Cork railway tunnel

Railway tunnel in Cork, Ireland

Cork railway tunnel

One of four ventilation shafts constructed for the tunnel

Overview
Location| Cork, Ireland
Coordinates| 51°54′45″N 8°28′10″W﻿ / ﻿51.9126°N 8.4694°W﻿ / 51.9126; -8.4694
Route| Kent Station to Dublin–Cork railway line
Start| Cork Kent railway station
End| Dublin–Cork railway line
Operation
Work begun| 1847
Opened| 1855
Owner| Iarnród Éireann
Operator| Iarnród Éireann
Character| Through-rail passenger and freight
Technical
Line length| 1,355 yards (1,200 m)[1]
No. of tracks| Double track
Track gauge| Irish gauge

The Cork railway tunnel is a railway tunnel in Cork, Ireland. The 1.2-kilometre (0.75 mi) tunnel was built between 1847 and 1855 and runs from Blackpool to Kent Station on the Lower Glanmire Road. It is the longest operational rail tunnel in Ireland,[2] and is included on the Record of Protected Structures maintained by Cork City Council.[3]

## Development

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The tunnel was designed by architect John Benjamin Macneill for Great Southern and Western Railway (GSWR) and built by contractor William Dargan.[4] The initial route was proposed to follow the Blackpool valley and the Kiln River. This was discounted because of the cost of property acquisition. A second route was considered along the Glen River Valley. However, the topography was found to be too steep. The third, and ultimately selected, route was for the tunnel to be bored through a sandstone ridge.[5]

Work began on the selected route in August 1847 with the sinking of ventilation shafts, the external structures of which remain visible over the route of the tunnel.[6] Tunneling works were undertaken simultaneously from both ends of the tunnel in 1847,[7] and the construction headings met under Victoria (now Collins) Barracks on 29 July 1854. A few days later, the chairman, some directors, a secretary, and an engineer of GSWR walked the full length of the tunnel.[4]

Two men died during construction of the tunnel, and many more were injured, when a mistimed explosives blast occurred on 13 March 1850.[5] A commemorative plaque to the two men, Michael Driscoll (24) and John McDonnell (30), was dedicated where the modern road bridge passes over the northern mouth of the tunnel at The Glen.[5]

The tunnel, which averages at 24 feet (7.3 m) in height and 28 feet (8.5 m) in width, is supported by a three-ring brick arch which,[8] reputedly, required several million bricks from Youghal brickworks.[7][9] The tunnel construction was difficult, with progress at one point falling "as low as three feet per week".[2] Construction took seven years and completed in 1855.[7]

Many tonnes of red sandstone, extracted during the tunneling, was used in a number of subsequent construction projects in the city.[10]

## Operation

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First opened to traffic on 3 December 1855,[11] the tunnel remains in use and described, as of the early 21st century, as "the longest operational tunnel in Ireland".[8]

The tunnel serves several routes from Kent station, including the main Dublin–Cork railway line.[12] Track works, which involved closing the tunnel for 10 days, were undertaken during October 2021.[13]

## See also

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* Kilnap Viaduct

## References

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1. ^ "Kent Station railway tunnel, Lower Glanmire Road, Cork City, Cork". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
2. ^ a b Murray, K. A.; Burgess McNeill, Donald (1976). The Great Southern & Western Railway. Irish Railway Record Society. p. 178\. ISBN 9780904078053. "[Cork] tunnel is 1355 yards long, and is now the longest railway tunnel in use in Ireland. Its construction was particularly difficult and slow; progress at one time fell as low as three feet per week"
3. ^ "Built Heritage Objectives Part 2: Record of Protected Structures". Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028. Cork City Council. 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
4. ^ a b "Co. Cork, Cork, Railway Tunnel". Dictionary of Irish Architects. Irish Architectural Archive. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
5. ^ a b c "On Track, Cork & its Railway Heritage". corkheritage.ie. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
6. ^ "Glen Avenue, Rathmore, Blackpool, Cork". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
7. ^ a b c Mulvihill, Mary L. (2003). Ingenious Ireland: A County-by-County Exploration of the Mysteries and Marvels of the Ingenious Irish. Simon and Schuster. p. 422\. ISBN 9780684020945.
8. ^ a b Cox, Ronald C. (2006). Engineering Ireland. Collins Press. ISBN 9781905172061. "The tunnel is 24 feet high and generally 28 feet wide and is the longest operational tunnel in Ireland [..] The tunnel is lined throughout with a three-ring brick arch"
9. ^ Rynne, Colin (2006). Industrial Ireland 1750-1930: An Archaeology. Collins Press. p. 375\. ISBN 9781905172047. "Some three million bricks from Youghal, County Cork, were used to line the Cork tunnel"
10. ^ An Introduction to the Architectural Heritage of Cork City (PDF). buildingsofireland.ie (Report). p. 60. Retrieved 23 October 2023. "the excavation of the Glanmire Road tunnel, 1.2 kilometres in length [..] provided the city with many tonnes of red sandstone"
11. ^ Cox, Ronald C.; Gould, Michael H. (1998). Ireland - Civil Engineering Heritage. Thomas Telford. p. 256\. ISBN 9780727726278.
12. ^ Barker, Tommy (19 March 2019). "Infill Cork city site has 'rail' scope for development". irishexaminer.com. Irish Examiner. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
13. ^ Kinsella, Carl (13 October 2021). "'Major works' at Kent Station to disrupt train services in the coming days". yaycork.ie. Yay Media. Retrieved 8 February 2023.

*[No.]: Number