Beechwood Luas stop

v t e Harcourt Street Line
Legend
Year closed   Harcourt Street 1958   Harcourt Road 1859       Grand Canal   Rathmines & Ranelagh 1958   Milltown 1958   Nine Arches Viaduct over River Dodder   Dundrum 1958   80m   Stillorgan 1958   Stillorgan Rd.   Foxrock 1958   Carrickmines 1958   Lehaunstown Ln.   Bride's Glen Viaduct over Loughlinstown River   Shankill 1958     Shanganagh Junct. Dublin-Rosslare line to Amiens Street   Woodbrook 1960   Bray River   Quinnsborough Rd.   Bray   Dublin-Rosslare railway line to Wexford and Waterford

The Harcourt Street railway line was built by the Dublin, Wicklow and Wexford Railway and opened in 1854, running from a temporary terminus at Harcourt Road near the city centre to Bray. Rathmines and Ranelagh was added as an infill station in 1896 due to the rising growth of the Dublin tramways in the area. The station was located on an embankment to the south of Dunville Avenue. There were station buildings on both platforms, which were accessed via a subway under the tracks with white tiles lining the walls, similar to the one at Lansdowne Road.

The station's official name was Rathmines & Ranelagh, although it was always referred to as simply Ranelagh by the public and staff.

The station originally had had all timber platforms, but they were replaced with concrete in 1943.^[2]

The Harcourt Street line had declined in use throughout the early 20th century and was closed by CIÉ at the end of 1958, despite local opposition. The tracks were lifted soon after and all stations on the route were auctioned off. In the years that followed, the buildings and platforms at Ranelagh were demolished.

 

v t e   Luas Green Line
Legend
Dublin–Sligo line westbound             Broombridge         Dublin–Sligo line eastbound     Hamilton Depot   Cabra   Phibsborough   Grangegorman   Broadstone – University   Dominick           Parnell       O'Connell Upper           O'Connell - GPO           Marlborough                     Red Line - Abbey Street             O'Connell Bridge │ River Liffey │ Rosie Hackett Bridge       Westmoreland       Trinity       Dawson   St Stephen's Green   Harcourt       Grand Canal     Charlemont   Ranelagh   Beechwood   Cowper   Milltown       Nine Arches Bridge over River Dodder   Windy Arbour       William Dargan Bridge   Dundrum   Balally     Kilmacud   Stillorgan     Sandyford       Depot   Central Park         M50   Glencairn   The Gallops   Leopardstown Valley   Ballyogan Wood         M50   Racecourse (unused)   Carrickmines     Brennanstown (unused)     Laughanstown   Cherrywood       Wyattville Link Road   Brides Glen

Construction of the first phase of the Luas system commenced in 2001 and concluded in 2004. The route chosen for the Green Line re-used the old Harcourt Street alignment between Charlemont and Stillorgan. The stop which was built on the site of the old Ranelagh station is called Beechwood (a separate stop for Ranelagh was built around 500m up the line). During the construction of the Luas line, the level of the track bed was lowered by several metres and the remains of the subway were demolished. The Luas line now crosses Dunville Avenue at-grade.

The stop was built with two side platforms, which have the furniture common to all Luas stops. The only entrance is from Dunville Avenue. In the place of a former ticket office, a small building was built and used as a retail unit. Currently used as a coffee shop, it opens directly onto the northbound platform and most of its trade comes from passengers awaiting their tram.

In 2018, the platforms were lengthened from 45 to 55 metres. This was to accommodate the new longer trams introduced to boost capacity.^[3]

When plans for the MetroLink were published, it was envisaged that the new line would subsume the existing Green Line from Charlemont to Sandyford. Transport Infrastructure Ireland planned to close all level crossings on the line. To this end, the plan was to close road access across Dunville Avenue and replace it with a footbridge. The plan met with opposition from local businesses including the owner of the coffee shop, who argued that road closure would stifle local communication and economy. Plans to upgrade the Green Line to Metro standards have since been postponed. ^[4]

Trams run every 5–10 minutes and terminate at either Parnell or Broombridge in the north, and Sandyford or Brides Glen in the south. The stop is also close to the following routes operated by Dublin Bus 11, 44, and S2.^[5] The 61 also formerly operated nearby until 26 November 2023 when the S2 replaced it as part of BusConnects.