Phoenix Park Tunnel
| Phoenix Park Tunnel Irish: Tollán Pháirc na Fhionnuisce | |
| County Dublin | |
|---|---|
 Southern end of the tunnel | |
| Location | |
| Type: | Railway tunnel |
| Carrying: | Heuston Station to Dublin-Sligo line |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | O130347 |
| Location: | 53°21’2"N, 6°18’11"W |
| Structure | |
| Length: | 2,264 feet |
| Type: | Railway tunnel |
| History | |
| Opened 1877 | |
| Information | |
| Owned by: | Iarnród Éireann |
The Phoenix Park Tunnel is a railway tunnel in Dublin which runs beneath Phoenix Park, carrying the railway line between Heuston Station and the Dublin-Sligo railway line.
The tunnel was built in 1877. It begins at the Liffey Railway Bridge near Heuston Station, running underneath the Phoenix Park for 755 yards before re-emerging close to the junction of the Cabra Road and Navan Road.[1] It joins with the Sligo line near Glasnevin, before continuing to Dublin Connolly Station.
The tunnel was originally built by the Great Southern and Western Railway company to connect Kingsbridge station to the Dublin Docklands,[2] and primarily used for freight. Historically the line had not been used for regular passenger trains, with most traffic through the tunnel being freight or carriages and engines shunted between Connolly and Heuston for maintenance. It had occasionally been used for special passenger services, including traffic for major Gaelic Athletic Association fixtures.[3]
The tunnel reopened on 21 November 2016 for regular passenger traffic.[4] These were only weekday peak at launch, with weekday off-peak being added in December 2018.[5]
References
- ↑ "A train trip through the 138-year-old Phoenix Park Tunnel". Irish Times. 20 August 2013. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/a-train-trip-through-the-138-year-old-phoenix-park-tunnel-1.1499715.
- ↑ "Renovation work on 138-year-old Phoenix Park railway tunnel commences". Irish Independent. 18 August 2015. http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/news/renovation-work-on-138yearold-phoenix-park-railway-tunnel-commences-31459736.html.
- ↑ Fegan, Joyce. "Plans for four trains an hour in Phoenix Park tunnel next year". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/plans-for-four-trains-an-hour-in-phoenix-park-tunnel-next-year-31051427.html. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ↑ Pope, Conor (21 November 2016). "Passenger trains use Phoenix Park tunnel for first time in 100 years". The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/passenger-trains-use-phoenix-park-tunnel-for-first-time-in-100-years-1.2875801. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
- ↑ Pollak, Sorcha (5 December 2018). "More than 280 new weekly train services on mainly commuter routes announced". The Irish Times. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/more-than-280-new-weekly-train-services-on-mainly-commuter-routes-announced-1.3721334. Retrieved 11 September 2020.