Loughrea branch line

The Loughrea branch line was a railway line that opened in 1890 and closed in 1975. The 9 mile single track branch ran from the Attymon Junction on the Dublin to Galway main line and terminated at Loughrea. Dunsandle was the single intermediate stop. It was the last rural branch line to survive in Ireland.

History
The Loughrea and Attymon Light Railway company was formed on 24 April 1885 to construct the line. It opened on 1 December 1890 with an agreement in place for the Midland Great Western Railway to operate the line for the next 50 years. However, this arrangement did not run its full term as the line was absorbed into the new Great Southern Railways (GSR) from 1 January 1925. GSR was itself superseded by Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) on 1 January 1945. The line was closed by CIÉ on 3 November 1975 and the track was lifted in 1988.

Steam era
Pictures exist of 2-4-0 and 0-6-0 engines in use on the branch.

The branch had five round trip passenger services at its peak in 1895. Many would be mixed passenger and freight.

Dieselisation era
The branch was normally operated by a CIE 611 Class with a single passenger coach. When that locomotive was unavailable for servicing or maintenance a CIE 201 Class Metropolitan-Vickers or a CIE 141 Class would normally substitute. Exceptionally a CIE 001 Class could be used.

Proposed reopening
The reopening of the line along with the Athlone to Mullingar railway line would shorten train journey's between Galway and Dublin.