Birdhill
Birdhill ()Placenames Database of Ireland (see archival records) is a village in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...
,
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 ...
.
The station opened on 23 July 1860 as an extension from Castleconnell by the Limerick and Castleconnell Railway. The line was extended to Killaloe on 12 April 1862 and became a junction when the line was further extended from Birdill to Nenagh on 1 June 1864 by the Great Southern & Western Railway creating a through route to Limerick via Ballybrophy. The line to Killaloe lost its passenger services on 17 July 1931 and goods traffics suspended on 29 April 1944 as a Emergency measure by the Great Southern Railways.
It is 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 ...
The station once had a large station house but now has only a
portable building
A portable, demountable or transportable building is a building designed and built to be movable rather than permanently located.
Smaller version of portable buildings are also known as portable cabins. Portable cabins are prefabricated structu ...
. This houses the ticket office and toilet. The station has a car park. A plaque in the station grounds commemorates the 150th anniversary of the station, which took place in 2010. There is also a "Railway Garden" beside the station. The
signal cabin
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetabl ...
has 24 levers and is at the Killonan end of the Up platform (which is not in service) and is a crossing point and blockpost, using "C" pattern staff. Both the signal cabin and railway bridge are both listed as protected structures by
Tipperary County Council
Tipperary County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Thiobraid Árann) is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It came into operation on 3 June ...
(RPS Refs S708 and S709).
Closure proposed
A January 2012 national newspaper article suggested that
Irish Rail
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
was expected to seek permission from the National Transport Authority to close the line. In response, the timetable was altered during 2012, and the service was again reduced from February 2013. 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.