Lanyon Place railway station

"Belfast Central station" redirects here. For the new bus and rail transport hub, see Belfast Grand Central station.

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Lanyon Place
Station Building.
General information
Other names	Belfast Central
Location	East Bridge Street, Belfast Northern Ireland
Coordinates	54°35′43″N5°55′02″W / 54.5953°N 5.9172°W / 54.5953; -5.9172
Owned by	NI Railways
Operated by	NI Railways
Line(s)	Bangor (1) Larne (2) Derry/Londonderry (3)
Platforms	4
Tracks	4 (at platforms) 5 (total)
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Key dates
1976	Opened as Belfast Central
2003	Refurbished
2018	Renamed "Lanyon Place"
Passengers
2015/16	2.232 million [1]
Location Lanyon Place Location within Northern Ireland

Belfast Lanyon Place (formerly Belfast Central) 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 station serves Northern Ireland Railways routes to Derry, Bangor, Portadown and Larne. Until 2024, Lanyon Place was also the northern terminus of the cross-border Enterprise service to Dublin Connolly, jointly run with Iarnród Éireann.

Description

There are two island platforms at Lanyon Place, each serving two tracks, capable of accommodating trains up to nine coaches long on each side. Platform 1 is usually only used at peak hours, as well as for special services run by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland. Platform 2 was the Enterprise platform. Platform 3 is the 'southbound platform', normally used for trains to Portadown, Lisburn and Newry, with Platform 4 being the 'northbound platform' for trains along the Derry, Larne and Bangor lines.

2.6 million people used the station in 2017. ^[8]

History

The station was opened as "Belfast Central" on Monday 26 April 1976, ^[9] despite it being located further from Belfast city centre than Great Victoria Street station. The first station manager was Mr John Johnston.

By the 1990s, it became clear that the station's facilities were in need of upgrading. A major refurbishment programme started in 2000 and was completed in 2003. ^[10]

In February 2018, Translink announced that Belfast Central would undergo a face-lift. This would see the entrance hall and East Bridge Street façade completely redesigned, with the removal of the Troubles-era blast wall. Inside, the ticket hall would be rebuilt and new retail and dining facilities provided. A Belfast Bikes dock will also be included in the redesigned station. ^[8]

As part of the redesign, Belfast Central was renamed Lanyon Place on 1 September 2018. This is despite the fact that, strictly speaking, the station is not located there but on East Bridge Street.

The Enterprise served Lanyon Place for the final time on 2 July 2024. It will transfer to the new Belfast Grand Central Station integrated transport hub at an unspecified point later in autumn 2024. ^[11]

Current Service

Main hall of Belfast Central (prior to refurbishment as Lanyon Place)

Train departing from Lanyon Place

NIR Class 3000 (C3K) train in Lanyon Place

Bangor line

Main article: Belfast–Bangor railway line

From Monday to Saturday, there is a half hourly service from Lanyon Place to Bangor. During peak times there are up to 6 trains per hour operating to Bangor with 3 being express services and the other half being slow services stopping at all stations between here and Bangor. The service is reduced to hourly operation in the evenings.

On Sundays, the service reduces to hourly operation between Bangor and Lanyon Place.

Larne line

Main article: Belfast–Larne railway line

During the construction of Grand Central, Larne Line services terminate here. Outbound services run half-hourly on an alternating basis to either Whitehead or through to Larne Harbour, giving an hourly service to stations beyond Whitehead. Extra services at peak times run to Carrickfergus.

On Saturdays, retains a very similar pattern to the weekday service, minus any additional peak-time trains. On Sundays, the service reduces to hourly operation, with the outbound terminus alternating between Whitehead and Larne Harbour as before, giving a two-hourly service to stations beyond Whitehead.

Derry~Londonderry line

Main article: Belfast–Derry railway line

All Derry~Londonderry Line trains call at Lanyon Place. During the week, the service runs hourly in each direction between Lanyon Place and Derry~Londonderry. Certain peak-time or late-night trains will only run as far as Coleraine, or through to Portrush along the Coleraine-Portrush railway line.

On Saturdays, the service is slightly reduced, however operation remains much the same as during the week. On Sundays, the hourly service alternately runs to Derry~Londonderry and Portrush, giving a two-hourly service to stations beyond Coleraine.

Preceding station		Northern Ireland Railways		Following station
Terminus		Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Bangor		Titanic Quarter
		Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Derry		York Street
		Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Larne

Former Services

Dublin line

Main article: Belfast-Dublin railway line

Until 2024, the Enterprise service operated from Lanyon Place to Dublin Connolly every two hours. This reduced to five services per day on Sundays. The Enterprise served Lanyon Place for the final time on 2 July 2024, with the line south of Lanyon Place closing for track maintenance the following day. Upon completion of maintenance works, the Enterprise will operate from Grand Central station instead.

Rail and Sea Connections

Port of Belfast

The Port of Belfast has a Stena Line ferry connecting to Cairnryan for the bus link ^[12] to Stranraer and onward trains along the Glasgow South Western Line to Glasgow Central.

Preceding station		Ferry		Following station
Stranraer Harbour (via bus link from Cairnryan [12] )		Stena Line Ferry		Port of Belfast (nearest stations York Street & Lanyon Place
Liverpool		Stena Line Ferry		Port of Belfast (nearest stations York Street & Lanyon Place)
Douglas		Isle of Man Steam Packet Ferry(seasonal)		Port of Belfast (nearest stations York Street & Lanyon Place)
Stranraer Harbour (via bus link from Cairnryan [12] )		P&O Ferries Ferry		Larne Harbour

Port of Larne

The Larne line connects with Larne Harbour with P&O Ferries sailing to Cairnryan for the bus link ^[12] to Stranraer and onward trains along the Glasgow South Western Line to Glasgow Central, as well as alternative sailings by P&O Ferries to Troon also on the Glasgow South Western Line to Glasgow Central.

References

1. "NIR Footfall 1518.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
2. "NIR Footfall 1819.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 15 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
3. "NIR Footfall 1920.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
4. "FOI1317 NIR Footfall 2021.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 25 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
5. "FOI1317 NIR Footfall 2122.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 26 April 2022. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
6. "FOI1317 NIR Footfall 2223.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 17 April 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
7. "FOI Footfall 2023 2024 figures PDF.pdf". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 7 May 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
8. Translink. "Central Station to get a New Name and Makeover". www.translink.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
9. "Central 1". IRRS. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
10. "Central 2". Translink. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 8 May 2008.
11. UK, DVV Media. "Belfast Transport Hub planning underway". Railway Gazette. Retrieved 13 February 2018.
12. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.