrophy railway line),
• Limerick Junction (for transfer to Limerick and Ennis services, and Waterford via Clonmel)
• Mallow (junction for Killarney and Tralee, and the start of Cork commuter services).

Preceding station	Iarnród Éireann			Following station
Terminus		InterCity Dublin-Cork		Portlaoise or Thurles
Terminus		InterCity Dublin-Waterford		Hazelhatch and Celbridge or Newbridge
Terminus		InterCity Dublin-Limerick via Thurles		Kildare
Terminus		InterCity Dublin–Galway		Sallins and Naas or Portarlington
Terminus		InterCity Dublin–Westport/Ballina		Portarlington
Terminus		InterCity Dublin-Tralee		Ballybrophy
Terminus		Commuter South Western Commuter		Park West & Cherry Orchard

Links to other main railway stations

Before 2016, the physical rail link between Connolly Station and Heuston via the Phoenix Park Tunnel was usually only used for freight and rolling stock movements. Once or twice a year special trains operated, usually from Cork to Connolly for Gaelic Athletic Association matches at Croke Park. A more regular service along this route began on 21 November 2016.^[19]

The Luas light rail red line connects the two stations (apart from off-peak Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays).^[20]Dublin Bus has a direct service to Connolly, but this operates as a special service for Dublin Airport so fares are not at commuter level.^{[citation needed]}

Platforms

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.

Proposed developments

A 2018 consultation paper for the proposed Dublin MetroLink project included a reference to a potential future station, labelled "Heuston West", with connections via the Phoenix Park Tunnel to Cabra.^[23]

Other plans, first published in the 1970s,^[24][25] suggested that a proposed DART Underground project would link underground stations at Heuston and Pearse 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]

Heuston Luas stop

Heuston
A tram at Heuston in 2005
General information
Location	Dublin Ireland
Coordinates	53°20′48″N 6°17′30″W / 53.34665°N 6.2916934°W / 53.34665; -6.2916934
Owned by	Transdev
Operated by	Luas
Line(s)	Red
Platforms	3
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Fare zone	Central/Red 2
Key dates
26 September 2004	Station opened
Services
Preceding station   Luas Following station James's towards Saggart or Tallaght Red Line Museum towards The Point or Connolly
Location
Heuston Location within Central Dublin

v t e   Luas Red Line
Legend
The Point     Spencer Dock (  Docklands)   Royal Canal   Mayor Square - NCI   George's Dock     Connolly             Busáras     Green Line, southbound (Marlborough Street)   Abbey St     Green Line, northbound (O'Connell Street)   Jervis   Four Courts   Smithfield   Museum   Seán Heuston Bridge over River Liffey   Heuston     James's   Fatima   Rialto   Ann Devlin Bridge over Grand Canal   Suir Road   Goldenbridge   Drimnagh   Blackhorse   Bluebell   Kylemore   M50 Motorway   Red Cow       Depot   Kingswood     Belgard         Cookstown     Hospital     Tallaght     Fettercairn   Cheeverstown     Citywest Campus     Fortunestown     Saggart

Heuston is an interchange with Dublin's Luas 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 the River Liffey on the Seán 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 accessing St. 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 towards Connolly or The Point. The platform nearest St. John's Road West is for southbound trams travelling towards Tallaght and Saggart. 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.

In culture

Exterior shots of the station appeared in the 1978 heist film The First Great Train Robbery purporting to be London Bridge railway station. The station was altered to represent the Victorian era including the erection of offices, signs, posters and horse-drawn transport.^[31]

Gallery

•  

  Facade in 2018

•  

  Cork-Dublin train at Heuston

•  

  Renovated roof

•  

  Heuston interior

See also

• List of railway stations in Ireland
• History of rail transport in Ireland

Notes

1. Registry of Deeds, Dublin. 1847-20-179. Registered 21/12/1847. A Memorial of an Indented Deed of Conveyance bearing date the Twenty eighth day of October in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and forty five made between the Right Honorable (sic) Henry John Lord Viscount Palmerston of the Kingdom of Ireland of the one part and the Great Southern and Western Railway Company Ireland Incorporated by an Act of Parliament made and passed in the seventh and eighth years of the Reign of her present Majesty Queen Victoria intituled “An Act for making and maintaining a Railway from the city of Dublin to the Town of Cashel with a branch to the town of Carlow” of the other part Whereby the said Henry John Lord Viscount Palmerston in consideration of the sum of one thousand six hundred pounds paid to him by the said Great Southern and Western Railway Company the receipt of whereof was thereby acknowledged did convey, grant and release to the said Company, their successors and assigns All That or those the pieces or portions of land adjoining the Military Road situate in the Parish of Saint James in the City of Dublin and also All That and those the pieces or parcels of ground situate in the said Parish of Saint James and County of Dublin containing in the whole one acre and twenty two perches Irish plantation measure…

