St Johnston railway station is a former railway station that served St Johnston, County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. The Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway opened the station on 19 April 1847. It was taken over by the Great Northern Railway in 1883. [1] It closed on 15 February 1965. [2]
St Johnston station was opened as a part of the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway in 1847. [3] The opening of the station brought prosperity to the village of St Johnston. After the partition of Ireland in 1921 the Irish Revenue Commissioners selected St Johnston as the location for the customs post for the link between County Donegal and County Londonderry in Northern Ireland, despite the customs officers being considered ineffective for the route, as smugglers tended not to use the railway when heading for Londonderry station. [4] It was operated by Great Northern Railway and was known locally as the "Derry Road", for people passing through to connect at Londonderry station to change trains to connect onwards to Belfast. [4]
In 1959, the majority of railways and railway stations in County Donegal were closed down in December. [5] However St Johnston remained open until 1965 when the Ulster Transport Authority closed the Derry Road line, serving serving between Londonderry and Strabane stations, down. [6] The closure of St Johnston hit the village economically as they had relied on the income from customs officers based there, as the customs house closed along with the railway. [4] The closure was also debated in the Senate of Northern Ireland, where Northern Irish senators objected to the closure citing economic viability, and one member stated that he had previously used St Johnston to deliver six combine harvesters to County Donegal. [7]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Carrigans | Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway Londonderry to Enniskillen | Carrickmore |
Derry, officially Londonderry, is the largest city in County Londonderry, the second-largest in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. The old walled city lies on the west bank of the River Foyle, which is spanned by two road bridges and one footbridge. The city now covers both banks.
Strabane is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
The River Foyle is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. From here it flows to the city of Derry, where it discharges into Lough Foyle and, ultimately, the Atlantic Ocean. The total length of the River Foyle is 32 km (20 mi). The river separates part of County Donegal from parts of both County Londonderry and County Tyrone. The district of County Donegal that borders the western bank of the River Foyle is traditionally known as the Laggan. This district includes the villages of St Johnston and Carrigans, both of which are nestled on the banks of the River.
Stranorlar is a town, townland and civil parish in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey form the twin towns of Ballybofey–Stranorlar.
The Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, sometimes referred to as the Irish border or British–Irish border, runs for 499 km (310 mi) from Lough Foyle in the north-west of Ireland to Carlingford Lough in the north-east, separating the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland.
The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company was an Irish public transport and freight company that operated in parts of County Londonderry and County Donegal between 1853 and 2014. Incorporated in June 1853, it once operated 99 miles of railways. It began the transition to bus and road freight services in 1929. It closed its last railway line in July 1953 but continued to operate bus services under the name Lough Swilly Bus Company until April 2014, becoming the oldest railway company established in the Victorian era to continue trading as a commercial concern into the 21st century. Following a High Court petition by HM Revenue and Customs, the company went into liquidation and operated its final bus services on 19 April 2014.
Derry ~ Londonderry railway station, also known as North West Transport Hub or Waterside railway station, is a railway terminus in Derry, Northern Ireland, on the east bank of the River Foyle, operated by Northern Ireland Railways and its 7th busiest station across the network with 952,126 passengers boarding or alighting at the station in the 2023/24 financial year. It is on the Belfast–Derry railway line, terminating at Belfast Grand Central. Derry/Londonderry has the longest platforms on the NIR Network, at 258.3 metres in length.
The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNR(I) or GNRI) was an Irish gauge (1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)) railway company in Ireland. It was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway (INW), Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland jointly nationalised the company in 1953, and the company was liquidated in 1958: assets were split on national lines between the Ulster Transport Authority and Córas Iompair Éireann.
Ulster railways, present and past, include:
The Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) was an Irish gauge railway in Ireland.
The Portadown, Dungannon and Omagh Junction Railway (PD&O) was an Irish gauge railway in County Armagh and County Tyrone, Ulster, Ireland.
The Enniskillen and Bundoran Railway (E&BR) was an Irish gauge 5 ft 3 in railway company in north-west Ireland. It linked Bundoran and Ballyshannon on the Atlantic coast of Donegal with the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway (L&ER) at Bundoran Junction in Fermanagh. The line was opened in 1868 and closed in 1957.
Strabane railway station served Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland in the United Kingdom.
Londonderry Victoria Road railway station served Derry, County Londonderry, in Northern Ireland.
Carrickmore railway station was a relatively short-lived calling-point on the Londonderry and Enniskillen Railway between Derry and Strabane. Situated in the townland of Carrickmore, County Donegal, the station, which had opened on 19 April 1847, was closed to all traffic with effect from 1 February 1858.
Carrigans railway station served Carrigans, County Donegal, in Ulster, Ireland.
Londonderry Cow Market railway station served Derry, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland.
Londonderry Foyle Road railway station was a railway terminus in the city centre of Derry, Northern Ireland.
Bundoran railway station served Bundoran in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.
The Londonderry & Coleraine Railway is a railway line between the cities of Derry and Coleraine in County Londonderry, built by the Londonderry & Coleraine Railway Company (L&CR). The company operated the line independently for seven years before being absorbed into the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway. The line is still in use today by NI Railways and forms part of the Belfast to Derry-Londonderry rail line.