Harcourt Street Railway Line - Legacy

Legacy

The route was preserved after closure, allowing for a potential future reopening. The route corridor remained mostly in-situ until the 2000s. The section between the Grand Canal crossing and the old Stillorgan station was chosen for use by the Luas light rail system whose Green Line opened in 2004. The line crosses Dundrum on the new William Dargan cable-stayed bridge.

An extension of the Luas to Cherrywood opened for passenger service on Saturday October 16, 2010, using some of the old railway alignment. The route leaves the old alignment after Sandyford Depot to Central Park stop, crosses the M50 and runs down Ballyogan Road with stops at Glencairn, The Gallops, Leopardstown Valley and Ballyogan Wood. It then crosses the M50 again, re-joining the original alignment at Racecourse (future) stop, west of Glenamuck Road. Continuing along the alignment it passes by the original Carrickmines station to Carrickmines stop and Brennanstown (future) stop. The Carrickmines stop incorporates Park and Ride facilities. The RPA has announced that the Brennanstown stop will not be opened due to lack of local development. Beyond Brennanstown the route crosses open countryside, diverging slightly from, but paralleling the old alignment to Laughanstown stop, Cherrywood stop and ending at Bride’s Glen stop, adjacent to Dell.

The final extension to Fassaroe will continue on the old alignment to Loughlinstown, just 1mile (1.5 km) short of the old Shanganagh Junction, before finally leaving the old route by turning south and paralleling the M11.