The single track north and south of the station splits to provide two platforms. Platform 1, next to the station building, car park and pedestrian entrance, is used where possible for passenger services. only when two trains are in the station simultaneously is Platform 2 used. A siding at the southern end of the station is all that remains of the line to Wolfhill.
Due to the rapid growth of Athy itself, this station has seen considerable growth in passenger numbers. In 2004 the mechanical signalling system was replaced. In 2007 the platforms were extended to accommodate longer trains, a development which included the demolition of the signal box.[2] In July 2008, planning permission was granted for the refurbishment of the partially derelict station building itself.[3]
The line was nationalised, passing to the Córas Iompair Éireann with the Transport Act 1944 which took effect from 1 January 1945 and closed for goods traffic on 6 September 1976.[5]
Athy station was not originally built with a footbridge. On February 5, 1886, a newsboy, John Hamilton, was struck by a train while crossing the tracks, suffering serious injuries.[6] He died two days later. At the inquest the railway company was criticised that they had “not at present proper provision for the protection of life at the railway station, and we, therefore, consider that a bridge crossing should be erected without delay”.[7] By the end of April 1886 the new footbridge was ready to open.[8]
Wolfhill Line
Due to limited coal supplies during World War I, a branch from Athy to the collieries at Gracefield and Modubeagh near Wolfhill, County Laois was opened by the government in September 1918.[9] It was built by reusing track obtained by singling a section of the mainline to Waterford at a cost of approximately £125,000.[10] The branch left the main line at the south end of Athy station, crossed the River Barrow with a concrete-built bridge, and passed through the village of Ballylinan (Ballylynan). Initially, the branch was primarily used to transport coal. The Wolfhill collieries closed in the 1920s, but a shortened line as far as a siding at Ballylinan remained open for the transport of sugar beet to the Irish Sugar Company's factory at Carlow.[11]
In the early 1940s, a short spur for the delivery of cement was constructed to the Asbestos Cement Factory (later to become Tegral) on the west side of Athy town.[12]
In 1963, as part of a wider program of line and station closures, the line between Ballylinan and the Asbestos Cement Factory was closed.[13]
The Asbestos Cement Factory spur closed in 2005 and the track was lifted in 2019, in preparation for the construction of the Athy Distributor Road. As of 2023 only a short siding at the southern end of Athy station remains, although the bridge over the Barrow has been renovated and repurposed for walking and cycling.
Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC22311137.[page needed]
^"Kildare Notes". The Nationalist and Leinster Times. 27 November 1926. p. 4.
^"News from the provinces". The Irish Press. 16 March 1940. p. 10.
^Coras Iompar Eireann (28 January 1963). "Notice as to termination of train services on the railway line between Athy and Ballylinan". The Irish Press. p. 12.
