About
It is one of the longest in Ireland at 266 km. The line is utilised by both InterCity and Commuter services. Services to Waterford branch off at Cherryville Junction, after Kildare, and to Westport and Galway after Portarlington. Although there are some direct services to Limerick, most services require a change at either Limerick Junction or Ballybrophy traveling onward via the Limerick-Ballybrophy railway line. Services to Tralee run from Mallow. Commuter services run on both the South Western Commuter line between Dublin and Kildare or Portlaoise, and Cork Commuter line between Mallow and Cobh.
Iarnród Éireann, the Irish state railway company, has invested heavily in improving the infrastructure and rolling stock. It has had both its track and signalling upgraded in the last few years thanks to funding from the government's National Development Plan - beginning in 1977, the line was upgraded to continuous welded rail, while the introduction of Centralised Traffic Control means that signalling is controlled from a single location at Dublin Connolly station.
In 2006, the first of 67 new Mark 4 coaches were introduced on the route as part of a €117 million upgrade of rolling stock. These seven new 8-car sets provide an hourly service frequency between Dublin and Cork.
Although Dublin Heuston is the terminus, the line connects to Dublin Connolly via the Phoenix Park Tunnel. This route is primarily used for freight services and rolling stock movements to the main Iarnród Éireann works at Inchicore, just south of Heuston. However, it is occasionally used for special passenger services to Dublin Connolly, usually for Gaelic games events at Croke Park.
Read more about this topic: Dublin-Cork Railway Line