Waterford Plunkett railway station

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.

Waterford Plunkett Stáisiún Phluincéid
Waterford Plunkett railway station
General information
Location	Terminus Street, Waterford, County Waterford, X91 A2PV, Ireland
Coordinates	52.266°N 7.117°W / 52.266; -7.117
Owned by	Iarnród Éireann
Operated by	Iarnród Éireann
Platforms	3
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Station code	WFORD
Fare zone	N

v t e Dublin–Waterford
Legend
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 M50 Clondalkin/Fonthill Kishoge Lucan (south) 1947 Adamstown Hazelhatch and Celbridge Grand Canal Straffan 1947 Sallins and Naas River Liffey Newbridge Curragh Racecourse 1977 Curragh Mainline 1999 Kildare to Cork and Westport/Galway M7 motorway Kildangan 1963 Athy Mageney 1963 Carlow Milford 1963 Muine Bheag (Bagenalstown) to Palace East 1963 River Barrow Gowran 1963 to Portlaoise 1963 Kilkenny Lavistown loop line Bennetsbridge 1965 Thomastown River Nore Ballyhale 1963 Mullinavat 1963 Kilmacow 1963 to Limerick to Mallow 1967 Waterford West goods yard Waterford Plunkett to Rosslare 2010

v t e Limerick–Rosslare
Legend
Year closed Limerick Colbert to Foynes 2009 Western Railway Corridor to Galway Killonan 1963 Limerick–Ballybrophy line Boher 1963 Dromkeen 1976 Pallas Grean 1963 Oola 1963 ← Dublin–Cork line → Limerick Junction Tipperary Bansha 1963 River Suir Cahir Clonmel to Thurles 1967 Kilsheelan 1963 Carrick-on-Suir Fiddown and Portlaw 1855 Grange 1963 Dublin–Waterford line Mallow–Waterford line 1967 Waterford West goods yard Waterford Plunkett to New Ross 1995 River Barrow Campile 2010 Ballycullane 2010 Wellingtonbridge 2010 Duncormick 1976 Bridgetown 2010 Killinick 1976 Felthouse Junction curve closed 1918 Dublin– Rosslare Line Rosslare Strand Kilrane 1963 Rosslare Europort

v t e Regional Rail Services from Waterford
Legend
Dublin Heuston Hazelhatch and Celbridge Sallins and Naas Newbridge Limerick Colbert Kildare Limerick Junction Athy Tipperary Carlow Cahir Muine Bheag Clonmel Kilkenny Carrick-on-Suir Thomastown Waterford Plunkett Campile Ballycullane Wellingtonbridge Bridgetown Dublin-Rosslare line Rosslare Strand Rosslare Europort

There are two bays at the west end of the station. These are platform 5 and 6 respectively. The main platform is quite long and due to a crossover it can be operated as two platforms if necessary. The eastern end is platform 3, the western end being platform 4. A large signal cabin is situated across the running lines. The station area is still currently^[when?] controlled by semaphore signals.

Services

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.^[1]

There are two trains each way between Waterford - Limerick Junction Mondays to Saturdays inclusive. There is no Sunday service on this line.^[2] 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.^[3]

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

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.^[4] In 2021, the transport minister Eamon Ryan said the government were reviewing the line with a possibility of re-opening it.^[5]

Facilities

The station has a booking office, ticket vending machines, shop, waiting areas, toilets and a car park.^[6]

Freight

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.^[7]

History

The station opened on 26 August 1864 as Waterford North. It was renamed Plunkett on 10 April 1966 in commemoration of Joseph Plunkett, one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916.

Future Development

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.^[8]

Statistics

Year	Daily Passenger Exit and Entry	Change [9]
2012	937	NA
2013	482	455
2014	990	508
2015	868	122
2016	867	1 [10]

Gallery

• 
  Looking west
• 
  Looking east
• 
  The signal cabin
• 
  Loco-hauled in 2007 now replaced by IE 22000 Class
• 
  In 1983 with a terminating train from Dublin Heuston hauled by a pair of CIE 121 Class locomotives

See also

• List of railway stations in Ireland

References

1. "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)
2. "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)
3. "New Rail Timetable for 2013 - Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail". Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
4. "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)
5. "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.
6. "Waterford (Plunkett) - Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail". Archived from the original on 20 July 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
7. "Iarnród Éireann Freight". Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
8. "North Quay SDZ" (PDF). www.waterfordcouncil.ie. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 December 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
9. "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)
10. "Census report" (PDF). www.nationaltransport.ie. 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2021.

External links

• Irish Rail Waterford Station Website Archived 20 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine
• South Tipperary Rail & Bus Website