Editing Portlaoise (section)

==Transport==
[[Image:portlaoise railway station.jpg|thumb|Portlaoise railway station]]
Portlaoise stands at a major crossroads in the [[Roads in Ireland|Irish roads]] network (major roads to [[Dublin]], [[Limerick]], [[Cork (city)|Cork]]) although construction in the 1990s of the [[M7 motorway (Ireland)|M7 motorway]], which bypasses the town, has reduced traffic congestion in the town centre.

[[Portlaoise railway station]] is one of the busiest railway stations outside of Dublin,{{citation needed|date=January 2020}} and is served by [[Inter-city rail|intercity]] trains between [[Dublin]] and [[Cork (city)|Cork]] and by [[Dublin]] [[commuter]] services. Maryborough railway station opened on 26 June 1847.<ref>{{cite web | title=Maryborough station | work=Railscot – Irish Railways | url=https://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | access-date=3 November 2007 | archive-date=2 March 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110302022802/http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | url-status=live }}</ref> It is the terminus of the Portlaoise Commuter Service, which stops at all stations to Heuston and runs hourly off peak and every 20/30 minutes during peak times. It is the busiest county town railway station in the [[Midland Region, Ireland|Midland Region]], with up to 32 trains to Dublin (10 non-stop) and 30 trains from Dublin (9 non-stop) per day.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.irishrail.ie/media/16_dublin-portlaoise_valind_from_20112016.pdf|title=Grand Canal Dock to Portlaoise|publisher=www.irishrail.ie|date=20 November 2016|access-date=28 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170301182131/http://www.irishrail.ie/media/16_dublin-portlaoise_valind_from_20112016.pdf|archive-date=1 March 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Córas Iompair Éireann]] opened a rail depot south-west of Portlaoise town centre in March 2008, with a maintenance and servicing facility for the 183 new intercity railcars and some facilities for outer suburban railcars serving the Kildare route.

[[Bus Éireann]] previously operated an intercity service between Dublin and Cork/Limerick which called at Portlaoise, though this was suspended indefinitely in 2020. The number 8 (Cork) service terminated in 2012 and the number 12 terminated in 2021.{{fact|date=August 2024}} There is still one Bus Éireann service that stops in Portlaoise, route 73, which operates from Athlone to Waterford.{{fact|date=August 2024}} Limerick is served by JJ Kavanagh and Sons route 735,{{fact|date=August 2024}} with [[TFI Local Link]] route 834 serving Roscrea.{{fact|date=August 2024}} TFI local Link route 828 and 858, operated by JJ Kavanagh and Sons, serves Cashel and Thurles. Local Link also has a 823 service to from Portlaoise to Birr. Portlaoise also has a town link service operated by Slieve Bloom Coaches that serves Borris in Ossory, Errill, Kilkenny, Tullamore via Portarlington and Tullamore via Mountmellick.
 {{fact|date=August 2024}} The town is the terminus for Dublin-Portlaoise coach services operated by Dublin Coach.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

Portlaoise also has a town bus service operated by City Direct that goes every half hour, consisting of two routes: the PL1 bus goes from Woodgrove to Colliers Lane, and the PL2 bus goes from Bellingham to Kilminchy.

The Stradbally Steam Museum in nearby [[Stradbally]] is dedicated to steam engines. It is home to a large collection of steam engines, including the [[Mann Steam Cart]] and [[John Fowler & Co.|Fowler]]. The museum shows the transport of the past in Portlaoise and Ireland. The [[Steam Preservation Society]] have a 1&nbsp;km train track on the grounds of [[Stradbally Hall]], which offers trips for train enthusiasts.