Moate railway station is a former

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

which served the town of

Moate Moate (; ) is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 3,013. The town's Irish name, ''An Móta'', is derived from the term motte-and-bailey, as the Normans built an example of this type of fortificati ...

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

, Ireland. Previously a stop on the

Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the had a network of , making it Ireland's ...

's main line to

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

and later on the main route between

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

and stations in

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

, the station was closed in 1987. As of 2015, the line and station at Moate form part of the Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway.

History

The station was first opened in 1851, and located on the

's line to

. The station formed part of the main route between

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

and

until 1973, when Córas Iompair Éireann transferred the majority of these services to the

Great Southern and Western Railway The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the larges ...

route from Portarlington. At this point, services were cut back until finally the station was closed in 1987, severing the rail link between

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

and

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...

. Developments in the Irish economy in the 1990s and 2000s led to a re-evaluation of the need for an extended railway network, and the Irish government's Transport 21 plan had seen several rail expansion projects implemented, to restore several sections of the rail network. However, the line from Mullingar to Athlone via Moate was not included in these proposals, in spite of the Strategic Rail Review which led to the Transport 21 proposals recommending that it be reopened. This led to criticism in 2006 from the local community, and calls for

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann, () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national Rail transport in Ireland, railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of CIÉ, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal I ...

to rethink this. Ultimately however, the line and station remained closed.

Cycleway

The proposal to reopen the line was dropped in favour of creating a cycling route known as the Dublin-Galway Greenway. Part of this cycleway uses the Athlone-Mullingar rail route. Work began in early 2015 including works at Moate station. The Mullingar (West) to Garrycastle (Athlone East) section of the Galway to Dublin Cycleway was opened on 3 October 2015 by the then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...

in Moate.

In popular culture

The train station was used as one of the filming locations for the 1978 movie The First Great Train Robbery, starring

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

and

Donald Sutherland Donald McNichol Sutherland (17 July 1935 – 20 June 2024) was a Canadian actor. With a career spanning six decades, he received List of awards and nominations received by Donald Sutherland, numerous accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award ...

References

{{Railway lines in Eire Disused railway stations in County Westmeath Dublin-Galway Greenway Railway stations in the Republic of Ireland opened in 1851