Ashtown train station
Western Commuter · Baile an Ásaigh · Dublin
About Ashtown
Ashtown’s history is a run of closures and reopenings. The Midland Great Western Railway put a platform here in 1847 to handle race specials for the Phoenix Park Racecourse, long since demolished, and only opened it as a proper station on 1 August 1902. It passed to the Great Southern Railways under the amalgamation scheme of 12 November 1924 and closed in 1934. Nationalisation followed, the line going to Córas Iompair Éireann under the Transport Act 1944 with effect from 1 January 1945, and it then stood shut for decades.
Its revival began with a single day’s work: in 1979 the station was reopened briefly to handle the crowds travelling to the open-air mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II in the Phoenix Park. Permanent reopening came on 11 January 1982, a few weeks after the Western Commuter service started, and the line passed to Iarnród Éireann in 1987. The footbridge is secondhand, brought here from Midleton on the Youghal line. The Irish name is Baile an Ásaigh.
First and last trains from Ashtown
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last | Bank holiday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western towards Dublin Connolly | 06:23 – 23:45 | 06:23 – 23:45 | 07:17 – 23:37 | 08:34 – 23:37 | 08:34 – 23:37 |
| Western towards Maynooth | 05:36 – 23:41 | 05:36 – 23:41 | 06:11 – 23:40 | 09:00 – 23:42 | 09:00 – 23:42 |
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 Ashtown: Western towards Dublin Connolly, about one train every 20 minutes at the busiest times (50 departures on a weekday) and Western towards Maynooth, about one train every 23 minutes at the busiest times (48 departures on a weekday).
Next stops from Ashtown
Running times to the adjoining stops, from the operators’ own timetables.
| Line | Next stop | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Western | Navan Road Parkway | 1.7 min |
| Western | Pelletstown | 2 min |
Connections and interchange
- 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
This station is not staffed
Station Booking Office
This station does not have a booking office. Tickets can be bought online or from the ticket vending machine. A leap card can be used in applicable locations.
What is near Ashtown
The station is five minutes off the Navan Road and is the usual railway approach to the Phoenix Park, which begins a short walk to the south. Within about a kilometre are Martin Savage Park at roughly 480 m, the River Centre at about 490 m, St Oliver Plunkett Eoghan Ruadh GAA Club at around 530 m, Crescent Park at 610 m and Tolka Valley Park at about 720 m. The Royal Canal runs beside the line and its towpath links the station to Pelletstown and Broombridge.
| Place | Straight-line distance from the station |
|---|---|
| St. Oliver Plunkett Eoghan Ruadh GAA Club | 530 m |
| Martin Savage Park | 480 m |
| River Centre | 490 m |
| Crescent Park | 610 m |
| Tolka Valley Park | 720 m |
Named places from OpenStreetMap within 1 km of the station. The distance is a straight line, not a walking route; nothing is mapped within 400 m of this one, so the list is widened to 1 km.
Frequently asked questions
Not quite, but his visit did. The station had been closed since 1934 when it was reopened for a short period in 1979 to carry the enormous crowds attending Pope John Paul II’s open-air mass in the Phoenix Park. It reopened permanently three years later, on 11 January 1982.
No. Navan Road Parkway opened nearby in 2008 and the two stations run alongside each other, each with its own catchment. Ashtown remains the closer of the two to the Phoenix Park, which is why the newer station had to be renamed.