photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0/The development of the Irish railway; The Irish Tiger.
Irish history? It’s a story of constant struggle and change. From Viking invasions and English rule to modern plans for the future, including a €35 billion project to modernize the railway system, Ireland is moving forward. But the road to progress has never been easy.
Ireland’s past can be summed up in two words: transformation and the fight for independence. From the 8th century, the island faced frequent raids by Norse Vikings. This continued until the 11th century when the Irish finally drove the Vikings out. However, peace was short-lived during the height of the medieval period. In the 12th century, due to internal political issues, English kings gained control over the island. Then, in the 16th century, came a major historical shift. After King Henry VIII was denied a divorce by the Pope, he took a bold step: he broke away from the Catholic Church and established the Protestant Church of England with himself as its head.
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This decision had significant consequences in England but minimal impact in Ireland, where Catholicism was deeply ingrained. English monarchs could not ignore this and made several attempts to force the Irish to convert. The most significant step was the declaration of a personal union between England and Ireland in 1541. Serious discussions about Irish autonomy didn’t start in Britain until the late 19th century. These efforts were disrupted by the Irish Easter Rising in 1916, which took advantage of Britain's weakened state during World War I. Though the uprising was crushed, and its leaders executed, the fight for independence continued.
In 1919, the republican party won the Irish parliamentary elections, with independence as their main goal. Britain rejected this, sparking another war for independence in Ireland. It ended with a truce in 1921 and eventually led to a treaty where the British agreed to the creation of an independent Irish Free State, which gained dominion status over most of the island, excluding Northern Ireland, which remained part of the United Kingdom. However, disagreements over the treaty sparked an 11-month Irish Civil War. Full independence from British dominion status was finally achieved in 1949, and the new state experienced rapid economic growth, aided significantly by joining the European Economic Community in 1973.
Ireland’s railway history began in 1834 with the construction of the island's first railway, linking Dublin to the nearby town of Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire), a mere 10 km away. The railway was designed by engineer William Dragan, who went on to build more lines across Ireland, earning the title of the founder of the Irish railway. Interestingly, the Dublin-Kingstown line was built with the standard gauge of 1,435 mm, while future lines adopted Ireland’s distinct 1,600 mm gauge.
Railway construction in Ireland was largely driven by private initiatives, but many small railway companies faced bankruptcy, leading to consolidation into larger companies. Dublin naturally emerged as the central hub, although early on, many small companies built uncoordinated lines, creating a disjointed network.
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The Irish railways managed to survive the fight for independence relatively unscathed, but the civil war in the early 1920s took a toll. The Irish Republican Army frequently targeted railway infrastructure in their attacks. However, the biggest challenge for the railway system came from the island partition, which divided the railway network between independent Ireland and Northern Ireland, part of the UK. The railway system wasn’t designed for this division, often causing cross-border routes to zigzag between countries.
World War II, though neutral for Ireland, also strained the railways due to severe shortages of resources. However, the war caused minimal damage to railway infrastructure.
After the war, Ireland took a significant step by phasing out steam locomotives and replacing them with internal combustion engines. In 1945, the state railway company Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) was formed through the merger of Ireland’s largest railway companies.
Throughout the 1950s and 60s, numerous railway lines were closed to streamline the network. By 1957, Ireland’s railway system had shrunk from 4,294 km in 1920 to 3,574 km, with further closures to follow. The savings from these closures were reinvested into the railway system.
The 1970s and 80s saw major investments in Irish railways. Unlike many European countries, Ireland had a strong faith in diesel engines. This was exemplified by the purchase of 18 diesel-electric locomotives, capable of speeds up to 145 km/h, which were quickly deployed on main lines to haul express trains.
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In 1987, Iarnród Éireann (Irish Rail) was established, replacing CIÉ. At the end of the 20th century, Ireland experienced significant economic growth, leading to more investment in the railway system. Ireland purchased 34 new Class 201 locomotives from General Motors and significantly modernized its railway network. Despite these advancements, the majority of the railway network remained non-electrified.
In the 21st century, significant investments continued, especially in modernizing rolling stock. However, it wasn’t until 2013 that Ireland complied with the European Economic Community directive from 1991 to separate national transport operators from infrastructure managers. As part of this, Iarnród Éireann was divided into a company responsible for operating rail services and another managing railway infrastructure.
In 2023, Ireland and Northern Ireland unveiled a joint plan to invest at least €35 billion into the island's railway system. This investment aims to modernize the railway network and address current limitations. These include gaps in network coverage, relatively low frequency and speed of services compared to other European Union countries, the lowest level of railway electrification in the EU, and the lack of rail connections to the island’s airports. The main goal is to electrify most of the railway network by 2050.
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Source: New Civil Engineer; Downrail