Cobh railway station serves the town of
Cobh
Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
,
County Cork
County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
. It is located in a red brick building adjacent to the town's
Cobh Heritage Centre.
It is the terminus of the on Cork-Cobh section of the
Cork Suburban Rail line. Travel to Glounthaune station to transfer to
Midleton
Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satelli ...
.
Description
The station is staffed part-time and has a single platform. The station is accessible only via a steep ramp.
History
The station opened 10 March 1862 and was closed for goods traffic on 3 November 1975.
It began life as the terminus of the Cobh (then Queenstown) section of the
Cork, Youghal & Queenstown Railway.
The present station occupies only a small part of the old station building. The original station was expanded greatly during the latter part of the 19th century as it served what was then Ireland's largest emigration port which was also an important way-point as the last port between Western Europe and North America. The station was also the main receiving centre for mails for Ireland and Britain from the United States and Canada. Mail would be brought by ship to Cobh, processed and forwarded by mail express trains to Kingstown (now
Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...
) on the outskirts of Dublin and on to
Holyhead
Holyhead (; , "Cybi's fort") is a historic port town, and is the list of Anglesey towns by population, largest town and a Community (Wales), community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales. Holyhead is on Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island ...
. This was faster than conveying by ship directly to
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
.
It is famous for being the station where hundreds of survivors of the
RMS Lusitania
RMS ''Lusitania'' was a United Kingdom, British ocean liner launched by the Cunard Line in 1906. The Royal Mail Ship, the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of her sister three months later, in 1907 regained for Britain the ...
disaster left the town of Cobh after surviving the sinking.
With the development and growth of transatlantic air traffic Cobh lost its importance as a mail and passenger centre. A significant part of the train station remained largely unused until the opening of the
Cobh Heritage Centre in the front part of the station in the 1980s. At that time the station was also reduced to a single platform. The freight yard of the station has now become a public carpark while another part of the station has become a covered carpark for Cobh
Garda Station.
See also
*
List of railway stations in Ireland
This article lists railway stations both in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The stations in the Republic of Ireland are generally operated by Iarnród Éireann and stations in Northern Ireland are generally operated by NI Railways. ...
*
Metropolitan Cork
*
Cork Suburban Rail
References
External links
Irish Rail Cobh Station WebsiteCobh Heritage Centre
Iarnród Éireann stations in County Cork
Railway stations in the Republic of Ireland opened in 1862
Railway stations serving harbours and ports in Ireland
Buildings and structures in Cobh
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