Athlone railway station 3.62

Athlone railway station is a station which serves the town of Athlone in County Roscommon and County Westmeath. It is located in the town on the east side of the river Shannon.The station is an interchange station between the Dublin-Galway and Dublin-Westport rail services. In addition it is located adjacent to the town's bus station.There are three platforms, of which Numbers 2 and 3 are an island platform.HistoryAthlone has had two Railway stations of varying roles over time. They are on opposite sides of the River Shannon, connected by the White Bridge.Midland Great Western RailwayThe first of these was built by the Midland Great Western Railway and opened on 1 August 1851. Designed by J.S. Mulvany, it has a long, rather austere façade, in an Italianate style. The two-storey building has a staggering seventeen-bay façade which is broken by four breakfronts. It connected Galway and Dublin via the MGWR mainline, which ran between Dublin Broadstone railway station, Mullingar and Athlone via Moate. Since 1985 it has served as engineering offices and stores for Irish Rail.