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Ballybrophy is a
railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
in the village of
Ballybrophy Ballybrophy (historically ''Ballybrohy'', from ) is a village in County Laois, Ireland. It had a population of 145 as of the 2002 census, and forms part of the Borris-in-Ossory electoral area. It is best known for the Ballybrophy railway statio ...
, County Laois,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, halfway between
Borris-in-Ossory Borris-in-Ossory (, or the 'Burgage of Osraige') is a village in west County Laois, Ireland. Bypassed by the M7 motorway on 28 May 2010, the village is situated on the R445 road close to the County Tipperary border between the towns of Mountr ...
and
Rathdowney Rathdowney or Rathdowny () is a town in southwest County Laois, Ireland. It lies some 32 km southwest of Portlaoise in the Irish Midlands, at the point where the R433 regional road from Abbeyleix to Templemore is crossed by the R435 ...
in the Barony of
Clandonagh Clandonagh () is a barony in County Laois (formerly called ''Queen's County'' or ''County Leix''), Republic of Ireland. A barony was a historical subdivision of a county; mainly cadastral rather than administrative. Etymology Clandonagh barony ...
. The station is an exchange point for passengers on Dublin to Cork services to connect to via services.


Station name

The station opened on 1 September 1847 as ''Roscrea & Borris''. It was later renamed ''Roscrea & Parsonstown Junction'' in 1858, and renamed again in 1871 as ''Ballybrophy''.


Facilities

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 Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
and Limerick via
Limerick Junction Limerick Junction ( ga, Gabhal Luimnigh) is the interchange railway station for trains originating in , , , , and stations. The station opened on 3 July 1848. The station was highly noted for its layout which prior to 1967 required every t ...
are no longer required to cross the tracks at ground level, as was previously the case. This was only possible when trains were clear of the tracks.


Proposed developments

Ballybrophy's railway station is a connection point between the main Dublin-Cork main line and the
Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line The Limerick–Ballybrophy line is a railway line connecting the city of Limerick with in County Laois. The line diverges from the Limerick to Limerick Junction railway line at Killonan Junction and continues in a north east direction with fi ...
. The branch line is lightly travelled, as the principal route between Dublin and Limerick is via Limerick Junction. 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 Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
via
Nenagh Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond ...
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 Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...
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 south facing connection at Ballybrophy with a new line east to the more populated
Borris-in-Ossory Borris-in-Ossory (, or the 'Burgage of Osraige') is a village in west County Laois, Ireland. Bypassed by the M7 motorway on 28 May 2010, the village is situated on the R445 road close to the County Tipperary border between the towns of Mountr ...
, 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. The M7 motorway from Dublin to Limerick also dissuades rail usage.


Proposed closure

In November 2016 it was announced the line was very likely to close in 2018 as the demand for the service was low and CIE/IE wished to close it to save money. This was subsequently ruled out by Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann).


Petitioned upgrades

The North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership have campaigned to improve the
Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line The Limerick–Ballybrophy line is a railway line connecting the city of Limerick with in County Laois. The line diverges from the Limerick to Limerick Junction railway line at Killonan Junction and continues in a north east direction with fi ...
service, including issuing an online petition. It is hoped that, as soon as an ongoing
continuous welded rail A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers ...
(CWR) relay project is completed between
Cloughjordan Cloughjordan, officially Cloghjordan ( , ), is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the barony of Ormond Lower, and it is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. The town is situated in the north-western part of T ...
and
Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...
stations, that further improvements such as the
signalling system In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon. Any quantity that can vary over space or time can be used as a signal to share messages between observers. The ''IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing'' ...
on the
Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line The Limerick–Ballybrophy line is a railway line connecting the city of Limerick with in County Laois. The line diverges from the Limerick to Limerick Junction railway line at Killonan Junction and continues in a north east direction with fi ...
will then be upgraded to help improve the speed limits imposed on trains travelling on the line.


See also

*
List of railway stations in Ireland This article lists railway stations both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The stations in the Republic of Ireland are generally operated by Iarnród Éireann and stations in Northern Ireland are generally operated by NI Railways. ...


References


External links


Ballybrophy-Roscrea-Nenagh-Limerick line


{{DEFAULTSORT:Ballybrophy Halt Iarnród Éireann stations in County Laois Railway stations in County Laois Railway stations opened in 1847 1847 establishments in Ireland Railway stations in Ireland opened in 1847