The station opened on 1 September 1847^[2] as Roscrea & Borris. It was later renamed Roscrea & Parsonstown Junction in 1858, and renamed again in 1871 as Ballybrophy.^[3]

Lifts were fitted to the footbridge in late 2007. Therefore, disabled passengers who cannot use steps and are boarding or alighting from trains to Cork and Limerick via Limerick Junction are no longer required to cross the tracks at ground level, as was previously the case.^[4] This was only possible when trains were clear of the tracks.

Ballybrophy's railway station is a connection point between the main Dublin-Cork main line and the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line. The branch line is lightly travelled, as the principal route between Dublin and Limerick is via Limerick Junction. Since the introduction of a two-hourly Dublin-Limerick service in 2008, this journey does not usually require a change of train.^{[citation needed]}

Up until the mid-1980s the line to Limerick via Nenagh diverged from the mainline via a junction that faced Cork. This was replaced by a siding connection when the mainline was resignalled. For trains to enter the Nenagh branch from the Dublin bound mainline requires trains to set back into the bay platform before proceeding to Nenagh and Limerick. A train travelling from Dublin to Limerick via Nenagh would need to set back from the Down mainline onto the Up mainline before pulling forward into the bay platform.^{[citation needed]} Prior to 1967, the only route from Dublin to Limerick that did not entail a reversal was via Athenry and the former Sligo to Limerick line of the Waterford, Limerick and Western Railway.^{[citation needed]}

Some of those^[who?] who favour retaining the line have theorised^{[citation needed]} that replacing the south facing connection at Ballybrophy with a new line east to the more populated Borris-in-Ossory, and joining the line nearer Portlaoise would be better for Dublin connections.^{[original research?]} However, in addition to the substantial capital cost of this work, substantial parts of the line would still need to be re-laid nearer Limerick to eliminate severe speed restrictions.^{[citation needed]} The M7 motorway from Dublin to Limerick also dissuades rail usage.^{[citation needed]}

Proposed closure edit

In November 2016 it was announced the line was very likely to close in 2018 as the demand for the service was low and CIE/IE wished to close it to save money.^[5] This was subsequently ruled out by Irish Rail (Iarnród Éireann).^[6]

Petitioned upgrades edit

The North Tipperary Community Rail Partnership have campaigned to improve the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line service, including issuing an online petition.^[7] It is hoped^{[by whom?]} that, as soon as an ongoing continuous welded rail (CWR) relay project is completed between Cloughjordan and Roscrea stations, that further improvements such as the signalling system on the Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line will then be upgraded to help improve the speed limits imposed on trains travelling on the line.^[7]

• List of railway stations in Ireland

• Ballybrophy-Roscrea-Nenagh-Limerick line
• Ballybrophy Station on Eire Trains