Pearse Station - Definition and Overview

Pearse Station, located on Westland Row in the Southside in Dublin is a DART and Intercity railway station owned by Coras Iompair Eireann. The station is the terminus of the Northern Commuter (to Balbriggan/Dundalk) and Western Commuter (to Maynooth/Longford) services. DART and South Eastern Commuter (Dublin Connolly to Arklow) services also serve the station, as do InterCity services from Dublin Connolly to Rosslare Europort.

The station has two through platforms (Platforms 1 & 2). There is also one terminal platform (Platform 3) which is occasionally used for special services. A fourth platform exists, but is unsuitable for modern passenger services and is closed. The station also includes a cafe (on the southbound platform) and a Spar convenience store.

It is the headquarters of Iarnród Éireann's DART/Commuter sector. It is the only one of Dublin's three terminal stations which has not or is not the subject of a recent major upgrade project, the others being Connolly and Heuston on the west of the city.

The station was previously called Westland Row Station, but was renamed in 1966 (Willie Pearse) as part of the Easter Rising celebrations that saw many of the Republic of Ireland railway stations renamed. Because of its proximity to Pearse St, many Dubliners refer to the station as "Pearse Street Station" though that is not its offical name. (In fact, the most recent - December 2004 - Iarnrod Éireann list of departures from the station is headed with that name). Although a number of Intercity lines operated out of the station in the past, nowadays no Intercity services regularly terminate at the station.

A tunnel under the city centre connecting Heuston Station to the Northern DART line to be open by 2011, is proposed under Iarnród Éireann's Dublin Rail Plan. This "Interconnector" tunnel would include an underground station at Pearse, which would become an important transfer station for commuters between the underground and above ground DART lines. See also Spencer Dock.

See also: Rail transport in Ireland, History of rail transport in Ireland