Docklands Station (''Stáisiún Dugthailte'') is a terminus

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 pre ...

serving the

Dublin Docklands Dublin Docklands ( ga, Ceantar Dugaí Átha Cliath) is an area of the city of Dublin, Ireland, on both sides of the River Liffey, roughly from Talbot Memorial Bridge eastwards to the 3Arena. It mainly falls within the city's D01 and D02 ...

area in

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 is owned and operated by

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...

and planned as part of the Government

Transport 21 Transport 21 was an Irish infrastructure plan, announced in November 2005. Its aims were to greatly expand Ireland's transport network. A cost estimate of €34 billion was attached to the plan at the time. The plan included continuing inves ...

initiative. The island platform station is one of three termini for the ''Western Commuter'' service run by

. The others being

Dublin Connolly Connolly station ( ga, Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile) or Dublin Connolly is one of the busiest railway stations in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterC ...

and

Dublin Pearse Pearse railway station ( ga, Stáisiún na bPiarsach) or Dublin Pearse is a railway station on Westland Row on the Southside of Dublin, Ireland. It is Ireland's busiest commuter station and second busiest station overall (behind Dublin Conno ...

Services

Services run to M3 Parkway during peak times Monday to Friday only. The station is closed Saturday and Sunday. Passengers need to change at

Clonsilla Clonsilla () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Fingal, Ireland. Clonsilla is also a civil parish in the barony of Castleknock in the historic County Dublin. Location and access Clonsilla used to be a small village in the inner western part o ...

for connection with the

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's ...

service.

Transport links

The Luas Red Line does not directly connect with Docklands Station. Instead, commuters have to walk approximately via an indirect route to

Spencer Dock Luas stop Spencer Dock ( ga, Duga Spencer) is a stop on the Luas light-rail tram system in Dublin, Ireland. It opened in 2009 as one of four stops on an extension of the Red Line through the docklands to The Point. The stop is located on a section of ...

or to

Mayor Square - NCI Luas stop Mayor Square - NCI ( ga, Cearnóg an Mhéara - CNÉ) is a stop on the Luas light-rail tram system in Dublin, Ireland. It opened in 2009 as one of four stops on an extension of the Red Line through the docklands to The Point. The stop is lo ...

. The Luas line gives a direct connection to

Busáras Busáras (; from '' bus'' + '' áras'' "building") is the central bus station in Dublin, Ireland for Intercity and regional bus services operated by Bus Éireann. Designed in the International Modern style, Busáras is also a stop on the Red L ...

Bus station and

Dublin Heuston Heuston Station ( ; ga, Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iar ...

. The station is linked to the city centre 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. ...

route 151.

History

The station was officially opened for commuter services by then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Bertie Ahern Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...

at a temporary location on

Sheriff Street Sheriff Street (), known by locals as "Sheriffer" or "The Street", is a street in the north inner city of Dublin, Ireland, lying between East Wall and North Wall and often considered to be part of the North Wall area. It is divided into Sherif ...

in the North Wall area of Dublin's Northside on 12 March 2007, construction

groundbreaking Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or a sod-turning ceremony, is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are o ...

having taken place on 9 March 2006 with Transport Minister Martin Cullen. It is the first new

heavy rail Various terms are used for passenger railway lines and equipment; the usage of these terms differs substantially between areas: Rapid transit A rapid transit system is an electric railway characterized by high speed (~) and rapid accelerati ...

station in Dublin city centre since

Grand Canal Dock Grand Canal Dock () is a Southside area near the city centre of Dublin, Ireland. It is located on the border of eastern Dublin 2 and the westernmost part of Ringsend in Dublin 4, surrounding the Grand Canal Docks, an enclosed harbour where the ...

opened in 2001. It was required because the nearby

Connolly Station Connolly station ( ga, Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile) or Dublin Connolly is one of the busiest railway stations in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterCi ...

had reached capacity and could not support additional commuter services to

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...

. However, in March 2008, it was reported that the transport minister,

Noel Dempsey Noel Dempsey (born 6 January 1953) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Transport from 2007 to 2011, Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources from 2004 to 2007, Minister for Education and Scien ...

, would allow

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 ...

to seek new planning permission to keep the station on a permanent basis as a terminus for services from Maynooth and Navan following his decision to allow the

Railway Procurement Agency The Railway Procurement Agency ( ga, An Ghníomhaireacht um Fháil Iarnród) was a state agency of the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in the Republic of Ireland, charged with the development of light railway and the future metro inf ...

to use

Broadstone Station Broadstone railway station ( ga, Stáisiún An Clocháin Leathan) was the Dublin terminus of the Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR), located in the Dublin suburb of Broadstone. The site also contained the MGWR railway works and a steam ...

for extensions to 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 ...

Proposals

The station was to move to a permanent location in the

Spencer Dock Spencer Dock ( ga, Duga Spencer) is a former wharf area, close to where the Royal Canal meets the River Liffey, in the North Wall area of Dublin, Ireland. As of the 21st century, the area has been redeveloped with occupants of the Spencer Do ...

site as part of the

DART Underground DART Underground ( ga, DART Faoi Thalamh), also known as the Interconnector or DART+ Tunnel, is a proposed mainline-rail tunnel in Dublin, Ireland. First proposed in 1972, it was not funded or scheduled. While the Greater Dublin Transport Stra ...

plan under the government's

initiative. Planning conditions attached to the temporary site stated that it had to be removed by May 2016, however permanent permission was obtained in time to avoid this.http://www.dublincity.ie/swiftlg/apas/run/WPHAPPDETAIL.DisplayUrl?theApnID=3924/15&SearchID=1

References

{{Reflist

External links

Irish Rail Docklands Station websiteIrish Rail DART Underground Project WebsiteDublin Docklands Transport MapComment on suitability of Docklands Station
Railway termini in Dublin (city) Iarnród Éireann stations in Dublin (city) Railway stations opened in 2007 2007 establishments in Ireland Dublin Docklands