A MAJOR Irish train station will receive a new glass roof as part of a €70million redevelopment plan.
A new roof will be installed over Ceannt station in Galway city next month as part of a plan to increase the number of platforms from two to five.
Iarnoid Eireann have released an impression of the final design[/caption]
The new roof will mirror the original 80-foot-wide wrought iron and glass design by Richard Turner, who also designed the glasshouses at Dublin’s Botanic Gardens and London’s Kew Gardens.
Construction kicked off in January 2024, and it’s being carried out by BAM Ireland for Irish Rail.
The project is expected to be largely completed by mid-2026.
While construction continues, rail and bus services will remain operational – although the southern car park has been temporarily closed.
A new facade and entrance will also be created on the south side of the station.
The new entrance will lead into a modern “train hall”, which will feature new retail units and accessible toilets.
The expanded platforms will allow for more frequent services on the Dublin-Galway route, along with commuter trains from Ennis, Athenry, and Oranmore.
The redeveloped station will also connect directly to the proposed Augustine Hill development, an 8.5-acre urban regeneration project that will include residential, cultural, retail, leisure and office spaces.
Renovations are also underway on the old northern entrance, with a focus on improving accessibility, including an upgraded Bus Éireann ticket office and better connections between bus and rail services.
The redevelopment plan aims to ease pressure and reduce footpath congestion on Station Road.
Plans also include future expansion of bus bays, which will be developed alongside adjacent lands.
An Irish Rail spokesperson told the Irish Times the project would make Ceannt station “possibly one of the best integrated transport hubs we have in the centre of a city.”
The redevelopment is being funded by the Department of Housing’s urban regeneration and development fund and the National Transport Authority.
The spokesperson said that the new station is designed to accommodate the significant growth expected in the future.
They said: “January 2025 will see trusses for the new train hall roof installed, beginning the structure which will transform the environment and ambience of the new station.
“The new Ceannt station is designed to cater for significant growth envisioned in the future, including moves to an hourly Galway to Dublin service; expansion of existing Commuter services; and enhancement of service frequency on the Western Rail Corridor (WRC) between Limerick and Galway, and new phases of the WRC such as Athenry to Claremorris.”
Galway station was partly modernised in the 1960s, but still retains its large Midland and Great Western Line station building and the former railway hotel, now The Hardiman, on Eyre Square.
The station first opened in 1851 as the terminus of the Midland and Great Western Line.
Its eastern terminus was Broadstone station in Dublin, while the Galway to Clifden line opened in 1885 but was closed in 1935.
