BROOMBRIDGE 23 OCTOBER 2022
Broombridge is a railway station beside a Luas Tram stop serving Cabra, Dublin 7, Ireland. It lies on the southern bank of the Royal Canal at the western end of what had been Liffey Junction station on the erstwhile Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR). It takes its name from Broome Bridge, which crosses the canal, where William Rowan Hamilton developed the mathematical notion of quaternions. A plaque on the adjacent canal bridge and the name of the Luas Maintenance depot on site, Hamilton Depot, commemorates this.
The railway station, which is in my opinion somewhat bleak if not grim. was opened on 2 July 1990. Both platforms are step-free accessible, the northern eastbound by a long ramp from the Cabra Road bridge and the southern platform at street level. A pedestrian bridge with lifts and other station improvements were completed in 2018 to facilitate transfers to the two Luas terminus platforms which became operational in December 2017. No toilet facilities are provided despite being an interchange station. There are no electronic signs indicating departure or arrival times.
The railway station is unmanned and had been subject to significant and sustained vandalism over the years but it has improved somewhat.
The Luas Broombridge interchange station is the northside Dublin terminus of the Luas Green Line extension and services began in December 2017. From Broombridge, the tram route takes the old MGWR route to its Broadstone terminus site before continuing to Dublin City Centre. The Broombridge-Hamilton LUAS maintenance depot lies to the south of the line on the final part of the approach to the station.
On average, trams depart every 10 to 15 minutes and head south towards Bride’s Glen, a journey which takes approximately one hour. Immediately after leaving Broombridge, they go through a double crossover point which allows them to make use of both platforms. The line runs parallel to the heavy rail line for 350m, before turning south into the Broadstone railway cutting, which takes it into central Dublin.
