Kilkenny railway station

Kilkenny railway station (MacDonagh Station) serves the city of Kilkenny in County Kilkenny. It is on a short spur off the main railway line, from Lavistown Junction, a distance of approximately 4.5km. Originally, this required trains to exit the station in the same direction from which they entered. This meant moving the locomotive from one end to the other; however, nowadays the new IE 22000 Class railcars which stop the need for a turnaround.

The station opened on 12 May 1848.^[1] It was given the name MacDonagh on 10 April 1966 in commemoration of Thomas MacDonagh, one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916.

Previous Station

The old station can be seen at the bottom of the platforms, facing north. There were 3 platforms: 2 through, and 1 bay facing Waterford/Dublin Via Carlow. The two through tracks carried on over a bridge, onwards to Maryborough (Now Portlaoise) or Castlecomer. This allowed running of trains from Dublin to Waterford without the need for a runaround. However when many rural lines in the Irish Railway network shut down, the station reverted to its current state. The Old Building had gender-separate waiting rooms, and an underpass to the island platform. Formerly, locomotives would runaround here, although since 2011 this is not possible.

The Station Today

In 2011 track north of the two platforms were lifted, and filled in with platform. This provides a direct level link to Platform 2 as the Footbridge was difficult to climb during cold weather. This creates a layout similar to Howth railway station and abolished the runaround facility. The station building is in the old cargo shed, and is equipped with

• 1 TVM
• A ticket office
• A now defunct FasTrack office
• A small shop
• Toilets

It is fully accessible with a ramp from outside. Bus Éireann services 007 and 073 stop outside the station.

References

1. ^ "Kilkenny station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-05.