Woodbrook railway station, or Woodbrook Halt, was a station on the former

Dublin and South Eastern Railway The Dublin and South Eastern Railway (DSER), often referred to as the Slow and Easy, was an Irish gauge () railway in Ireland from 1846 to 1925. It carried 4,626,226 passengers in 1911. It was the fourth largest railway operation in Ireland oper ...

, and was located on the southern outskirts of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, Ireland. Opened in 1910, the station closed in 1960. The halt served Shankill and Shanganagh, including the Woodbrook Estate from which it took its name, and lay a short distance north of Bray (at the northern edge of County Wicklow). As of 2020, a new station, provisionally named Woodbrook DART Station (

Irish 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 ...

: ''Stáisiún DART Shruthán na Coille''), was proposed to be built on the DART in the nearby Shanganagh area of Dublin.

History

Woodbrook Halt was opened as a halt in 1910. The small station was located on the main line, a few yards south of Shanganagh Junction, thus receiving trains from both the main line and the Harcourt Street line. It served Sir Stanley Cochrane's Woodbrook estate, and especially his cricket ground. The

Woodbrook Golf Club Woodbrook Golf Club is a golf club located in Shankill, Dublin, Ireland. It was established as a private club in 1921 by Sir Stanley Cochrane. Woodbook was first affiliated to the Golfing Union of Ireland (GUI) in 1926. Sir Stanley had previous ...

and Cricket Grounds later used this halt, from 1920 to 1960. The part of the line between

Killiney Killiney () is an affluent seaside resort and suburb in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It lies south of neighbouring Dalkey, east of Ballybrack and Sallynoggin and north of Shankill. The place grew around the 11th century Killiney Churc ...

and Bray was moved inland in 1915 due to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...

, with Shanganagh Junction and the Woodbrook station being relocated as a result. The new station lay in what is now the centre of Shanganagh Park.

Closure

The Harcourt Street line had declined in use throughout the early 20th century and was closed by

CIÉ Córas Iompair Éireann (''Irish Transport Company''), or CIÉ, is a statutory corporation of Ireland, answerable to the Irish Government and responsible for most public transport within the republic and jointly with its Northern Ireland counter ...

at the end of 1958. Being on the main line, Woodbrook survived the closure of the branch for a year until January 1960, when lifting of the line began. In the years that followed, the building at the halt was demolished and as the years went on, the platforms became overgrown.

Proposed station

A new station is intended for an area zoned for future housing development, with access to the proposed station included as part of a list of strategic infrastructure projects financed under the Local Infrastructure Housing Activation Fund in 2017. The proposed station is close to (but unconnected to) the former Woodbrook halt, the remains of which remain along the line at Woodbrook Golf Club. In August 2020, Iarnród Éireann stated its intention to apply for

planning permission Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building per ...

for the station. An application was submitted in October 2020, and planning permission was granted in July 2021.

References

{{Future Irish stations Disused railway stations in County Dublin Railway stations opened in 1910 Railway stations closed in 1960 1910 establishments in Ireland Proposed railway stations in the Republic of Ireland