Dublin Heuston train station
South Western Commuter · Stáisiún Heuston, Baile Átha Cliath · Dublin
About Dublin Heuston
The Great Southern and Western Railway chose this site in 1838, bought the land from Lord Viscount Palmerston on 28 October 1845 for £1,600, and opened its terminus and headquarters on 4 August 1846. The Freeman’s Journal reported that “carriages of all classes were densely crowded with passengers” on the first day. The first regular service was two trains each way daily to Carlow, scheduled at about two hours thirty-five minutes for the fifty-six miles. Sancton Wood designed the passenger building and John MacNeill the sheds and infrastructure; the historian Maurice Craig called the result “a renaissance palazzo, gay and full-blooded”.
It was Kingsbridge for well over a century, after the bridge over the Liffey completed in 1828, and was renamed in 1966 for Seán Heuston, a railway clerk who had worked in these offices, commanded a post nearby in the 1916 Rising and was executed afterwards. The station grew with its traffic: two platforms separated by carriage sidings at first, a “military platform” added in 1872, three more in August 2002 as part of a €170 million rebuild. There are nine platforms today — eight terminal and one through, numbered 10, on the Phoenix Park Tunnel line. There is no platform nine.
First and last trains from Dublin Heuston
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last | Bank holiday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Western towards Kildare | 05:45 – 23:10 | 05:45 – 23:10 | 06:20 – 23:10 | 08:00 – 21:10 | 07:20 – 19:45 |
Departures from this station in the NTA’s published timetable for a representative week. A day type with no departures is shown as no service rather than filled in from another day.
From Dublin Heuston: South Western towards Kildare, about one train every 22 minutes at the busiest times (42 departures on a weekday).
Most trains calling here on a weekday are InterCity services passing through: 24 of the 42 departures. They run to Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Westport/Ballina. They are longer-distance trains that happen to stop, so check the fare and whether a Leap Card is accepted before you board.
Next stops from Dublin Heuston
Running times to the adjoining stops, from the operators’ own timetables.
| Line | Next stop | Time |
|---|---|---|
| South Western | Park West and Cherry Orchard | 7.1 min |
Connections and interchange
- Heuston — about 2 minutes on foot (walking time named by Iarnód Éireann). It is a separate stop, not another platform here.
- Museum — about 12 minutes on foot (our estimate, 480 m in a straight line). It is a separate stop, not another platform here.
- Iarnód Éireann timetables for the routes serving this station are published on its own station page.
Facilities
From Iarnód Éireann’s own station record. A facility that the operator does not list is left out rather than marked as absent.
Open for all services
Station Staffing Hours
Monday to Friday: 05:00 - 00:00
Saturday: 05:30- 00:00
Sunday: 07:00- 22:30
Station Booking Office Opening Hours
Monday to Saturday: 06:30 - 19:00, 19:30 - 21:00
Sunday And Bank Holidays : Closed
What is near Dublin Heuston
Heuston sits on the south quays at the western edge of the city, about twenty minutes’ walk from the centre. Seán Heuston Bridge is roughly 160 m from the door and Frank Sherwin Bridge about 180 m; St Patrick’s University Hospital is around 240 m, the Anna Livia monument 260 m and Collins Barracks, now part of the National Museum, about 370 m. Kilmainham Gaol, the Guinness brewery and the Phoenix Park are all ten to fifteen minutes away on foot, and the Heuston Luas stop is on the forecourt.
| Place | Straight-line distance from the station |
|---|---|
| Sean Heuston Bridge | 160 m |
| Frank Sherwin Bridge | 180 m |
| Saint Patrick’s University Hospital | 240 m |
| Anna Livia | 260 m |
| Collins Barracks | 370 m |
Named places from OpenStreetMap within 400 m of the station. The distance is a straight line, not a walking route.
Frequently asked questions
The eight terminal platforms are numbered 1 to 8, and the single through platform on the Phoenix Park Tunnel line is numbered 10, some distance from the main concourse and not used by regular scheduled trains. Nothing was ever numbered 9.
No. No railway or tram line in Ireland reaches Dublin Airport — there is no station there at all. From Heuston the connection is by road: coach services run from outside the station, and city buses from the quays. Our airport transport guide sets out the options.