References

1. "1846 – Heuston Station, Dublin". Architecture of Dublin City. Archiseek. 2010. from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
2. "Rewind - Kingsbridge/Heuston Station". echo.ie. The Echo. 30 August 2018. from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
3. . api.irishrail.ie. Irish Rail. Archived from the original on 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
4. "National Rail Census Report 2019" (PDF). nationaltransport.ie. 2020. pp. 41, 45. (PDF) from the original on 7 March 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
5. (PDF). cie.ie. CIÉ. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 August 2015. The [CIÉ] books of account are kept in Heuston Station, Dublin 8 [..] Secretary of the Board [..] Heuston Station, Dublin 8
6. Jacob, Wm. J. (1 June 1944). "Kingsbridge Terminus". Dublin Historical Record. Dublin: Old Dublin Society. 6 (3): 107–120. JSTOR 30105471.
7. Boyd-Hope, Gary; Beaumont, Jonathan (14 August 2017). "How The Railways Remembered Ireland's 1916 Easter Rising". Railway Magazine. from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
8. Murray & McNeill (1976), pp. 17.
9. Craig, p.322
10. Murray, K. A.; McNeil, D.B. (1976). The Great Southern & Western Railway. Irish Record Railway Society. pp. 170, 171. ISBN 0904078051.
11. "A New Improved Heuston Station 2002". rte.ie. RTÉ. 22 August 2002. from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
12. "Heuston Station". quinnarchitects.ie. Quinn Architects. 26 April 2012. from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
13. "M&S Simply Food Opens in Heuston Station". 98fm.ie. 98FM. 3 March 2017. from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
14. "Inchicore Railway Works, Dublin 8, Dublin City". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
15. (PDF). irishrail.ie. Irish Rail. 26 September 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
16. "Dublin - Waterford" (PDF). irishrail.ie. Irish Rail. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
17. "Dublin - Galway" (PDF). irishrail.ie. Irish Rail. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
18. "Dublin - Westport & Ballina" (PDF). irishrail.ie. Irish Rail.
19. "Plans for four trains an hour in Phoenix Park tunnel next year". The Herald. 9 March 2015. from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
20. . luas.ie. Luas. Archived from the original on 30 November 2011.
21. "Heuston to have four new platforms". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 15 February 2002. from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018. Iarnrod Éireann is planning four new platforms for Heuston Station [..] The four new platforms will be added to the existing five
22. . irrs.ie. Irish Railway Record Society. 2002. Archived from the original on 31 October 2017.
23. "Metrolink Public Consultation Document" (PDF). data.tii.ie. Transport Infrastructure Ireland. 2018. (PDF) from the original on 27 March 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
24. "Whatever happened to... An underground rail line through Dublin's city centre?". thejournal.ie. The Journal. 3 August 2017. from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
25. "Could an underground Dart solve Dublin's traffic gridlock? It's being considered". thejournal.ie. The Journal. 5 February 2018. from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018. the Dart Underground, previously known as the Interconnector [was] Originally conceived of in the 1972 Transportation in Dublin plan
26. . irishrail.ie. Irish Rail. Archived from the original on 3 March 2015.
27. DART Expansion Programme Business Case (PDF) (Report). Irish Rail. 24 April 2015. p. 46. (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2018. 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
28. "Office plan scrapped to facilitate shelved Dart Underground". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 5 June 2018. from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018. 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]
29. . Archived from the original on 28 February 2008.
30. "Heuston · Saint James' (Part of Phoenix Park), Dublin, Ireland".
31. McCormack, Stan (13 August 2020). "When the movies came to town". Westmeath Examiner. Retrieved 19 July 2022.

Sources

• Craig, Maurice (1952). Dublin 1660-1860: The Shaping of a City. Dublin: Liberties Press. ISBN 978-1905483112.
• Murray, K.A.; McNeill, D.B. (1976). Great Southern & Western Railway. Dublin: Irish Railway Record Society. ISBN 0-904078-05-1.

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dublin Heuston railway station.

• Luas Heuston Stop information