Bellarena railway station

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Bellarena
The new station under construction in 2016.
General information
Location	Bellarena Northern Ireland
Coordinates	55°7′36″N6°57′6″W / 55.12667°N 6.95167°W / 55.12667; -6.95167
Owned by	NI Railways
Operated by	NI Railways
Line(s)	Derry~Londonderry
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Key dates
1853	Opened
1976	Closed
1982	Re-opened
2016	Station moved to new site, passing loop constructed
Passengers
2022/23	55,822 [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 Bellarena Location within Northern Ireland Show map of Northern Ireland Bellarena Location on the Island of Ireland Show map of island of Ireland

Bellarena railway station serves the village of Bellarena and the broader Limavady area in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The current two-platform station was opened in 2016, replacing the original single-platform 1853 station located on the opposite side of the nearby level crossing.

Original station (1853-2016)

One feature Bellarena retains from BNCR days is the station name spelled out in tiles on the building

Bellarena station has served several railway companies since its first opening on 18 July 1853. The original station buildings were erected between 1873 and 1875 to designs by the architect John Lanyon. ^[3]

It was closed for goods traffic from 4 January 1965, and to passengers from 18 October 1976, but was later re-opened on 28 June 1982. ^[4]

The original station buildings are now in private ownership and were converted to living quarters in 2005, with the exterior boasting the station's name in a unique tile pattern. The stationmaster's house was renovated in the 1980s.^{[ citation needed ]}

Current station (2016-present)

The original station, opened in 1853 and closed in 2016. The new station is located behind the camera.

In late 2015, work started on a new station at Bellarena, replacing the original 1853 station with one on a new site located on the other side of the adjacent level crossing. The new station opened to traffic on Monday 21 March 2016. Unlike the old station, the new station has two platforms, with a new passing loop replacing the one originally at Castlerock railway station. The original station features are still in existence and can easily be seen from the new station.^{[ citation needed ]}

Service

Mondays to Saturdays there is an hourly service towards Derry~Londonderry or Belfast Grand Central operated by Northern Ireland Railways. ^[5]

On Sundays there are 6 trains in each direction.

Preceding station		NI Railways		Following station
Castlerock		Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Derry		Derry~Londonderry
	Historical railways
Magilligan Line open, station closed		Londonderry and Coleraine Railway Coleraine-Derry		Limavady Junction Line open, 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. The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Department of the Environment. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984
4. "Bellarena station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
5. "NIR timetable December 2009" Archived 14 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine