Newry railway station ( ga, Stáisiún Iúr Cinn Trá) serves

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

and

Bessbrook Bessbrook is a village in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It lies about three miles (5 km) northwest of Newry and near the Newry bypass on the main A1 Belfast-Dublin road and Belfast-Dublin railway line. Today the village of Bessbrook str ...

in Northern Ireland. The station is located in the northwest of Newry,

County Armagh County Armagh (, named after its county town, Armagh) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the southern shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and ha ...

on the Dublin-Belfast line close to the

Craigmore Viaduct Craigmore may refer to one of the following places: * Craigmore (hill), in the Trossachs, Scotland * Craigmore, part of Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Scotland * Craigmore, Nova Scotia, Canada * Craigmore, South Australia Craigmore is a large suburb ...

History

The port of

was already a transport hub by 1742 with the opening of the

Newry Canal The Newry Canal, located in Northern Ireland, was built to link the Tyrone coalfields (via Lough Neagh and the River Bann) to the Irish Sea at Carlingford Lough near Newry. It was the first summit level canal to be built in Ireland or Great ...

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

. By the start of the twentieth century Newry had become a railway hub, with the Belfast to Dublin line passing to the west of the town, while lines from the ports of

Warrenpoint Warrenpoint ( ga, An Pointe) is a small port town and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits at the head of Carlingford Lough, south of Newry, and is separated from the Republic of Ireland by a narrow strait. The town is beside ...

and

Greenore Greenore () is a village, townland and deep water port on Carlingford Lough in County Louth, Ireland. History A lighthouse was built on Greenore Point in 1830. Several decades later, the Dundalk and Greenore Railway Act of 1863 authorised th ...

either side of

Carlingford Lough Carlingford Lough (, Ulster Scots: ''Carlinford Loch'') is a glacial fjord or sea inlet in northeastern Ireland, forming part of the border between Northern Ireland to the north and the Republic of Ireland to the south. On its northern shore i ...

converged closer to the centre of town where stations were more conveniently situated. All converged at to the north of Newry where a line also diverged off to the north-west towards

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

. The current Newry station originally opened in 1855 as ''Newry Main Line'', renamed ''Bessbrook & Newry Main Line'' in 1866, renamed again as ''Bessbrook'' in 1880 before closing in 1942. With this closure Newry was served by the Edward Street station, however this was to close with the Warrenpoint branch in 1965, leaving Newry with no railway station. The station re-opened in 1984 as an NIR Intercity station, with basic facilities such as a temporary booking office. These facilities remained in place for over 20 years from the station's opening by which time their condition was deteriorating. In order to improve facilities for passengers a modern new station building was constructed and officially opened on 26 November 2009.

Other stations in Newry

* Albert Basin, on the canal branch. * Armagh Road, temporary station at Mullaghlass on main line. * Bridge Street,

Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway The Dundalk, Newry and Greenore Railway (DNGR, DN&GR) was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland. It was conceived in the 1860s to provide a link between the towns in its title and the London and North Western Railway port at Greenore, from ...

station. * Dublin Bridge,

Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Railway The Newry, Warrenpoint and Rostrevor Railway (NW&RR) was a former railway line linking Newry and the port of Warrenpoint on the Carlingford Lough inlet in Ireland, and the company operating it. The railway was absorbed into the Great Northern ...

(NW&RR). * Edward Street, Opened by the Newry and Armagh Railway (then Newry and Enniskillen) in 1854. * Kilmorey Street, Original terminus of NW&RR.

Service

The station is a calling point on the

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

express service, which operates between and . These trains call at Newry for both destinations at two-hour intervals throughout the day. The station experiences favourable passenger numbers from this service. There are also four trains to and from Bangor, operated by

Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent ...

. On Sundays, there are five Enterprise trains in each direction, and no NIR services. Additionally, two peak time services are operated each day to and from Newry 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 ...

, with the first one being the 06:30 service to

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 ...

, calling at Commuter stations between Newry and Dublin Connolly except Gormanston,

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal suburban settlement in Fingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , the population was ...

Clongriffin Clongriffin ( ga, Cluain Ghrífín) is a community in northern Donaghmede,Dublin: Dublin City Council, Minutes of full Meeting of Council, April 2009, Q. 36 - City Manager's answer. on the northern fringe of Dublin, Ireland. The settlement w ...

, and

Howth Junction Howth Junction & Donaghmede railway station ( ga, Stáisiún Ghabhal Bhinn Éadair agus Dhomhnach Míde) serves the area of Donaghmede, and parts of Kilbarrack in Dublin, Ireland. One entrance is located in Donaghmede, the other in Kilbarrack ...

. The first peak service to Newry started in January 2018, with the 17:13 service from

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 ...

being extended to Newry from

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...

Route

Gallery

File:Newry Station - geograph.org.uk - 1477406.jpg, Newry station in August 2009 File:Enterprise train Newry.JPG, Enterprise train arrives at Newry File:Bessbrook - geograph.org.uk - 334357.jpg,

with the Mournes in the distance, seen from

near Newry station. File:Newry Railway Station.jpg, Former platform sign at Newry station. The current sign also has the Irish name. File:Enterprise train departing Newry.jpg, alt=The modern day Enterprise train departs Newry towards Dublin Connolly, pushed by loco 207, The modern day Enterprise departing Newry File:Newry Station entrance.jpg, Station entrance

References

Footnotes

Sources

* * * *

External links

Northern Ireland Railways page on the Cross Border lineNorthern Ireland Railways page on the Enterprise Service
{{UK railway stations Railway stations in County Armagh Newry Railway stations opened in 1855 Railway stations closed in 1942 Railway stations opened in 1984 Reopened railway stations in Northern Ireland Railway stations opened by NI Railways Railway stations served by NI Railways Railway stations served by Enterprise 1855 establishments in Ireland