Railway Opens

By the end of April 1850 the permanent way from the Cork terminus at Victoria Road to Passage West was in place. A trial run along the line took place on 14 May and a week later the company's directors made an official inspection of the route when they journeyed from the city to Passage and back. The return trip to the city took just 10 minutes. By the end of the month the line had passed a government inspection and the Railway Commissioners certificate had been received.

During a review of the proposed services it was suggested that 10 trains run to and from Cork each day and fares were set at 6d. for first and 4d. and for second class carriages. First class passengers were also able to avail of an omnibus to Monkstown for an extra fare of 1 d. The C.B.& P .R. opened for public service on Saturday 8 June 1850 and huge crowds turned up to witness and avail of the novelty. During the first weekend the service between Cork and the lower harbour was availed of by thousands of passengers.

During the next few months the service enjoyed great success but because of the distance from the city centre to the terminus many potential passengers continued to avail of the traditional steamer service provided by the River Steamers Company (R.S. Co.) which could be boarded at Merchant's Quay in the heart of the city. Relocating the city railway terminus became a priority and plans to extend the line further downriver were shelved because the future of the railway depended on providing a ready access from the city. Stopgap measures, which included an omnibus service from the city centre to the railway terminus, and a short-term agreement with the steamer company to convey rail passengers from Passage to Queenstown and elsewhere helped avert any major rejection by the public. To help save funds the rail services were reduced during winter months. The directors were fully aware that the viability of their company depended on its ability to provide a full service. Faced with this reality, a new river steamer was ordered to ply the river between Cork and the harbour towns.

Competition Leads to Accidents

In July 1851 the new C.B.& P .R. steamer Queenstown went into service and during the next few years the company purchased three more steamers -the Victoria, the Fairy and the Albert. The introduction of the Queenstown saw the beginning of serious rivalry between the steamers of the competing companies. This led to many accidents, including numerous collisions. The R.S. Co. responded to the introduction of the Queenstown by a large fares reduction. The C.B. & P .R. lowered fares from an average of 5d. to less than 4d. and introduced a third class carriage -for 2d. one could journey in an open seat-less carriage with up to 70 fellow travellers. Competition escalated during the next few years. All of this had little effect on train services other than to cause fluctuations in ticket prices.

Once the train to Passage left the Victoria Road terminus it ran along the riverbank to Blackrock. This was often criticised and the city Council resolved to move the line back from the Marina , which offered about 1,200 feet of river frontage suitable for commercial development. The route of the diversion was finalised in 1872. By 1873 a one and a half mile diversion was completed and handed over to the C.B. & P .R. The Victoria Road terminus was closed and on 6 February 1873 the company commenced running trains from the new Albert Street station. The new station house had 'no pretensions to architectural beauty' but 'presented a respectable appearance and is substantially erected'. The new railway line crossed the Victoria Road , ran behind the stand house of the Park racecourse, it then passed through the Lower Park and joined the original line opposite Tivoli . Opening the new terminus brought the C.B. & P .R. nearer to the city centre; nonetheless other difficulties remained to be solved.