Antrim railway station

Last updated

Antrim
Logomark NI Railways.svg
Antrim Station - geograph.org.uk - 603505.jpg
General information
Location Antrim, County Antrim
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council
Northern Ireland
Coordinates 54°43′06″N6°12′41″W / 54.7182°N 6.2115°W / 54.7182; -6.2115
Owned by NI Railways
Operated byNI Railways
Platforms4 (2 disused)
Tracks4
Bus stands4
Bus operatorsUlsterbus and Goldline services
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
ParkingPark and Ride
Bicycle facilitiesBicycle parking is available
AccessibleRamps and lifts
ArchitectBerkeley Deane Wise
History
Rebuilt1901-02
Key dates
11 April 1848Station opens
1871Station renamed Antrim Junction
by July 1922Renamed Antrim
1965Goods traffic ceased
2008Refurbished
Services
Male, female and disabled toilets (currently closed with reason unknown)
Location
United Kingdom Northern Ireland adm location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Antrim
Location within Northern Ireland
Antrim railway station

Antrim railway station opened 1848 and serves the town of Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Contents

The station currently serves trains on the Belfast to Derry line via Bleach Green and Yorkgate station. Until 2003, Belfast-Derry trains reached here by means of the Lisburn-Antrim railway line, however, this line was mothballed after re-opening of the Bleach Green line. There is still the old platform for the Lisburn-Antrim line but has been cut back to allow room, on the other side of a fence, for the bus stands. The possibility of reopening it as a circular route, with a halt at Aldergrove for Belfast International Airport has been discussed. The station has undergone a major refurbishment to become an integrated bus and rail hub. In total, the station had 4 platforms. One is completely disused, two in use, and one that has been shortened and rarely used.

History

Antrim station was opened by the Belfast and Ballymena Railway on 11 April 1848.[ citation needed ] It was originally operated by the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee. They provided sidings on the up side of the station, serving the Showgrounds. These sidings also contained a goods store, stabling block, stationmaster's house, office, and weighbridge.

The station buildings at Antrim were rebuilt in 1901–02 to designs by the architect Berkeley Deane Wise. It was built in a red-brick, mock-Tudor design. The footbridge was built by Walter MacFarlane's Saracen Foundry in Glasgow. [1]

The main station buildings were on the down platform, and the signal box was at the Belfast end of the same platform. There was a bay at the back of the down line platform for branch line trains, and also on this side of the mainline were the locomotive sheds, turntable, goods store, and sidings.

The station was run by the Ulster Transport Authority from 1948 to 1968, then part of Northern Ireland Railways. Since 1996 the station has been part of Translink.

The station itself used to also have a Station Masters House and Goods Yards. The last known Station Master of Antrim Railway Station (Antrim Junction) was a Mr. Cupples. At its peak, Antrim Railway Station was an important station linking many core routes now removed via its station.

The Station Masters House can still be seen (from outside). It has now been transformed into a health centre.

Service

On Mondays to Saturdays, there is an hourly service to Great Victoria Street in Belfast. In the other direction, there is an hourly service Derry~Londonderry, with the last service terminating at Coleraine.

On Sundays, services alternate between Derry~Londonderry or Portrush and the last service terminating at Coleraine. In the other direction, there is an hourly service to Great Victoria Street.

The third platform for the Crumlin line is not signposted and has not been in passenger service since a diversion from the Bleach Green Line in 2014.

Preceding station  Logomark NI Railways.svg Northern Ireland Railways  Following station
Mossley West   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Derry
  Ballymena
Disused railways
Crumlin   Northern Ireland Railways
Lisburn–Antrim
 Terminus
 Proposed 
Templepatrick   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Derry
  Ballymena
  Historical railways  
Muckamore
Line open, station closed
  Belfast and Ballymena Railway
York Road-Ballymena
  Cookstown Junction
Line open, station closed
NIR 4002 arriving into Antrim on a service to Derry~Londonderry 4002 arriving into Antrim station.jpg
NIR 4002 arriving into Antrim on a service to Derry~Londonderry

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Templepatrick railway station</span>

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References

  1. The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Department of the Environment. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984
  • Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN   978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC   60251199. OL   11956311M.
  • Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN   978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC   228266687.