M3 Parkway train station
Western Commuter · Ollpháirc M3 · Co. Meath
About M3 Parkway
M3 Parkway is a station built for cars. It opened on 3 September 2010 at the Pace interchange on the M3 motorway in County Meath, as phase one of a plan announced in 2005 to put passenger trains back on the Clonsilla to Navan line, which had closed in 1963. There was never a station on this precise spot before, and there is no village at the gate: the site is a car park of 1,200 free spaces with platforms attached, and no bus route serves it.
Even its name took a while to settle. Before opening it appeared variously as Pace M3, M3 Park and Ride and Pace (M3 Park and Ride); the signs have read M3 Parkway since the summer of 2010. It is the outer end of the Western Commuter branch, with through trains to Docklands at weekday peaks and a shuttle to Clonsilla at other times. Phase two, the extension on to Navan, has slipped repeatedly: as of 2026 it was being discussed for somewhere between 2030 and 2035.
First and last trains from M3 Parkway
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last | Bank holiday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western towards Docklands | 06:12 – 23:15 | 06:12 – 23:15 | 07:50 – 23:10 | 09:40 – 23:10 | 09:40 – 23:10 |
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 M3 Parkway: Western towards Docklands, about one train every 34 minutes at the busiest times (26 departures on a weekday).
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 purchased from the ticket vending machine or a leap card can be used in applicable locations.
What is near M3 Parkway
There is nothing within walking distance, and the station makes no pretence otherwise. It stands beside junction 5 of the M3, the Pace interchange, in open country on the Meath side of the county boundary near Dunboyne, and its whole purpose is to catch drivers coming in from Meath before they reach the Dublin traffic. No bus route calls. Arrive by car or bicycle, or arrive by train from Dunboyne, because there is no third option.
Frequently asked questions
The name was unsettled until it opened. Plans and timetables used Pace M3, M3 Park and Ride and Pace (M3 Park and Ride) at various points. From the summer of 2010 the signs on the station have read M3 Parkway, and that is now the official name.
Not on this site. The Clonsilla to Navan line that the station sits on closed in 1963, and when it was reopened as far as here in 2010 the station was entirely new — unlike Dunboyne, the next station down the branch, which had an earlier station of its own.