Broombridge railway station

Broombridge (Irish: Droichead Broom, previously Droichead na Scuab) is a railway station beside a Luas Tram stop serving Cabra, Dublin 7, Ireland. It lies on the southern bank of the Royal Canal at the western end of what had been Liffey Junction station on the erstwhile Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR). It takes its name from Broome Bridge, which crosses the canal, where William Rowan Hamilton developed the mathematical notion of quaternions. A plaque on the adjacent canal bridge and the name of the Luas Maintenance depot on site, Hamilton Depot, commemorates this.^[1]

Broombridge Droichead Broome
Improvement in progress in February 2018 with the LUAS to the right and the Royal Canal on the left
General information
Location	Broombridge Road, Cabra Dublin Ireland
Coordinates	53.3727°N 6.2995°W / 53.3727; -6.2995
Owned by	Iarnród Éireann
Operated by	Iarnród Éireann
Platforms	2 (heavy rail) 2 (Luas)
Tracks	2
Bus routes	2
Bus stands	1
Bus operators	Go-Ahead Ireland Dublin Bus
Connections	40E N2 Green Line
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Station code	BBRDG
Fare zone	Suburban 1
Key dates
2 July 1990	Station opens
9 December 2017	Luas services commence
Location Broombridge Location within Dublin

Description

The railway station was opened on 2 July 1990. Both platforms are step-free accessible, the northern eastbound by a long ramp from the Cabra Road bridge and the southern platform at street level. A pedestrian bridge with lifts and other station improvements were completed in 2018 to facilitate transfers to the two Luas terminus platforms which became operational in December 2017.^[2] No toilet facilities are provided despite being an interchange station.^[3]

Services

v t e Western Commuter
Legend
Dublin–Sligo Line Longford Edgeworthstown Mullingar Enfield Kilcock Maynooth Leixlip Louisa Bridge Leixlip Confey M3 Parkway Dunboyne Hansfield (serves Ongar) Clonsilla Coolmine Castleknock Navan Road Parkway Ashtown Pelletstown Broombridge to Liffey Junction & Dublin Broadstone ( closed 1937 ) The Royal Canal Phoenix Park Tunnel to Dublin Heuston Drumcondra Docklands ( Spencer Dock) The Royal Canal Dublin Connolly Luas Red Line to Tallaght or Saggart Loopline Bridge Tara Street Dublin Pearse

Broombridge is a station on the Western Commuter services. It is the last station approaching Dublin served by both branches of the Western Commuter line before the line splits between trains heading to Connolly Station and those going to Docklands. As of December 2018^[update], the core off-peak rail service is half-hourly between Dublin Connolly station and Maynooth railway station, supplemented in the peaks by an additional half-hourly service from Docklands to the M3 Parkway with some miscellaneous extensions to other services.^[4] As of 26 August 2024, intercity services to Sligo also stop here.^[5]

Luas interchange

The Luas Broombridge interchange station is the northside Dublin terminus of the Luas Green Line extension and services began in December 2017.^[2] From Broombridge, the tram route takes the old MGWR route to its Broadstone terminus site before continuing to Dublin City Centre. The Broombridge-Hamilton LUAS maintenance depot lies to the south of the line on the final part of the approach to the station.^[1]

Preceding station		Iarnród Éireann		Following station
Dublin Connolly or Drumcondra		InterCity Dublin-Sligo		Maynooth
Drumcondra		Commuter Western Commuter (City Branch)		Pelletstown
Docklands		Commuter Western Commuter (Docklands Branch)
Preceding station		Luas		Following station
Terminus		Green Line		Cabra towards Sandyford or Brides Glen

Bus connections

A bus stop is provided at the forecourt on the southern side of the station convenient to the LUAS platforms. Dublin Bus route 40E which travels through Finglas and terminates at Tyrrellstown, near Blanchardstown, has Broombridge station as its southern terminus.^[6]

Vandalism

The station is unstaffed and had been subject to significant and sustained vandalism, enough for Iarnród Éireann to be concerned and questions asked about it in the Dáil.^[7][8] The lack of shelter for passengers or seating facilities was similarly questioned,.^[9] In 2012, additional security measures were added along with seating and decoration in advance of the station's redesign as part of the Luas Cross City project. Leap card validators, previously not provided due to vandalism concerns, have been installed and Iarnród Éireann ticket machines were installed towards the end of 2019.^{[citation needed]}

Luas

v t e Luas Green Line
Legend
Dublin–Sligo line westbound Broombridge Dublin–Sligo line eastbound Hamilton Depot Cabra Phibsborough Grangegorman Broadstone – University Dominick Parnell O'Connell Upper O'Connell - GPO Marlborough Red Line - Abbey Street O'Connell Bridge │ River Liffey │ Rosie Hackett Bridge Westmoreland Trinity Dawson St Stephen's Green Harcourt Grand Canal Charlemont Ranelagh Beechwood Cowper Milltown Nine Arches Bridge over River Dodder Windy Arbour William Dargan Bridge Dundrum Balally Kilmacud Stillorgan Sandyford Depot Central Park M50 Glencairn The Gallops Leopardstown Valley Ballyogan Wood M50 Racecourse (unused) Carrickmines Brennanstown (unused) Laughanstown Cherrywood Wyattville Link Road Brides Glen

Broombridge is the northern terminus of the Green Line of the Luas, Dublin's Light rail tram system. The tram platforms were constructed in 2017, at the same time as the nearby Hamilton Depot, the forecourt which provides space for buses to access the station, a staff car park, and a footbridge over the main line tracks to allow easier interchange. The two platforms lie adjacent to the eastern end of the main line platforms, and interchange between the two systems is possible via steps and a ramp.

On average, trams depart every 10 to 15 minutes and head south towards Brides Glen, a journey which takes approximately one hour. Immediately after leaving Broombridge, they go through a double crossover point which allows them to make use of both platforms. The line runs parallel to the heavy rail line for 350m, before turning south into the Broadstone railway cutting, which takes it into central Dublin.^[10]

Proposals

In 2020, a 4 km (2.5 mi) extension of the green line from Broombridge to Charlestown Shopping Centre was announced. According to the plan for that project, Broombridge would become a through stop, with trams leaving the stop taking a sharp turn to the right, crossing the heavy rail line and the Royal Canal on a specially constructed bridge which would run parallel to Broome Bridge itself, and then continue northwards.^[11]

However, in the five years following the announcement, no funding was provided by the government and no progress was made.

Reilly's Bridge

In 1847, when the railway was opened, the MGWR briefly established a station at Reilly's Bridge just over 0.5 km (0.31 mi) to the west but closed it before the end of the year.^{[12]: 13, 118}

Gallery

• 
  Station southern forecourt in 2019
• 
  Broombridge-Hamilton depot entrance in 2018
• 
  Broombridge train station sign (2019)

See also

• List of railway stations in Ireland