The '''''' (
8 & 9 Vict. c. cxix) received
royal assent in July 1845, authorising it to raise £1,000,000 capital and to build a railway from Dublin to and , and to buy the
Royal Canal. Construction of the main line began from Dublin in January 1846 and proceeded westwards in stages, supervised by chief engineer
G. W. Hemans. It opened from as far as
Enfield in May 1847, to in December 1847 and to Mullingar in October 1848.
Dublin to Galway Rivalry existed between the and the , each of which wanted to build the line to . The extended its line from Mullingar and the from its line at . The was first, going via and reaching Galway, from Dublin, in August 1851. It was not until 1859 that the reached Athlone. The was obliged to operate its service over track between Athlone and Galway, paying the 65% of passenger and 55% of goods receipts. The retained a separate station, which is now the sole operating station, as the last service to the station ran on 13 January 1985. The branch is to be made into a
rail trail as part of the
Dublin-Galway Greenway by 2020.
Galway to Clifden In 1890 the government granted the £264,000 to build a railway to
Clifden on the Atlantic coast of
County Galway. It opened as far as
Oughterard in January 1895 and to Clifden in July 1895. Due to its inland route, it did not serve the bulk of the area's population, so the closed it in 1935. A similar branch line was built at the same time from
Westport to
Achill on the Atlantic coast of
County Mayo. The built the first section, opening it as far as Newport in February 1894 and
Mulranny in May 1894. The Board of Works built the section from Mulranny to Achill, which opened in May 1895. The closed the line in 1937.
Branch lines on the Westport to Achill branch line At its peak the had a number of
branch lines: •
Clonsilla to Navan – opened as the Dublin and Meath Railway in 1862, leased to the under the
Dublin and Meath Railway (Working Agreement) Act 1869 (
32 & 33 Vict. c. xiii), sold to the under the '''''' (
51 & 52 Vict. c. lxxi)) • extension from Navan to – opened by the in 1865, sold to the in 1888 • Kilmessan Junction to
Athboy (opened 1864, closed 1963) • Nesbitt Junction (near
Enfield) to
Edenderry (opened 1877, closed 1963) • Streamstown to Clara, County Offaly (authorised by the '''''' (
20 & 21 Vict. c. cxiii), opened 1863, closed 1963) •
Attymon Junction to Loughrea (
light railway worked by the , opened 1890, closed 1975) •
Galway to Clifden (opened 1895, closed 1935) •
Westport to
Achill (opened 1895, closed 1937) • Inny Junction to
Cavan Town (opened 1856, closed 1960) •
Kilfree Junction to Ballaghaderreen (opened by the Sligo and Ballaghaderreen Railway in 1874, sold to the under the '''''' (
40 & 41 Vict. c. cxxxix), closed 1963) • Crossdoney to
Killeshandra (opened 1886, closed 1960) •
Athlone to Westport (opened by the Great Northern and Western Railway between 1860–66, leased to the under the '
(33 & 34 Vict. c. ci), sold to the under the ' (
53 & 54 Vict. c. lxxvi)) • to
Ballinrobe (light railway worked by the , opened 1892, closed 1960) •
Manulla to Ballina, County Mayo (opened 1873) • extension from Ballina to
Killala (opened 1893, closed 1937) ==Consolidation==