Mullingar railway station

Mullingar railway station serves the town of Mullingar in County Westmeath, Ireland; it is situated 50 miles 17 chains (80.8 km) from Dublin,^[a] and 84 miles (135 km) from Sligo.^[1] Mullingar station is served by national rail company Iarnród Éireann's Dublin to Longford Commuter service and Dublin to Sligo InterCity service.^[2]

Mullingar An Muileann gCearr
An Iarnród Éireann Intercity and Commuter railway station
A view of the train station and its adjacent carpark, 2015
General information
Location	Clonmore Road Mullingar County Westmeath N91 HKR4 Ireland
Coordinates	53°31′23″N 7°20′46″W
Operated by	Iarnród Éireann
Line(s)	Sligo Intercity Longford Commuter
Platforms	3
Bus routes	5
Bus operators	Bus Eireann TFI Local Link
Connections	70 115 115C 167 819
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Station code	MLGAR
Fare zone	G
History
Opened	2 October 1848; 176 years ago (1848-10-02)
Route map Legend Year closed Sligo Mac Diarmada Sligo Quay freight terminal 2000 Ballysodare 1963 Ballisodare River Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Rly to Enniskillen 1957 proposed Western Railway Corridor to Limerick 1963 Collooney Ballymote Kilfree Junction 1963 to Ballaghaderreen 1963 Boyle Carrick-on-Shannon Drumsna 1963 River Shannon Cavan and Leitrim Railway Dromod Newtown Forbes 1963 Longford Edgeworthstown Street & Rathowen 1963 to Cavan 1959 Inny Junction 1931 Multyfarnham 1963 Clonhugh 1963 The Royal Canal to Athlone 1964 Mullingar Killucan 1963 Hill of Down 1963 River Boyne Moyvalley 1963 to Edenderry 1931 Enfield Ferns Lock 1963 Kilcock Maynooth Blakestown Leixlip Louisa Bridge Leixlip Confey Lucan North 1941 Barberstown Docklands branch to M3 Parkway Clonsilla Coolmine Coolmine Castleknock Blanchardstown 1937 Navan Road Parkway Ashtown Ashtown Pelletstown Reilly's Bridge 1847 Broombridge Liffey Junction passengers 1937 goods 1977 Dublin Broadstone 1937 Glasnevin 1910 The Royal Canal Phoenix Park Tunnel to Dublin Heuston Drumcondra Belfast–Dublin railway line Docklands ( Spencer Dock) The Royal Canal Dublin Connolly Luas Red Line to Tallaght and Saggart Dublin-Rosslare railway line to Rosslare Europort = Western Commuter This diagram: view talk edit Show Sligo line route diagram 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 This diagram: view talk edit Show Western Commuter route diagram
Location

History

The station opened in 1848.^[3] The Midland Great Western Railway line to Mullingar from Dublin opened in stages from 1846 to 1848, arriving in Mullingar on 2 October 1848. This was to a temporary station, adjacent to the greyhound stadium. The original main line ran from Dublin (Broadstone) to Galway via Mullingar and Athlone, the Mullingar to Galway section opening in August 1851. The present station opened with the branch line to Longford on 14 December 1855. There were two secondary stations in Mullingar. Canal Crossing cattle bank was on the Sligo Line. On the Athlone Line, Newbrook racecourse had its own station. This was unique in that it was a two platformed station with both platforms on the Down Line.^[4][5][6][7]

Services

Train services

The railway line connecting Mullingar to Athlone, once integral to the Midland Great Western Railway's Dublin to Galway route, has been out of service since 1987. In the mid-2000s, there were discussions about reopening this line to enhance Dublin-Galway rail services; however, these plans were eventually set aside in favour of developing a cycling route.

This cycling route, known as the Dublin–Galway Greenway, includes a section from Mullingar to Athlone that repurposes the disused railway line. The Moate to Garrycastle segment was officially opened in October 2015, and a new bridge over the River Shannon in Athlone was completed in August 2023.^{[8][9][10][11]}

In 2024, the All-Island Strategic Rail Review revisited the idea of reinstating the rail link between Mullingar and Athlone. The review recommended re-establishing a single-track line between these towns, with a projected opening date between 2040 and 2050. Additionally, it proposed a single-track line connecting Mullingar to Portadown via Armagh, Monaghan, Clones, and Cavan, aiming to improve connectivity between the midlands and place such Belfast Grand Central and Derry~Londonderry.^[12][13]

Today Mullingar station operates to services both commuter and Intercity services to Sligo Mac Diarmada, Longford, and Dublin Connolly, Mullingar railway station offers connections to several other destinations such as Docklands and M3 Parkway. These services are operated by Iarnród Éireann.^[14]

Preceding station		Iarnród Éireann		Following station
Enfield		InterCity Dublin-Sligo		Edgeworthstown
Enfield		Commuter Western Commuter		Edgeworthstown or Terminus
	Disused railways
Killucan Line open, station closed		Midland Great Western Railway Dublin-Sligo		Clonhugh Line open, station closed
		Midland Great Western Railway Dublin-Galway		Moate Line and station closed
	Proposed Services
Terminus		All-Island Strategic Rail Review Mullingar-Portadown Line		Cavan
Terminus		All-Island Strategic Rail Review Mullingar-Athlone Line		Athlone

Bus services

Mullingar railway station is by several bus routes, providing connections to multiple destinations. Bus Éireann routes 70, 115, 115C, 167 terminate at the station, connecting the station to Athlone, Dublin, Dundalk, and Drogheda. Additionally, the TFI Local Link service operates route 819 connecting Mullingar to Castlepollard via Collinstown, with multiple daily return services.^{[15][16][17][18]}

Facilities

The station has three operative platforms, and two platforms on the line to Athlone which are not in use. The two disused platforms are on the disused Athlone line. Within the station are ticket machines, a ticket office and restrooms. The station is equipped with passenger shelters and an enclosed waiting room. As of 2024, this waiting room is opened on weekdays from 05:30 to 21:30, on Saturdays from 07:30 to 21:30, and on Sundays from 08:30 to 22:00.^[19]

The station has a paid car park, operated by APCOA, with 152 spaces, including 5 designated for disabled parking and 2 equipped with electric car charging services.^[19]

RPSI base

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) has a secondary base in the town.^{[citation needed]} A turntable remains here used by steam locomotives a couple of times a year.^{[citation needed]}

Gallery

• 
  Disused arm of Mullingar Station
• 
  NIR scrap railcar, Mullingar
• 
  Mullingar Station
• 
  Signal box
• 
  Mullingar train station (2022)
• 
  Bilingual sign at the station (2022)
• 
  Sligo bound train entering Mullingar Station

See also

• List of railway stations in Ireland
• Sligo-Dublin line