Dunshaughlin railway station

Dunshaughlin railway station is a proposed railway station intended to serve the town of Dunshaughlin in County Meath, Ireland.

v t e Dublin to Navan Line
Legend
Year closed North Wall 1922 Spencer Dock Docklands to Belfast Grand Central • to Dublin Connolly Drumcondra Phoenix Park Tunnel to Dublin Heuston & Cork Kent Royal Canal Dublin Broadstone 1937 Liffey Junction 1937 Broombridge Pelletstown Ashtown Navan Road Parkway M50 motorway Castleknock Coolmine Clonsilla to Sligo Royal Canal Hansfield Dunboyne M3 Parkway Phase 1 Phase 2 Batterstown 1963 Drumree 1963 Dunshaughlin proposed Kilmessan Junction 1963 Kilmessan proposed River Boyne Trim 1954 Athboy 1954 Bective 1963 Navan Central proposed to Drogheda Navan Junction 1958 Tara Junction Tara Mine to Oldcastle Kells Blackwater Navan North proposed Proudstown 1939 Gibbstown 1963 Wilkinstown 1963 Castletown 1933 Nobber 1963 Kilmainham Wood 1963 Gypsum Industries 2001 Kingscourt 2001

The station had been planned to be built as part of the second phase of reinstatement of the Clonsilla-Navan line. However, as of 2012, these plans were deferred due to the reduction in the Exchequer capital investment programme.^[1] Dunshauglin was intended to be the first station on the Phase 2 section of the route, after the M3 Parkway park and ride station. The proposed route plans include 34 km of railway line, with stations at Dunshaughlin, Kilmessan, Navan town centre and a further station on the northern edge of Navan.^[2] In 2016, the National Transport Authority ruled that there was not a sufficient number of commuters to warrant a new station,^[3] but agreed to conduct a new study; a report was due be released in mid-2021.^{[4][needs update]} County councillors made representations to "ensure that the 'actual' population of Dunshaughlin" would be used in the determination of the need for a station.^[5][6]

Proposed location

The preferred route for Phase 2 of the extension of the Dublin–Navan railway line was published in March 2009;^[7] it was intended that for the most part it would follow the disused route to Navan.^[8] However, there was debate over the location of Dunshauglin station. Iarnród Éireann favoured the existing route, which carries the railway line approximately 1.5 km to the west of the town, on the other side of the Dunshauglin interchange of the M3 motorway.^[5][9] Some County Meath Councillors expressed a preference that the route of the line should be "as close to Ratoath and Dunshaughlin as possible" and that "potential users should not have to cross the R147 and M3 to get to a train station".^[5]