Major accessibility upgrade due at North Kildare train station this month

Major accessibility upgrades are due to take place at Maynooth Station later this month.

Iarnród Éireann / Irish Rail, the works are due to commence on Monday, September 23, 2024.

The works will include:

• The provision of a new footbridge over the railway, which will feature two 13 person lifts.
• Remedial works to platform 1 and 2.
• Redesign and marking of existing accessible car parking spaces adjacent to the station building.
• Upgrade of station lighting adjacent to the station building and new footbridge. 
• Improvements to accessible wayfinding signage and installation of tactile signage; including a tactile map at the station entrance.
• Provision of help points and induction loops, connecting to the existing public address system.
• Amendments to the ticket desk in the ticket office
• Significant upgrade to the toilet facilities.

Irish Rail also said: "During the construction period, carparking at the station will be reduced.

"The southside carpark will be taken over for the construction compound reducing overall car parking capacity at the station by 21 per cent.

"It is anticipated that the construction will be completed by Autumn 2025 and the southside car park will be restored for customer use."

Irish Rail further said: "Separate to this, a number of stations in Kildare will see their lifts upgraded as part of the nationwide Big Lift programme.

"Works on the lifts at Hazelhatch & Celbridge (platforms 1 and 5) are nearing completion and Newbridge will be completed by year end.

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"Funded by the National Transport Authority, an integral element of Iarnrod Éireann’s ongoing investment programme is to continuously improve accessibility of its stations and services.

"Bridge works at Little Island and Banteer in Cork were completed this year and work is underway at bridges at 10 more stations.

"In total, 52 stations across the network will have seen lift improvement or replacement works between 2020 and 2024 under The Big Lift programme, delivering a significant improvement in lift availability and reliability for mobility impaired customers.

"The company’s Disability Users Group provides direct input from disability representative bodies and users of rail services in developing accessibility programmes and projects."

Lastly, Irish Rail also said that under DART+, the new DART+ fleet — arriving from 2024 and entering service from 2025 — will have a retractable step at every door to address the gap between the train and the platform. 

"This will facilitate independent access for the vast majority of mobility impaired customers," Irish Rail added.