The railway line from Athlone to Mullingar closed to regular passenger traffic on 11 May 1987. However, it occasionally came alive for Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) special traffic to finals in Dublin, particularly if the extra traffic would have placed undue pressure on the Cork - Dublin line. One such occasion was the 1988 Galway v Tipperary All-Ireland hurling final, when trains from Galway and Ennis were routed via Athlone - Mullingar. Irish Rail 071 class diesel locomotive No. 074 brings the 07.40 special from Galway into Castletown station.