Ballybrophy railway station

Ballybrophy is a railway station at Ballybrophy, County Laois, Ireland, near Borris-in-Ossory and Rathdowney. The station is the junction for services to Limerick via Nenagh. Comparatively few services stop there.

Overview

The station opened on 1 September 1847^[1] 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.^[2] This was only possible when trains were clear of the tracks.

The future

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.

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.

Some of those who favour retaining the line have theorised that replacing the current 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. It also offers no advantages over the current through route from Dublin to Limerick via Thurles and the north curve at Limerick Junction. Recent upgrading of the N7 road to motorway also dissuades rail usage.

Closure of Ballybrophy-Roscrea-Nenagh-Limerick line proposed

A January 2012 national newspaper article suggests that Irish Rail is expected to seek permission in the near future from the National Transport Authority to close the line.^[3]

References