Sandyford Luas stop

The Harcourt Street railway line was and opened by the Dublin and Wicklow Railway in 1854, running from a temporary terminus at Harcourt Road near the city centre to Bray with Stillorgan was originally one of four intermediate stops on the line along with Dundrum, Carrickmines and Shankill. The station was located on Brewery road, which the line crossed under a road bridge. There was a station building on the down platform (for trains towards Bray), and a small waiting room on the up platform. Passenger access between the platforms was via an iron footbridge. There was also a signal box a short distance up the line.[2]

The old station building

The Harcourt Street line had declined in use throughout the early 20th century and was becoming rundown in the 1940s and 50s. Stillorgan had been used so little by passengers that it was reduced to a halt under Foxrock in December 1951. After the line continued to dwindle in use, it was closed by CIÉ at the end of 1958, much to uproar from the community. The tracks were lifted soon after and all stations on the route were auctioned off. Stillorgan station building became a private residence. The platforms and bridges were later demolished and the signal box fell into disuse.[3]

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 terminus stop which was built on the site of the old Stillorgan is called Sandyford (a separate stop called Stillorgan was built around 500m up the line). The stop was built with two side platforms and a crossover to allow trams to turn back. The depot for the Green Line was built immediately beyond the stop.

In 2010, the Green Line was extended south to Brides Glen. After Sandyford, the line diverges from the old Harcourt Street route in order to serve some more populous areas on the Ballyogan Road, and re-joins it just before Carrickmines. A third platform was built at Sandyford.

In 2018, the platforms were lengthened from 45 to 55 metres, and the depot was significantly upgraded. This was to accommodate the new longer trams introduced to boost capacity.[4]

Northbound trams run every 5–10 minutes and either terminate at Parnell or continue to Broombridge. Of the southbound trams which arrive at Sandyford, around half terminate there, with the rest continuing south to Brides Glen. The stop is also served by Dublin Bus routes 11, 47, 114, 116, and an independent bus operator called Finnegan Coaches.[6]