Athlone railway station

Athlone
General information
Location	Roscommon County Council
Managed by	Iarnród Éireann
Platforms	3
Key dates
1859	Station opened

Dublin to Galway/Westport
Year closed Phoenix Park Tunnel to Dublin Connolly Luas Red Line to Dublin Connolly & The Point Dublin Heuston Luas Red Line to Tallaght & Saggart Inchicore Works Park West and Cherry Orchard Clondalkin/Fonthill Kishoge Adamstown Hazelhatch and Celbridge Straffan 1947 Sallins and Naas Newbridge Kildare Dublin–Waterford line Monasterevin Portarlington Dublin to Cork line Tullamore Horseleap Branch to Mullingar 1964 Clara Athlone Ballinasloe Woodlawn Attymon Western Railway Corridor to Limerick Athenry Oranmore Galway Roscommon Castlerea Ballyhaunis Claremorris to Collooney Manulla Junction Exchange only Foxford Ballina Castlebar Westport to Achill 1937 Westport Quay 1978

Athlone railway station serves the town of Athlone in County Roscommon and County Westmeath. The station is at the junction between the railway lines between Dublin-Galway and Dublin-Westport. There was a railway line to Mullingar but it is now disused. There are three platforms, of which Numbers 2 and 3 are an island platform.

The station opened on 3 October 1859.

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Dublin-Galway
(via Portarlington) | style="background:#FFA500; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 0px none; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"|Ballinasloe |-

| style="background:#FFA500; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:0px none; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top:solid 1px #aaa; border-bottom:0px none;" | Intercity
Dublin-Westport/Ballina | style="background:#FFA500; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:0px none; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 0px none; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"|Roscommon |- ! colspan="1" style="border-right: none;" | ! colspan="3" style="border-left: none; border-right: none;" | Disused railways ! colspan="1" style="border-left: none;" |

|- | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"| Moate | style="background:#FFBA00; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 1px #aaa solid; border-top:solid 1px #aaa; border-bottom:0px none;" | Midland Great Western Railway
Dublin-Galway
(via Mullingar) | style="background:#FFBA00; color:inherit; border-left: 0px none; border-right: 0px none; border-top:1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;" |   | rowspan="1" style="vertical-align: middle; text-align:center; border-left: 1px #aaa solid; border-right: 0px none; border-top: 1px #aaa solid; border-bottom:0px none;"|Ballinasloe |}

The old MGW station
photo:Peter Gerken

In 1851, the first public train stopped at the Midland Great Western Railway Station, which was located on the west side of the Shannon. The Great Southern and Western Railway Station on the east side of the river (now Athlone Railway Station) was completed in 1859. For many years the two railway stations operated independently but merged in 1925. After this merger, the Great Southern and Western Railway Station became a goods station while the other station enjoyed the monopoly of all the passenger traffic. The Midland Great Western Railway Station closed in 1985, when Athlone Railway Station was transferred to the newly renovated station, where it is located today.

References

http://www.athlone.ie/AboutAthlone/History/BuildingsofNote.aspx