Rail station planned to serve Mater hospital site

Plans are under way to develop a new rail station close to Croke Park to serve the proposed new national children's hospital on the site of the Mater Hospital.

In a letter to Minister for Health Mary Harney last Monday, CIÉ chairman John Lynch said the company was examining the feasibility of developing a new station on the Canal End rail line which could be located between Croke Park and Dorset Street.

He said that such a station could serve the north city, Croke Park, St Patrick's College and Dublin City University as well as the Mater site.

Dr Lynch said that CIÉ was also examining the business case for reopening the existing rail tunnel under the Phoenix Park for commuter and regional services, which could provide connections to the west of the city as well as to the south midlands, west, midwest, southwest and south of the country.

The decision by the Government to develop the new national children's hospital at the Mater site has been criticised by opponents on the grounds that it is inaccessible due to traffic congestion.

However, the Health Service Executive has said that since the decision to opt for the Mater site, the Government has announced plans to develop a new metro station underneath the complex.

Opponents of the site have also argued that most children brought to hospital are taken by car rather than by public transport.

In his letter to the Minister, Dr Lynch said that there was considerable scope to expand rail services in the Drumcondra area in the medium term.

Dr Lynch said that in the context of the current debate on public, patient and employee access to the Mater hospital site, Iarnród Éireann was examining the feasibility of very substantially expanding its service to the Drumcondra and Dorset St areas.

"The existing Drumcondra station is served by six trains per hour, at peak periods. The scope to expand this service level is limited in the short term though off-peak services can be improved if demanded.

"There is, however, very considerable scope to expand this service level in the medium term as the area is served by two separate rail systems with excellent scope for connection to the rest of the country."

Dr Lynch said that in March a new station would open in the Docklands area and that an additional four services an hour would be provided between Clonsilla and Docklands.

"These would not initially serve the Mater hospital site but we are examining the feasibility of developing a new station on the canal end rail line which could be located between Croke Park and Dorset Street," he said.