Ballybrophy (historically ''Ballybrohy'', from ) is a village in 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 ...

. It had a population of 145 as of the 2002 census, and forms part of the

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 ...

electoral area. It is best known for the Ballybrophy railway station, which is at a junction on the country's main Dublin-Cork railway line.

Transport

Ballybrophy railway station is a connection point between the Dublin-Cork railway 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 ...

. Trains wishing to cross from the

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 ...

to the

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

line must perform time-consuming reversals. The line is lightly travelled, because an alternative routing 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 ...

is quicker and more comfortable owing to newer track and fewer speed restrictions. The station opened on 1 September 1847. Owing to the branch line's turn south to meet the line at Ballybrophy, some of those who favour retaining the line have theorised that continuing the line east with a stop at the more populated Borris-in-Ossory, 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 relaid nearer Limerick in order to eliminate severe speed restrictions. Upgrades to the N7 road (now M7 motorway) also dissuade people from railway usage. A report published in November 2016 suggested that the Limerick-Ballybrophy line was likely to close in 2018 to save money as the route was very lighty used.

References

{{County Laois Towns and villages in County Laois

Transport

See also

References