Limerick Junction is an important railway station in
County TipperaryCounty Tipperary is one of the traditional Counties of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary .Tipperary is the sixth largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and 11th largest in terms of population...
in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, originally named "Tipperary Junction". Tipperary Town is about two miles away to the south-east, and Limerick Junction, with a cluster of pleasantly presented railway cottages and a pub, is a small
hamletA hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community...
. Because of its complex layout it has a special place in railway lore: it is the only remaining
railway junctionA junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , provided by...
in Ireland where two lines cross at a near-90-degree angle.
Limerick Junction is an important railway station in
County TipperaryCounty Tipperary is one of the traditional Counties of Ireland. It is located in the province of Munster. It was named after the town of Tipperary .Tipperary is the sixth largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and 11th largest in terms of population...
in
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
, originally named "Tipperary Junction". Tipperary Town is about two miles away to the south-east, and Limerick Junction, with a cluster of pleasantly presented railway cottages and a pub, is a small
hamletA hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community...
. Because of its complex layout it has a special place in railway lore: it is the only remaining
railway junctionA junction, in the context of rail transport, is a place at which two or more rail routes converge or diverge.This implies a physical connection between the tracks of the two routes , provided by...
in Ireland where two lines cross at a near-90-degree angle. One route is the
DublinDublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland. It is officially known in Irish as Baile Átha Cliath or Áth Cliath ; the English name comes from the Irish Dubh Linn meaning "black pool". It is located near the midpoint of Ireland's east coast, at the mouth of the River Liffey and at the...
-
CorkCork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster...
main line, while the other is the line from Limerick to
WaterfordWaterford railway station serves the city of Waterford in County Waterford, Ireland. The station is a significant interchange, serving as a terminus for InterCity services from Dublin Heuston and Arrow services from Limerick. In addition, it is on the InterCity line between Limerick and Rosslare....
. Trains from all four locations are served, some connecting to
Ennis|}Ennis railway station serves the town of Ennis in County Clare, Ireland. The station forms part of the Western Railway Corridor, the name given to a group of lines in the west of Ireland between Limerick and Sligo...
in
County ClareCounty Clare commonly referred to as simply Clare, is a county of Ireland and part of the wider province of Munster. Clare is one of the 26 counties within the Republic of Ireland and it provides a basis for local government, in the form of its own constituency within the Dáil Éireann...
and
TraleeTralee railway station serves the town of Tralee in County Kerry.The station, originally named Tralee South, was opened on 18 July 1859. It was given the name Casement on 10 April 1966 in commemoration of Roger Casement, one of the executed leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916....
in
County KerryCounty Kerry is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the province of Munster. Kerry is the fifth largest of Ireland’s 32 counties in area and 14th largest in terms of population...
.
The layout consists of four platforms: two (platforms 1 and 3) alongside the Cork-Dublin main line, which passes in front of the station, and the other two, serving Limerick/Waterford trains, facing
sidingA siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a through route such as a main line or branch line or spur. It may connect to through track or to other sidings at either end. The distinction between sidings and other types of track is that a "siding" generally denotes an...
s at the rear of the station. Platform 3 is rarely used and platform 4 is covered in rubble and is unlikely to see further use. Access to Platform 2 for trains from anywhere other than Limerick requires reversing. A train coming from Waterford must cross the Dublin-Cork main line towards Limerick, reversing along the curve used by trains arriving from Limerick. It can then stop at the Limerick bay. The cumbersome procedure of trains to Waterford passing the station before reversing into platform 4 was ended in 2007 and trains to Waterford as well as trains to Limerick now depart from platform 2. Other places in the Ireland that required some or all trains to reverse into the platforms include:
- Kilkenny
Kilkenny railway station serves the city of Kilkenny in County Kilkenny. It is on a short spur off the main railway line, requiring trains to exit the station in the same direction from which they entered...
- Killarney
Killarney railway station serves the town of Killarney in County Kerry. It is situated next to the bus station and the Killarney outlet centre. Trains serving the station must either turn off the main line and reverse back onto it or pass the station and reverse in...
Until the 1960s trains on the main Dublin-Cork line, in both directions, also needed to reverse into the platforms if they were calling at the station, (as almost all did); the main lines passing one or two tracks away from the platform and the points being arranged that trains in both directions needed to stop on the main line and then reverse over points into the platform. The tracks were rearranged in the mid-1960s to overcome this.
In 1967 a short curve was constructed just North of Limerick Junction allowing through main line trains to Limerick itself to run from Dublin. Through running (without reversal) from Limerick to Mallow and Cork is not possible (see diagram below).
The station opened on 3 July 1848.
Horse racing
Limerick Junction was also the name of the racecourse at the same location. In the 1980s it was renamed Tipperary Racecourse. The course is not conducive to winter racing because of the frequency of water-logging. Racing here is a major attraction during the summer months and large crowds are attracted to the venue, especially for the Thursday evening meetings.
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