Discover Ireland's Rich Rail History with a New Digital Map

Eighteen students studying BA in Heritage in ATU Galway City, have completed a two-year project as part of a module, Geographic Information System (GIS).

The project was to map the historical rail network for the Island of Ireland and make this data freely available to the public. The project was launched at Ceannt Station in Galway city on Thursday, 4 May 2023 by Mayor of

Galway City Cllr Clodagh Higgins.

The new resource has brought the rich heritage of Ireland’s rail history to life with an online open-source resource showing all of Ireland’s rail network past and present.

It was developed with the support of Iarnród Éireann, and the generous assistance of Stephen Johnson, whose printed Atlas and Gazetteer of the Railways of Ireland from 1997 has been a much sought after reference guide. It was also collated from the national archive of architectural heritage.

Available to the public through atu.ie/heritagemaps and the Iarnród Éireann website www.irishrail.ie, the online resource will allow users to explore the historical rail lines across the island of Ireland.

For more information on our heritage degrees, visit atu.ie/au625 (Level8), atu.ie/au525 (Level 7) and atu.ie/au425 (Level 6)