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Waterford Plunkett railway station

Coordinates: 52°15′58″N 7°07′01″W / 52.266°N 7.117°W / 52.266; -7.117
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Waterford Plunkett

Stáisiún Phluincéid
Iarnród Éireann
Waterford Plunkett railway station
General information
LocationTerminus Street, Waterford
County Waterford, X91 A2PV
Ireland
Coordinates52°15′58″N 7°07′01″W / 52.266°N 7.117°W / 52.266; -7.117
Owned byIarnród Éireann
Operated byIarnród Éireann
Platforms3
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Other information
Station codeWFORD
Fare zoneN
History
Opened26 August 1864
Location
Map

Waterford railway station (Plunkett Station, Irish: Stáisiún Phluincéid) is a railway station which serves the city of Waterford in County Waterford, Ireland. The station is located across Rice Bridge on the north side of the city.

Only one platform, the bay platform 5 remains in service. The former main through platforms 3/4 is now used only for access to Belview port and the tracks have been removed from platform 6.[1] A large signal cabin is situated across the running lines. The station area is still currently[when?] controlled by semaphore signals.

Services

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The station is a significant interchange. It is the terminus for InterCity services from Dublin Heuston and InterCity services from Limerick Junction. Travel to Limerick Junction provides onward connections to Cork, Killarney, Tralee, Limerick, Ennis, Athenry and Galway.

There are seven daily trains in each direction between Waterford - Dublin Mondays to Saturdays inclusive. One extra Dublin to Waterford train runs Friday only and one extra Waterford to Dublin train runs Friday and Saturday only. On Sundays there are four trains each way. The fastest of these trains being the 07.10 Waterford - Dublin which completes the journey in exactly 1 hour and 48 minutes.[2]

There are two trains each way between Waterford - Limerick Junction Mondays to Saturdays inclusive. There is no Sunday service on this line.[3] Until 19 January 2013 (inclusive) there were three trains each way. However, the late-morning Waterford to Limerick Junction and early-afternoon Limerick Junction to Waterford trains are now discontinued.[4]

Preceding station Iarnród Éireann Following station
Thomastown   InterCity
Dublin-Waterford railway line 		  Terminus
Carrick-on-Suir   InterCity
Limerick-Rosslare railway line 		  Terminus
Disused railways
Carrick on Suir   InterCity
Limerick Junction-Waterford 		  Campile
Grange   Great Southern and Western Railway
Limerick-Rosslare railway line 		  Campile

Rail replacement bus to Rosslare Europort

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Until 18 September 2010 (inclusive), there was one daily return train between Waterford and Rosslare, after which time passenger trains on the line were suspended. The rail service was replaced by a revised Bus Éireann Route 370 service from 20 September 2010. However, the replacement bus service does not serve the railway station, the nearest stop being the bus station a walk of several minutes.[5] In 2021, the transport minister Eamon Ryan said the government were reviewing the line with a possibility of re-opening it.[6]

Facilities

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The station has a booking office, ticket vending machines, shop, waiting areas, toilets and a car park.[7]

Freight

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The station is directly rail connected to Waterford Port (Belview). A freight yard is located at the Dublin/Limerick end of the station, served by freight traffics such as cement and timber which travel to and from Dublin Port and Ballina.[8]

History

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The earliest station on the North bank of the River Suir in Waterford was the Dunkitt station, built in 1854 about 2km away from the current site. This was very shortly moved to Sally Park, and service was available to Limerick via the Waterford Limerick Railway and to Kilkenny via the Waterford Kilkenny Railway. [9]

The predecessor to the current station opened on 26 August 1864 as Waterford North. The original station building was located close to the site of the current station. [10]

Service to Dublin first commenced on February 15th, 1904 when the station was connected to the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford railway. In 1906, the Red Iron Bridge was constructed, enabling a service to Rosslare to commence [11].

The original station was demolished and replaced by the current station building in 1966 [12]. Upon reopening, it was renamed Plunkett on 10 April 1966 in commemoration of Joseph Plunkett, one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916.

In 1878, a second station, known as Waterford South was opened across the river. This station operated until 1908, when it was shut and all services moved to Waterford North. Waterford South was briefly reopened in 1935 to service the Waterford Stanley plant. [13]

Future Development

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As part of the Waterford North Quay SDZ Scheme the present station will be closed and a new station opened on the North Quays. The new station will be part of a "Transport Hub" with bus station and other transport infrastructure. A new sustainable transport bridge (bus, cycle and pedestrian bridge) will link the transport hub to the other side of river/Waterford city centre.[14]

Trains to Waterford are currently limited to 6 coaches due to the shortening of Kilkenny MacDonagh station in 1997, as all trains to Waterford pass through this station. Iarnród Éireann have stated they would like to enable longer trains to pass through Kilkenny station, but have no current timeline on when such a project could be funded [15][16].

Statistics

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Year Daily Passenger Exit and Entry Change [17]
2012 937 NA
2013 482 Decrease 455
2014 990 Increase 508
2015 868 Decrease 122
2016 867 Decrease 1 [18]
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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The disused platform 3 at Waterford". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 September 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "New Rail Timetable for 2013 - Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail". Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 December 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ^ "Waterford - Wexford line confirmed for all-island strategic rail review". Waterford News and Star. 22 March 2021. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Waterford (Plunkett) - Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail". Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Iarnród Éireann Freight". Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Story of Waterford Railways". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  10. ^ "North Station, Waterford". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  11. ^ "Story of Waterford Railways". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  12. ^ "North Station, Waterford". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  13. ^ "South Station". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  14. ^ "North Quay SDZ" (PDF). www.waterfordcouncil.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Kilkenny Railway Station". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  16. ^ "Waterford TD Joins Calls For Immediate Restoration of Kilkenny Railway Platform". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  17. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 October 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Census report" (PDF). www.nationaltransport.ie. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
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