Liffey Junction railway station explained

Liffey Junction
Native Name:Gabhal na Lífe
Native Name Lang:GA
Address:Cabra
Country:Ireland
Coordinates:53.3543°N -6.2738°W
Structure:At-grade
Platform:7
Original:Midland Great Western Railway
Pregroup:Midland Great Western Railway
Postgroup:Great Southern Railways
Years:1864
Events:Station opened
Years1:18 January 1937
Events1:Station closed to passenger services
Years2:1977
Events2:Station closed to freight services
Years3:1997
Events3:Station demolished
Years4:9 December 2017
Events4:Luas services commence

Liffey Junction is a former railway station and junction on the erstwhile Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) in Dublin, Ireland.

History

The station opened in 1864[1] upon the opening of the Liffey Line from this point to the River Liffey at North Wall. The station closed to passenger traffic on 18 January 1937[2] upon the concurrent closure of the line from Broadstone to Liffey Junction, such traffic being rerouted to Pearse Station (then Westland Row). The station remained in use until 1977 for cattle traffic and afterwards was used as a wagon storage point.

Today, most of the features of this station have disappeared. Those that remain include the water tower between the trackbed of the mainline and the Liffey Line branch (now part of the Dublin–Sligo line) fronting onto the Royal Canal, traces of the upside island platform and a water column.

There was a carriage shed located between the Liffey Line and the Royal Canal. This area remains distinguishable today as a triangular-shaped area on the northeastern side of the Liffey Line bridge over the Royal Canal. The MGWR's creosoting plant was also located here.

By 2017, tracks had been laid and overhead wires installed along the former alignment to Dublin Broadstone in preparation for the Luas Cross City services, which commenced on 9 December 2017. A new Luas depot was built on the site of the former Liffey Junction station. The downside loading bank was demolished in early 2016.

References

53.371°N -6.2919°W

Notes and References

  1. Midland Great Western Railway; Shepherd, Ernie; ; 1994 - p118
  2. Web site: Liffey Junction station . Railscot - Irish Railways . 28 October 2007 . 26 September 2007 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070926042407/http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf . live .