Phoenix Park Tunnel

From Wikishire
Jump to: navigation, search
Phoenix Park Tunnel
Irish: Tollán Pháirc na Fhionnuisce
County Dublin
Phoenix Park tunnel.jpg
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