Ballymena railway station

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Ballymena
General information
Location	Ballymena Northern Ireland
Coordinates	54°51′51″N6°17′5″W / 54.86417°N 6.28472°W / 54.86417; -6.28472
Owned by	NI Railways
Operated by	NI Railways
Line(s)	Derry~Londonderry
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Key dates
11 April 1848	Original station opened
4 December 1855	Station relocated
1904	Rebuilt
1981	Current station opened
2008	Refurbished
Passengers
2022/23	661,364 [1]
Route map (Click to expand) Show NI Railways Network map Legend Year closed Great Victoria Street 2024 Belfast Grand Central Belfast-Dublin line to Portadown, Newry & Dublin Connolly City Hospital Windsor 1885 Botanic Ormeau 1885 Lanyon Place Queen's Bridge 1885 Lagan Railway Bridge over River Lagan Belfast-Bangor line to Bangor Dargan Bridge over River Lagan York Street Yorkgate 2024 York Road depot York Road 1992 Fortwilliam Traincare Depot Greencastle 1954 Whitehouse 1954 Whiteabbey Belfast-Larne line to Larne Harbour via Greenisland   1963 Monkstown 1981 Mossley 1982 Mossley West Ballyclare Junction 1961 Ballyclare branch line to Ballyclare 1950 Ballyrobert 1920 Doagh 1970 Templepatrick 1981 Dunadry 1954 Muckamore 1961 Lisburn-Antrim line to Lisburn 2003 Antrim Cookstown Junction 1976 Cookstown branch line 1959 to Magherafelt & Cookstown Kellswater 1971 Andraid 1850 Ballymena & Larne Rly to Larne 1950 Ballymena Ballymena, Cushendall & Redbay Rly 1940 to Parkmore and Retreat   Cullybackey Glarryford 1973 Killagan 1973 Dunloy 1976 Ballymoney Ballycastle Railway to Ballycastle 1950 Derry Central Railway to Magherafelt 1950 Macfin 1954 Coleraine Coleraine Harbour 1963 Coleraine-Portrush line to Portrush River Bann Coleraine Waterside 1861 Barmouth 1856 Castlerock Castlerock Tunnel Downhill Tunnel Downhill 1973 Umbra 1861 Magilligan 1976 Bellarena River Roe Limavady Railway to Limavady and Dungiven 1955 Limavady Junction 1976 Ballykelly 1954 Carrichue 1954 Faughanvale 1859 Eglinton 1973 River Faughan Derry ~ Londonderry This diagram: view talk edit Show Derry~Londonderry line route diagram
Location Ballymena Location in Northern Ireland Show map of Northern Ireland Ballymena Location on the Island of Ireland Show map of island of Ireland

Ballymena railway station serves the town of Ballymena in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located just outside Ballymena town centre on the Galgorm Road, and is integrated with the local bus station. It is situated on the Derry line between Antrim and Cullybackey. The station is operated by Northern Ireland Railways.

History

The first station in Ballymena opened on 11 April 1848 by the Belfast and Ballymena Railway. ^[3] This initial station was rebuilt and relocated on 4 December 1855^{[ citation needed ]} when the Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Portrush Junction Railway extended the line northwards.

At one time, there were several other stations in the Ballymena area, however the only other one which survives to this day is Cullybackey.

In addition to mainline services between Belfast York Road and Coleraine, the station provided a terminus for two narrow gauge railways:

• Ballymena, Cushendall and Red Bay Railway - which opened in 1875 and closed in 1940
• Ballymena and Larne Railway - which opened in 1877 and closed in 1933

The station buildings were rebuilt in 1903-1904 ^[4] to designs by Berkeley Deane Wise. The rebuilding cost in excess of £15,000 (equivalent to £2,041,387 in 2023). ^[5] The clock was provided by Sharman D. Neill of Belfast, and iron water storage towers were constructed by Cowan Sheldon and Company of Carlisle. On 19 May 1921 the station suffered an arson attack by the Irish Republican Army.

The original station buildings were removed in 1981-1982 during a modernisation programme by Northern Ireland Railways.

Station exterior

Platform 1 during rebuilding works

Ballymena station in 1980 prior to the 1981 modernisation

Current services

Ballymena railway station consists of two platforms and serves as a passing point on the mainly single-track Belfast–Derry line.

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

On Sundays services alternate between going to Derry~Londonderry or Portrush and the last service terminating at Coleraine. In the other direction there is an hourly service to Belfast Grand Central.

Future plans involve the reinstatement of the original double-track between Antrim and Ballymena.

Preceding station		NI Railways		Following station
Antrim		Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Derry		Cullybackey
	Historical railways
Andraid Line open, station closed		Belfast and Ballymena Railway York Road-Ballymena		Terminus
Terminus		Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Portrush Junction Railway Ballymena-Portrush		Cullybackey Line and station open
Terminus		Ballymena, Cushendall and Red Bay Railway Ballymena-Retreat		Ballygarvey Line and station closed
Terminus		Ballymena and Larne Railway Ballymena-Larne		Kells Line and station closed

References

1. "FOI1317 NIR Footfall 2223.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
2. "FOI Footfall 2023 2024 figures PDF.pdf". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
3. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 25. ISBN   1-85260-508-1.
4. The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Department of the Environment. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984
5. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth . Retrieved 7 May 2024.