Portarlington Train Station
Portarlington train station opened on the 26 June 1845. It is situated just outside Portarlington Co.Laois on the Dublin Cork main line. Either side of the track there are very old buildings. One of them is the present train station. Years ago the other building was a dormitory for train drivers on the Cork trains.
42 trains stop in Portarlington most days not counting the ones that drive by. There are two bridges an old one and a new one. The old one is rusted and on the verge of falling and is a twentieth century bridge. It cannot be taken down because of a preservation order. The new bridge has a lift as well as steps and it is eight years old so that’s definitely not going to fall anytime soon.
There are four people working at the station who are all very friendly. Michael told us all about the station and has worked there for ten year’s.
The platform was only as long as a little brick wall at the station three years ago. In 2008 you had to go to the front of the train to get off. Now you can get off from anywhere on the train thanks to the new extended platform. There is a huge camera beside the track so you can see the other side of the track without going all the way over the bridge so that’s a benefit. So that’s it start to finish old to new.
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Seamus Farrelly and Brendan Murphy
