Manulla Junction railway station

Manulla Junction railway station is a transfer point for train passengers in County Mayo, Ireland.

Manulla Junction Ghabhal Mhaigh Nulla
InterCity Rail & Commuter Rail
Manulla Junction in July 2015
General information
Location	Skiddernagh, County Mayo Ireland
Coordinates	53.82792°N 09.192579°W / 53.82792; -09.192579
Line(s)	Dublin–Westport/Galway railway line Ballina branch line
Distance	145 miles 71 chains (234.8 km)
Platforms	A single island with 2 platforms
Tracks	2
Train operators	Iarnród Éireann
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Status	Unstaffed
Station code	MNLAJ
History
Original company	Midland Great Western Railway
Post-grouping	Great Southern Railways
Key dates
1 May 1868	Opened
1963	Closed except for inter-train transfers
Iarnród Éireann CIÉ IÉ railway stations
Route map v t e Dublin to Galway/Westport Legend Year closed 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 Clondalkin/Fonthill Kishoge Adamstown Hazelhatch and Celbridge Straffan 1947 Sallins and Naas Newbridge Kildare Dublin–Waterford line Monasterevin Portarlington Dublin to Cork line Tullamore Horseleap Branch to Mullingar 1964 Clara Athlone Ballinasloe Woodlawn Attymon Western Railway Corridor to Limerick Athenry Oranmore Galway Roscommon Castlerea Ballyhaunis Claremorris to Collooney Manulla Junction Exchange only Foxford Ballina Castlebar Westport to Achill 1937 Westport Quay 1978 v t e Ballina Branch line Legend Killala Ballina Foxford Ballyvary Dublin-Westport line to Westport Manulla Junction Dublin-Westport line to Dublin Heuston
Location Manulla Junction Location within Ireland

Description

It is a rare example of an interchange-only rail station. Passengers cannot enter or leave the station; it is only for passengers travelling to or from Foxford or Ballina, who transfer to or from Dublin–Westport trains.^[1]

A similar station is Smallbrook Junction, Isle of Wight, England, where Island Line trains only stop on days when the Isle of Wight Steam Railway is running, to allow passengers to change between lines.^[2]

Other examples are Sagliains railway station in Switzerland, Newark Liberty International Airport Station in New Jersey and the transfer platform at Pittsburg/Bay Point station in California.

History

The station opened on 1 May 1868.^[3]

The signal cabin at the eastern end was destroyed in the Irish Civil War and was replaced by one at the Westport end.^[4]

The station was closed to passengers joining or leaving the railway network in 1963; however, passengers can still disembark to the platforms for connections to and from the Ballina branch line.^[4]

In 1988, the signal cabin was replaced by a portacabin-style structure on the island platform.^[4]

Services

Train Services

The weekday off-peak service is as follows:

• 4 trains per day to Dublin Heuston
• 4 trains per day to Westport
• 1 train every 2 hours to Ballina

Currently, there are no direct passenger services from Ballina line to Dublin all passengers need to change here.^[5]

Preceding station	Iarnród Éireann			Following station
Claremorris		InterCity Dublin–Westport/Galway railway line		Castlebar
Terminus		Commuter Ballina Branch Line		Foxford

Bus Services

Buses do not serve the station because there is no passenger access to the platforms.

Incidents

On 5 September 1910, a train overran signals and 15 people were injured. The night mail had run into the engine of the branch line train and it was found shunting procedures at Manulla needed to be changed.^[4]

Gallery

• 
  The Asahi liner train passing the closed station at Manulla Junction, 10th August 1985
• 
  The Ballina shuttle train at Manulla Junction station, 13th April 2016
• 
  An Intercity train towards Dublin and a Commuter shuttle to Balina at Manulla Junction station, 4th June 2010
• 
  The train to Ballina is already waiting, doors open, for the Dublin Westport train to arrive at Manulla Junction station, 6th Sept 2006
• 
  An InterCity train arriving at Manulla Junction station, heading for Westport, 13th April 2016