Ballybrophy is a railway station in the village of Ballybrophy, County Laois, Ireland, halfway between Borris-in-Ossory and Rathdowney in the Barony of Clandonagh.
Ballybrophy Baile Uí Bhróithe  | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Ballybrophy Station | |||||||||||||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Station Road, Ballybrophy, County Laois, R32 DW66 Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°53′58″N 7°36′9″W / 52.89944°N 7.60250°W | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Owned by | Iarnród Éireann | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Operated by | Iarnród Éireann | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Platforms | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Construction | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Structure type | At-grade | ||||||||||||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Opened | 1847 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The station is an exchange point for passengers on Dublin to Cork services to connect to Limerick via Nenagh services.[1]
Station Name
The name of the station has changed 3 times to date, originally it was named Borris & Roscrea when it opened in 1847. It was then changed to Roscrea & Parsonstown Junction in 1857. It was finally changed to Ballybrophy in 1870.
It has recently been suggested that the name of the Ballybrophy railway station should be amended to "Ballybrophy & Nenagh Junction" Railway Station. As this would better reflect who, what and where the station and the junction connection with the Nenagh branch on the Limerick - Ballybrophy the railway line was originally intended to serve.
This would help to simplify the railway system for passengers and tourists not familiar with the Irish Rail network.
Overview
The station opened on 1 September 1847[2] as Roscrea & Borris, was renamed Roscrea & Parsonstown Junction in 1858, and renamed again in 1871 as Ballybrophy.
Lifts were fitted to the footbridge in late 2007. Therefore, disabled passengers who cannot use steps and are boarding or alighting from trains to Cork and Limerick via Limerick Junction are no longer required to cross the tracks at ground level, as was previously the case.[3] This was only possible when trains were clear of the tracks.
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Proposed developments
Ballybrophy's railway station is a connection point between the main Dublin-Cork main line and the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line. The branch line is lightly travelled, as the principal route between Dublin and Limerick is via Limerick Junction. This is faster and more comfortable due to higher line speeds. Since the introduction of a two-hourly Dublin-Limerick service in 2008, this journey does not usually require a change of train.[citation needed]
Up until the mid-1980s the line to Limerick via Nenagh diverged from the mainline via a junction that faced Cork. This was replaced by a siding connection when the mainline was resignalled. For trains to enter the Nenagh branch from the Dublin bound mainline requires trains to set back into the bay platform before proceeding to Nenagh and Limerick. A train travelling from Dublin to Limerick via Nenagh would need to set back from the Down mainline onto the Up mainline before pulling forward into the bay platform. Prior to 1967, the only route from Dublin to Limerick that did not entail a reversal was via Athenry and the former Sligo to Limerick line of the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway.[citation needed]
Some of those who favour retaining the line have theorised that replacing the south facing connection at Ballybrophy with a new line east to the more populated Borris-in-Ossory, and joining the line nearer Portlaoise would be better for Dublin connections. However, in addition to the substantial capital cost of this work, substantial parts of the line would still need to be re-laid nearer Limerick to eliminate severe speed restrictions.[citation needed] It also offers no advantages over the current through route from Dublin to Limerick via Thurles and the north curve at Limerick Junction.[citation needed] The M7 motorway from Dublin to Limerick also dissuades rail usage.[citation needed]
Proposed closure of Ballybrophy-Nenagh-Limerick line
In November 2016 it was announced the line was very likely to close in 2018 as the demand for the service is very low and CIE/IE wish to close it to save money.[4] This was subsequently ruled out by Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann).[5]
Proposed upgrade of Ballybrophy-Nenagh-Limerick line
The North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership have campaigned to improve the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line service, including issuing an online petition in .[6][better source needed]
There is a phased continuous welded rail (CWR) track relay project being carried out on the line over the last few years. There is currently ~12 miles of the old jointed track left to be replaced with CWR in the relay project. The majority of the remaining jointed track yet to be relayed is between Cloughjordan and Roscrea stations.[citation needed]
It is hoped[by whom?] as soon as this CWR relay project is completed, the signalling system on the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line will then be upgraded which will help improve the speed limits imposed on trains travelling on the line.
See also
References
- ^ "Timetables". Irish Rail. Archived from the original on 2 April 2019. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
- ^ "Ballybrophy station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 5 September 2007.
- ^ "Ballybrophy". Irish Rail.
- ^ "Rail Review 2016" (PDF). Ireland: National Transport Authority. August 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
- ^ "Rail closure claims rejected by Iarnród Éireann; Taoiseach rules out rail lines being axed". Irish Examiner. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
- ^ https://www.nenaghguardian.ie/2021/01/21/rail-group-welcomes-investment-in-local-line/.
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