Ireland's First Railway
Although a railway between Limerick and Waterford had been authorised as early as 1826 (the same year as Britain's first locomotive-drawn line, the Liverpool and Manchester Railway) it wasn't until 1834 that the first railway was built, the Dublin and Kingstown Railway (D&KR) between Dublin and Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire), a distance of 10 km (6 mi). Due to local opposition the first terminus, Kingstown Harbour, was adjacent to the West Pier. It took a further three years before the line reached the site of the present station. The contractor was William Dargan, called "the founder of railways in Ireland", due to his participation in many of the main routes. The D&KR were notable in being one of the earliest dedicated commuter railways in the world. The planning undertaken was also noteworthy: a full survey of the existing road traffic was made, in addition to careful land surveys.
As well as the traffic survey showing existing volumes to be healthy, there was the potential from the ever expanding port at Kingstown. On 9 October 1834 the locomotive Hibernia brought a train the full route from the Westland Row terminus (now Pearse Station) to Kingstown. The railway was built to standard gauge, 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in).
The entire route forms part of the present day Dublin Area Rapid Transit electrified commuter rail system.
Read more about this topic: History Of Rail Transport In Ireland
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