There will be no train and dart services into and out of one of the country’s busiest rail stations this weekend.
Pearse Street train station in the city centre has been undergoing engineering works on the 19th-century roof and repairs which first began in September last year.
Next weekend, Saturday, January 12, and Sunday, January 13, both Pearse St and Tara St stations will be closed to facilitate the works an Irish Rail spokesperson confirmed.
“Buses will be made available to those using the Dart and rail services. A bus service will also be provided from Connolly Train Station to Rosslare Europort to facilitate those travelling.
“Further announcements on weekend closures at Pearse St station will be given throughout the year.”
Costs of the project, are expected to spiral to €17m instead of €10m first announced last year by Irish Rail. The project is being funded by the National Transport Authority (NTA).
One closure, over the October Bank Holiday weekend last year has so far, taken place. The train station is expected to close for another 12 weekends over the next 19 months due to the works taking place.
However, Fianna Fáil General Election candidate, Councillor Cormac Devlin said "the works will impact on people going into the heart of the south-side of Dublin city centre on weekends for shopping or work but only Pearse station will be affected.
“I am calling on Irish Rail to publish all the remaining dates of the station closures as soon as possible as commuters, employees, businesses and tourists need to plan their route ahead of time.
"It is not fair or helpful to train and dart users to be given information in a piecemeal fashion."
Up to nine million trips a year are made from Pearse Street on Westland Row, which is the country's second-busiest train station, and busiest commuter station, on the network, serving Dart, commuter and intercity services.
The station opened in 1834, and was the original terminus of the first railway line in the country which ran from Westland Row to Kingstown/Dún Laoghaire.
These works have been planned for some time and were previously delayed, and are essential given the age of the roof and its poor condition. Protective mesh netting has been in place over recent years to protect customers and rail services, due to the corrosion that has occurred over time.
The replacement has been identified by Irish Rail as, “a crucial safety project,” and an announcement by them on the closures will be made shortly.
The works consist of the replacement of all primary trusses with new steel trusses, or similar, and replacement of the existing roofing materials with new materials chosen to maintain the external appearance and character of the structure.
Irish Rail has said that the significant works will also be necessary to separate the works from both the operations of the station and from the surrounding high-density area which includes residential, commercial, educational and amenity areas.
A crash deck has been installed over the main station for the duration of the works.
The dedicated construction weekends are required during this time period to allow for crane operation. The suspension of train services through the station during these weekends means that train services would not operate between Connolly and Grand Canal Dock.
Community Liaison arrangements are in place to engage and consult with residents, businesses and public representatives throughout the project.
More information about the detailed engineering works can be found here.
