Limerick Station ( ga, Stáisiún Luimnigh) also known as Colbert Station ( ga, Stáisiún Uí Cholbáird) or Limerick Colbert serves the city of

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 2 ...

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

. It is on Parnell Street and is the main station on the

Limerick Suburban Rail Limerick Suburban Rail ( ga, Iarnród Fo-uirbeach Luimnigh) are a group of Iarnród Éireann commuter train services from Limerick Colbert to various other destinations on three different lines. * Limerick – Ennis, calling at Sixmilebridge * L ...

network. It has approximately 2,500 rail passengers a day travelling on four rail routes. The Bus Éireann bus station on site services approximately one million passengers a year, with 125 buses departing each day.

Services

The station is the terminus of the Dublin–Limerick, Limerick–Nenagh–Ballybrophy and Limerick–Ennis–Galway lines. Connections for

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 ...

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical barony of Iffa and Offa East. The part on the so ...

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

and Kerry stations, such as

Killarney Killarney ( ; ga, Cill Airne , meaning 'church of sloes') is a town in County Kerry, southwestern Ireland. The town is on the northeastern shore of Lough Leane, part of Killarney National Park, and is home to St Mary's Cathedral, Ross Castl ...

Farranfore Farranfore () is a village in County Kerry, Ireland. It lies on the N22 road approximately midway between Tralee (10 miles or 17 km) and Killarney (9 miles or 15 km) and on the railway line connecting the two towns. Farranfor ...

and

Tralee Tralee ( ; ga, Trá Lí, ; formerly , meaning 'strand of the Lee River') is the county town of County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The town is on the northern side of the neck of the Dingle Peninsula, and is the largest town in County ...

can be made at

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 tr ...

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidia ...

's Limerick depot is adjacent and offers Intercity, Express and

Eurolines Eurolines is a brand of intercity bus service owned by an international non-profit organisation formed under Belgian law. Using the Eurolines brand, partner bus companies operate service to over 600 destinations in 36 countries of Europe, as well ...

services.

Connecting to Shannon Airport

Buses connect the railway station to

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

History

Limerick Railway Station Fast Excursion to the International Exhibition

The station opened on 28 August 1858, replacing a temporary station further east, which had operated from 9 May 1848. It was built by the

Waterford and Limerick Railway The Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway (WL&WR), formerly the Waterford and Limerick Railway up to 1896, was at the time it was amalgamated with the Great Southern and Western Railway in 1901 the fourth largest railway in Ireland, with a mai ...

(W&LR), which ran its first train, as far as Tipperary, on Tuesday, 9 May 1848, with intermediate stations at Killonan,

Pallasgreen Pallasgreen or Pallasgrean () is a village in East County Limerick, situated on the Limerick–Tipperary N24 road. The name means "the Stockade of Grian," referring to an ancient Irish Goddess of Love, who is associated with the nearby hil ...

and

Oola Oola ( or ) is a village in County Limerick in Ireland. It is near the border with County Tipperary in the midwest of the country. The village is home to a church (Church of The Sacred Heart), a petrol station, a convenience store, two publi ...

(all since closed). Two months later the GS&WR connected their Dublin–Cork line with the W&LR at

, near

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

. The work was carried out at the height of the Great Famine, resulting in extreme financial difficulties for the company. Originally named "Limerick", the station was given the name Colbert on 10 April 1966 in commemoration of

Cornelius Colbert Cornelius Bernard Colbert ( ga, Conchúir Ó Colbáird; 19 October 1888 – 8 May 1916)D.J. Hickey & J. E. Doherty, ''A New Dictionary of Irish History from 1800'', Gill & MacMillan (Dublin), , Pg.75 was an Irish rebel and pioneer of Fianna Éir ...

, one of the executed leaders of the

Easter Rising of 1916 The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the ...

. Other former routes from Limerick station included: * a direct route to Cork via Patrickswell and Charleville (on the Dublin-Cork line) built by the Cork & Limerick Direct Railway * the "North Kerry" line to Foynes, Newcastle West, Listowel and Tralee built in stages by three different companies in the mid to late 19th century * a siding from Limerick Check to Castlemungret cement factory. The direct line to Cork between Patrickswell and Charleville and the North Kerry line between Ballingrane and Tralee were dismantled in the ate 1960s - to be confirmedand in the late 1980s respectively. A single-track remains in place between Limerick Check and Foynes, although disconnected from the network. Parts of the video for the

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...

song " My Love" were filmed at Colbert Station.

Redevelopment

Conditional planning permission was granted by Limerick city and county council for the €16.8m redevelopment of Colbert Station in December 2014. Plan included: Phase 1. A new pedestrian plaza

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

paved area of replacing the car park at the front of the station. Phase 2. Knocking the former toilet block to make way for a new bus station, with the former bus station being converted into the access area for a new 235-space car park. Phase 3. Significant refurbishment of the interior of the railway station with new finishes throughout and provision of a new ticketing office and retail units. Funding of approximately 3 million euro was secured for Phase 1 and work began in Quarter 1, 2015. The disused Fuel Station site was leveled and work completed on-site for a temporary car park in summer/autumn 2015. The temporary parking was used while work on station redevelopment took place. Phase 1 was completed in 2016. During June 2017, extensive re-signalling works took place at Limerick Colbert. These works replaced two life-expired signal cabins that signaled all routes into and out of the station. During this time, platforms 3 and 4 were also straightened, lengthened and resurfaced. In October 2017, one of the former Station Signal cabins was demolished to facilitate the extension of Platforms 1 and 2. Buffer stop arrangements to comply with modern safety requirements, similar to those on Platforms 3 & 4 were also provided for. Separately Limerick council sought in 2015 to redevelop the Parnell Street area including the interface between the street and Colbert station. Plans included a raised platform and new pedestrian crossing across Parnell Street at the entry to Colbert Station to complement the new pedestrian plaza. Work was completed in 2017.

References

External links