New railway station will transform Cork city's northside, say Taoiseach 

The new Blackpool rail station, which has just been granted planning permission, will transform Cork city’s northside, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.

The station will be located at Kilbarry, near the historical Blackpool station, bounded by Dublin Hill Rd and Redforge Rd, and will be serviced initially by up to 10 trains daily.

The new station is part of the Cork Area Commuter Rail programme, and the Taoiseach told The Echo he had insisted the scheme be put on the critical infrastructure priority list.

“This new station, and the further development of commuter rail, will transform the northside of Cork, and Cork more generally,” he said.

“The linkages from East Cork through to North Cork, from Mallow to Midleton and Cobh and so forth, will be transformative.”

The Taoiseach said that Iarnród Éireann’s recent record in Cork gave him confidence that it would deliver the project on time.

“Also, these big projects are the most effective way to decarbonise transport and to give better opportunities for access to public transport, which we need, given the growth in population and employment in Cork,” he said.

Increase future services 

While the new Kilbarry station will initially be serviced by up to 10 trains daily, Iarnród Éireann has expressed an ambition to increase services in the future. The new station will feature two platforms connected by a pedestrian footbridge from either side of the railway, via stairs and accessible lifts.

It will provide for accessible parking spaces, EV charging points, motorcycle parking, a bus/taxi/car set-down area, bicycle stands, and bicycle lockers.

Iarnród Éireann applied for permission for the Kilbarry station, and one in Dunkettle, earlier this year — the first two of eight stations that are proposed under the Cork Area Commuter Rail programme.

The overall Cork rail project, which will ultimately see commuter trains running every 10 minutes, was one of the first nine projects in Ireland to be designated critical infrastructure earlier this year, meaning it should be delivered faster.

Transformative

The newly approved station, will be on the Mallow line, along with Blarney/Stoneview and Monard, while Tivoli, Dunkettle, Carrigtwohill West, and Water Rock will be on the Midleton line, and a Ballynoe station is proposed for the Cobh line.

Colm Burke, Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central, agreed that the new station at Kilbarry would have the potential to be transformative for the city’s northside.

“This is a very welcome development. It will facilitate the development of the whole Blackpool area,” he said.

Independent Ireland councillor Noel O’Flynn said he had been campaigning for a new station for 35 years.

“What we need now is the construction, which I believe will take 12 to 18 months,” he said.

He added that the new station would be great for Blackpool and the surrounding areas, and would mean less traffic in the city.