Moate railway station is a former railway station which served the town of Moate in County Westmeath, Ireland. Previously a stop on the Midland Great Western Railway's main line to Galway and later on the main route between Dublin and stations in County Mayo, the station was closed in 1987. As of 2015, the line and station at Moate form part of the Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway.
The station was first opened in 1851, and located on the Midland Great Western Railway's line to Galway. The station formed part of the main route between Dublin, County Galway and County Mayo until 1973, when Córas Iompair Éireann transferred the majority of these services to the Great Southern and Western Railway route from Portarlington. At this point, services were cut back until finally the station was closed in 1987, severing the rail link between Athlone and Mullingar. [1] 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.[ citation needed ] 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. [2] This led to criticism in 2006 from the local community, and calls for Iarnród Éireann to rethink this. [3] [4] Ultimately however, the line and station remained closed.
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. [5] The Mullingar (West) to Garrycastle (Athlone East) section of the Galway to Dublin Cycleway was opened on 3 October 2015 by the then Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Moate. [6]
| Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streamstown | Iarnród Éireann Dublin-Galway (via Mullingar) | Athlone |
The train station was used as one of the filming locations for the 1978 movie The First Great Train Robbery, starring Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland. [7]
Athlone is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of 21,349 in the 2016 census.
County Westmeath is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of Meath, which was named Mide because the kingdom was located in the geographical centre of Ireland. Westmeath County Council is the administrative body for the county, and the county town is Mullingar. At the 2022 census, the population of the county was 95,840.
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census.
Rail transport in Ireland is provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.
The Royal Canal is a canal originally built for freight and passenger transportation from Dublin to Longford in Ireland. It is one of two canals from Dublin to the River Shannon and was built in direct competition to the Grand Canal. The canal fell into disrepair in the late 20th century, but much of it has since been restored for navigation. The length of the canal to the River Shannon was reopened on 1 October 2010, but a final spur branch, to Longford Town, remains closed.
Moate is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland.
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 MGWR had a network of 538 miles (866 km), making it Ireland's third largest network after the Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) and the Great Northern Railway of Ireland.
The villages of Killucan and Rathwire are co-located in the east of County Westmeath, Ireland. They have a combined population of 1,370 according to the 2016 census. Killucan is on the R156 road about 15 km (9.3 mi) from Mullingar and 60 km (37 mi) from Dublin.
Mullingar railway station serves the town of Mullingar in County Westmeath, Ireland; it is situated 50 miles 17 chains (80.8 km) from Dublin, and 84 miles (135 km) from Sligo. Mullingar station is served by national rail company Iarnród Éireann's Dublin to Longford Commuter service and Dublin to Sligo InterCity service.
Athlone railway station is a station which serves the town of Athlone in County Roscommon and County Westmeath. It is located in the town on the east side of the river Shannon.
Castlebar railway station serves the town of Castlebar in County Mayo, Ireland.
Westport railway station serves the town of Westport, County Mayo, Ireland.
Commuter is a brand of suburban rail services operated by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland, serving the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. This brand is distinct from the longer distance InterCity brand, and Dublin's higher frequency DART brand. Most Commuter services share a track with InterCity services. During the first decade of the new millennium, Iarnród Éireann put a significant amount of effort into upgrading its network, with new tracks, signalling, station upgrades and trains. Commuter services are operated by diesel multiple unit train sets.
Streamstown is a village in County Westmeath, Ireland. It sits roughly 20 km from the county town of Mullingar. Streamstown was historically called Ballintruhan, which is an anglicisation of its Irish name.
Midland Railway Action Group was established to improve the internal infrastructure of the Irish Midlands, in particular, Mullingar, Tullamore, and Athlone, the Midland Railway Action Group (MRAG) is a pressure group striving to have the Athlone to Mullingar rail line re-opened, in order to serve the Midland Gateway towns of Athlone, Tullamore, and Mullingar with a transport corridor that answers the future and current requirements while remaining Kyoto friendly. More generally, other towns they claim would be positively affected by the desired re-opening of the Athlone -Mullingar rail link are Cavan, Clones, Longford, and Monaghan from the MRAG.
Willie Allen is currently the M.R.A.G. spokesperson.
The Dublin-Westport/Galway line is a major railway route from Dublin to Galway or Westport, County Mayo. The line is part of the greater intercity rail network formed by branches of the main line between Dublin and Cork. The route to Westport and Galway branches away from the main line at Portarlington in County Laois and continues as far as Athlone in County Westmeath, where it splits again, with one branch to Westport and the other to Galway.
The Dublin–Galway Greenway is a partially completed 'coast-to-coast' greenway and partial rail trail, in Ireland, funded by the Department of Transport, which is due to become the western section of EuroVelo EV2, a cycle route from Galway, Ireland, crossing Europe and ending in Moscow, Russia. The 276 km route was planned to be completed by 2020. It is due to be the fourth greenway in Ireland, after the Great Southern Trail, the Great Western Greenway and the Waterford Greenway.
Clonlonan is a barony in south–west County Westmeath, Ireland. It was formed by 1672. It is bordered by County Offaly to the south and a small part of County Roscommon at Long Island on the River Shannon to the west. It also borders four other Westmeath baronies: Kilkenny West and Rathconrath, Moycashel and Brawny. The largest centre of population in the barony is the town of Moate.
The Athlone to Mullingar Cycleway is a long-distance cycling and walking trail in County Westmeath, which forms a section of the Dublin-Galway Greenway. It is a 42 kilometres long rail-trail over the disused Athlone-Mullingar rail line beginning in Athlone and ending in Mullingar.
Ireland's greenways are off-road routes for walkers, cyclists and other non-motorised transport in Ireland, which are often created as rail trails on abandoned sections of the Irish rail network. In the Republic of Ireland, several greenway initiatives have been centrally funded by the Irish government. In Northern Ireland, greenways are typically part of the collective British National Cycle Network (NCN).