Beechwood ( ga, Coill na Feá) is a stop on the

Luas Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both lin ...

light rail tram system in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland which serves the southern parts of

Rathmines Rathmines () is an affluent inner suburb on the Southside of Dublin in Ireland. It lies three kilometres south of the city centre. It begins at the southern side of the Grand Canal and stretches along the Rathmines Road as far as Rathgar to t ...

. It opened in 2004 as a stop on the Green Line, which re-uses the alignment of the

Harcourt Street railway line The Harcourt Street Railway Line ( ga, Seanlíne Iarnróid Shráid Fhearchair) was a railway line that ran from ''Harcourt Street'' in Dublin through the southern suburbs to Bray. It was one of the Dublin and South Eastern Railway's two northe ...

which closed in 1958. Beechwood Luas stop is located on the same site as a station on the old line called Rathmines and Ranelagh.

History

Railway station (1896-1958)

The

was built by the

Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway The Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER), often referred to as the Slow and Easy, was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland from 1846 to 1925. It carried 4,626,226 passengers in 1911. It was the fourth largest railway operation in Ireland ope ...

and opened in 1854, running from a temporary terminus at Harcourt Road near the city centre to Bray. Rathmines and Ranelagh was added as an

infill station An infill station (sometimes in-fill station) is a train station built on an existing passenger rail, rapid transit, or light rail line to address demand in a location between existing stations. Such stations take advantage of existing train serv ...

in 1896. The station was located on an embankment to the south of Dunville Avenue. There were station buildings on both platforms, which were accessed via a subway under the tracks with white tiles lining the walls. The station's name was shortened to ''Ranelagh'' in 1921, and the timber platforms were replaced with concrete ones in 1943.

Closure (1959-2004)

The Harcourt Street line had declined in use throughout the early 20th centaury and was closed by

CIÉ Córas Iompair Éireann (''Irish Transport Company''), or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the republic and jointly with its Northern Ireland counter ...

at the end of 1958. The tracks were lifted soon after and all stations on the route were auctioned off. In the years that followed, the buildings and platforms at Ranelagh were demolished.

Luas (2004-present)

Construction of the first phase of the Luas system commenced in 2001 and concluded in 2004. The route chosen for the Green Line re-used the old Harcourt Street alignment between Charlemont and

Stillorgan Stillorgan (, also ''Stigh Lorcáin'' and previously ''Tigh Lorcáin'' or ''Teach Lorcáin''), formerly a village in its own right, is now a suburban area of Dublin in Ireland. Stillorgan is located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, and contains ma ...

. The stop which was built on the site of the old Ranelagh station is called ''Beechwood'' (a separate stop called ''

Ranelagh Ranelagh ( , ; ) is an affluent residential area and urban village on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland in the postal district of D06. History The district was originally a village known as Cullenswood just outside Dublin, surrounded by lande ...

'' was built around 500m up the line). During the construction of the Luas line, the level of the track bed was lowered by several metres and the remains of the subway were demolished. The Luas line now crosses Dunville Avenue at-grade. The stop was built with two side platforms, which have the furniture common to all Luas stops. The only entrance is from Dunville Avenue. In the place of a former ticket office, a small building was built and used as a retail unit. Currently used as a coffee shop, it opens directly onto the northbound platform and most of its trade comes from passengers awaiting their tram. In 2018, the platforms were lengthened from 45 to 55 metres. This was to accommodate the new longer trams introduced to boost capacity.

Future

When plans for the MetroLink were published, it was envisaged that the new line would subsume the existing Green Line from Charlemont to

Sandyford Sandyford () is a suburb of Dublin, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. Sandyford Business District makes up much of the suburb and encompasses 4 business parks: Sandyford Business Park, Stillorgan Business Park, Central Park and S ...

Transport Infrastructure Ireland Transport Infrastructure Ireland ( ga, Bonneagar Iompair Éireann) is a state agency in Ireland dealing with road and public transport infrastructure. The body was established in 2015 by merging the former National Roads Authority and Railway P ...

planned to close all level crossings on the line. To this end, the plan was to close road access across Dunville Avenue and replace it with a footbridge. The plan met with opposition from local businesses including the owner of the coffee shop, who argued that road closure would stifle local communication and economy. Plans to upgrade the Green Line to Metro standards have since been postponed.

Service

Trams run every 5–10 minutes and terminate at either Parnell or Broombridge in the north, and

or Brides Glen in the south. The stop is also served by

Dublin Bus Dublin Bus ( ga, Bus Átha Cliath) is a State-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 138 million passengers in 2019. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. ...

routes 11, 44, and 61.

References

{{Reflist Luas Green Line stops in Dublin (city) Disused railway stations in County Dublin Railway stations opened in 1896 Railway stations closed in 1958 1896 establishments in Ireland Railway stations in the Republic of Ireland opened in the 19th century