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The Belfast suburban rail commuter network serves the metropolitan area of Greater Belfast and some of its commuter towns with three lines. The network is owned by Translink and operated by its subsidiary NI Railways.
Stations - City Hospital, Botanic, Lanyon Place, York Street, Whiteabbey, Jordanstown, Greenisland, Trooperslane, Clipperstown, Carrickfergus, Downshire, Whitehead, Ballycarry, Magheramorne, Glynn, Larne Town, Larne Harbour.
Stations - Belfast Lanyon Place, Botanic, City Hospital, Adelaide, Balmoral, Finaghy, Dunmurry, Derriaghy, Lambeg, Hilden, Lisburn, Moira, Lurgan, Portadown.
This line has the potential to be extended from Portadown to Armagh city centre by reopening the railway line. Government Minister for the Department for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy MLA indicates railway restoration plans of the line from Portadown to Armagh. [1]
Stations - Belfast Lanyon Place, Titanic Quarter, Sydenham, Holywood, Marino, Cultra, Seahill, Helen's Bay, Carnalea, Bangor West, Bangor.
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways, is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), and is one of nine publicly owned train operators in the United Kingdom, the others being Direct Rail Services, Caledonian Sleeper, Northern Trains, Transport for Wales Rail, Southeastern, LNER, ScotRail, and TransPennine Express. It has a common Board of Management with the other two companies in the group, Ulsterbus and Metro.
Rail transport in Ireland is provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), a public corporation providing public transport in Northern Ireland. NI Railways, Ulsterbus, Goldliner, Metro and Glider are all part of Translink. It is led by CEO Chris Conway.
The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland that operated from 1948 until 1967.
Belfast Lanyon Place is a railway station serving the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Located on East Bridge Street in the Laganside area of central Belfast, it is one of four stations in the city centre, the others being City Hospital, Botanic, and Belfast Grand Central.
The Belfast to Bangor line is a railway line in Northern Ireland, originally part of the Belfast & County Down Railway. All services are operated by NI Railways, the only operator for Northern Ireland (NI). Unlike the rest of the United Kingdom, no railway in NI is part of the National Rail network and none is owned by Network Rail. Services run every half-hour, with up to six trains per hour in each direction at peak times.
The Belfast–Larne line, or Larne Line, is a railway line in Northern Ireland, operated by Northern Ireland Railways. It runs as double track along the majority of its route north along the scenic east Antrim coastline from Belfast to the coastal seaport town of Larne, serving commuters and ferry passengers.
The Belfast–Derry line is an intercity railway line, running from Belfast to Derry in Northern Ireland.
The Dublin-Belfast Line or The Great Northern Main Line(Dublin line by NI Railways and Belfast line by Irish Rail) is a 112-mile semi-electrified railway connecting Belfast Grand Central in Northern Ireland to Dublin Connolly in the Republic of Ireland. The key towns and cities of Skerries, Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry, Portadown, Lurgan, and Lisburn are situated along the line. The Dublin-Belfast Line is the busiest railway route on the island of Ireland, carrying a mixture of intercity rail, regional rail, commuter rail traffic and freight traffic. It is uniquely significant as the only railway line that crosses the Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border.
Portadown Railway Station serves the town of Portadown in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
Yorkgate railway station served the north of the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The station opened in 1992, replacing the previous York Road railway station nearby. The station was in turn replaced by the nearby York Street station in 2024, with the new station re-using the existing platforms of Yorkgate.
Whitehead railway station serves Whitehead in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Moira railway station serves Moira in County Down, Northern Ireland. Despite the station serving the County Down town, the station itself is located in County Antrim, the neighbouring Lagan Canal being the boundary. Moira station is the oldest building on the NI Railways network today having been opened on 18 November 1841. The old, now redundant, signal box stands over the station on the Southbound side.
City Hospital railway station, situated on Donegall Road, serves Belfast City Hospital and the surrounding area of south Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is one of the four stations located in the city centre, the others being Botanic, Lanyon Place, and Belfast Grand Central.
Botanic railway station serves the Botanic area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland and students for Queen's University Belfast; it is also near Shaftesbury Square which is along Botanic Avenue. It is named after the nearby Belfast Botanic Gardens. It is one of the four stations located in the city centre, the others being City Hospital, Lanyon Place, and the under-construction Grand Central.
Transportation systems in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland, include road, air, rail, and sea. It is still a relatively car-dependent city; however, it is also served by a comprehensive rail and bus network. Belfast also ran electric trams prior to 1954. The city has two major airports, and the Port of Belfast is the busiest ferry port on the island of Ireland.
Urban andsuburban rail plays a key role in public transport in many of the major cities of the United Kingdom. Urban rail refers to the train service between city centres and suburbs or nearby towns that acts as a main mode of transport for travellers on a daily basis. They consist of several railway lines connecting city centre stations of major cities to suburbs and surrounding towns.
Great Victoria Street was a railway station that served the city centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It was one of two main stations in the city, along with Lanyon Place, and was nearest to the city centre. The station was situated beside Great Victoria Street and shared a site with the Europa Buscentre, Belfast's former main bus station. The railway and bus stations were replaced by the adjacent Belfast Grand Central station with the official opening on 13 October 2024. Great Victoria Street railway station closed permanently on 10 May 2024, with a bus transfer service operating until rail services commenced from Belfast Grand Central, with a service to Dublin at 8:05 a.m. on 13 October 2024. Europa Buscentre closed permanently on 7 September 2024, with bus services immediately transferring to the new station, commencing with a service to Dublin at 5 a.m. on 8 September 2024.
Dungannon railway station served Dungannon in County Tyrone in Northern Ireland.
Belfast Grand Central station is a railway and bus station in the city centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It has replaced Great Victoria Street railway station and the Europa Buscentre. It is built next to its predecessors, in a new neighbourhood called Weaver's Cross. The first bus service, to Dublin, departed from the station on 8 September 2024, and the first rail service, also to Dublin, departed from the station on 13 October 2024.
