The Limerick–Ballybrophy line is a railway line connecting the city of

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...

with in

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a med ...

. The line diverges from the Limerick to Limerick Junction railway line at Killonan Junction and continues in a north east direction with five intermediate stops at , , , and . The line ends at Ballybrophy where it joins the Dublin-Cork Main Line. Services are infrequent, with two trains per weekday in each direction from Ballybrophy to Limerick. In addition, there is a commuter service, forming part of the

Limerick Suburban Rail Limerick Suburban Rail ( ga, Iarnród Fo-uirbeach Luimnigh) are a group of Iarnród Éireann commuter train services from Limerick Colbert to various other destinations on three different lines. * Limerick – Ennis, calling at Sixmilebridge * L ...

network, which has one train from

Nenagh Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the East Munster Ormond ...

to Limerick. The commuter train service runs Mondays to Fridays. On Sundays there is one train in each direction, Limerick-Ballybrophy. Services on the line are formed of

IE 2800 Class The 2800 Class is a type of Diesel Multiple Unit operated on the Irish railway network by Iarnród Éireann, used mainly for short-haul InterCity and Commuter services. Description The 2800 Class were built in Japan by Tokyu Car Corporation. ...

(diesel)

railcar A railcar (not to be confused with a railway car) is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach (carriage, car), with a dri ...

s. This service is an improvement over previous timetables. The North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership lobbied

Irish Rail Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

to improve the timetable to suit commuters, which they duly did, to a limited extent. The service is mostly patronised by passengers who connect into morning

Heuston Station Heuston Station ( ; ga, Stáisiún Heuston; formerly Kingsbridge Station) also known as Dublin Heuston, is one of Dublin's largest railway stations and links the capital with the south, southwest and west of Ireland. It is operated by Iar ...

trains and evening trains in the opposite direction, at Ballybrophy Station. The railway line has several speed restrictions, particularly close to Limerick city. Although the line offers a geographically shorter and more direct route between Limerick and Dublin, it takes almost an hour longer than travelling from Limerick to Dublin via

Limerick Junction Limerick Junction ( ga, Gabhal Luimnigh) is the interchange railway station for trains originating in , , , , and stations. The station opened on 3 July 1848. The station was highly noted for its layout which prior to 1967 required every t ...

. The train is slower than travelling by car between

and Limerick. The railway line does not serve major employment and educational facilities in Limerick such as the National Technology Park and the

University of Limerick The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance w ...

which are located near the line.

Proposed developments

In November 2016 it was announced the line was very likely to close in 2018 as the demand for the service was low and CIE/IE wished to close it to save money. This was subsequently ruled out by Iarnród Éireann. In 2021, the North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership issued online petitions to improve the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line service. There is a phased continuous welded rail (CWR) track relay project being carried out on the line over the last few years. There is currently approximately 12 miles of the old jointed track left to be replaced with CWR in the relay project. The majority of the remaining jointed track yet to be relaid is between

Cloughjordan Cloughjordan, officially Cloghjordan ( , ), is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the barony of Ormond Lower, and it is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. The town is situated in the north-western part of T ...

and

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

stations. The North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership hopes that, once the CWR relay project is completed, signalling system on the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line will then be upgraded to help improve the speed limits imposed on trains travelling on the line.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Limerick-Ballybrophy railway line Railway lines in Ireland Transport in County Limerick Transport in County Tipperary Transport in County Laois