Commuter Rail | |||
General information | |||
Location | York Street, Belfast, County Antrim Northern Ireland | ||
Owned by | Translink | ||
Line(s) | Belfast-Larne line (2) Belfast-Derry line (3) | ||
Platforms | 2 | ||
Tracks | 2 | ||
Train operators | Northern Ireland Railways | ||
Construction | |||
Structure type | Elevated | ||
Platform levels | 2 | ||
Accessible | Yes | ||
Architect | Gregory Architects [1] | ||
Other information | |||
Status | Operational | ||
Fare zone | 1 | ||
Website | www | ||
Key dates | |||
28 April 2024 | Opened to the public | ||
29 April 2024 [2] | Officially Opened | ||
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York Street railway station (also referred to as Belfast York Street) serves the north of Belfast in Northern Ireland.
The station replaced Yorkgate railway station, which was on a nearby site and closed after the last train on 27 April 2024. York Street station opened to the public before the first train on the following day. The station re-uses Yorkgate's original platforms. [2] [3]
The first railway into the area was the Belfast and Ballymena Railway on 11 April 1848, with the construction of York Road station. This terminus station was situated approximately 200m north of where York Street station now stands. Additional services were added to Londonderry Waterside (now Derry~Londonderry station), Carrickfergus and Larne Harbour following later extensions. While the old terminus was re-developed multiple times in its history, the service destinations remained mostly unchanged until the opening of Belfast Central (now Lanyon Place) in 1976, when Derry line trains transferred their terminus to there via the Lisburn-Antrim railway line soon thereafter. York Road remained as a terminus for just Larne Line services from 1978 until 1992, when construction began on the Cross Harbour Rail Link and Dargan Bridge.
As part of this construction, the York Road terminus was closed and replaced with the smaller Yorkgate station slightly to the southeast. The name "Yorkgate" was taken from the adjacent Yorkgate Shopping Centre, which had opened in 1991. The shopping centre was renamed to "Cityside" in the mid-2000s, however the station name remained "Yorkgate" throughout its life. The maintenance depot at the York Road terminus was expanded to cover the site of York Road station, and the depot remains in operation to this day. Yorkgate station acted as a temporary terminus for Larne Line services until 1994 when the Dargan Bridge was completed, allowing Larne Line trains to terminate at Belfast Central, and later Great Victoria Street upon the latter's opening in 1995. Derry Line trains returned to the site in 2001 following the re-opening of the Bleach Green to Antrim section of the Belfast-Derry line.
In 2020, Belfast City Council approved a proposal to replace Yorkgate station with the current York Street station, as part of a wider regeneration of the area and expansion of the facilities available at the station. Due to the limited site of Yorkgate station and the difficulty in improving accessibility within that footprint, York Street station was constructed as a completely new build on a new larger site to the south, while re-using the existing platforms of Yorkgate station.
Construction commenced in November 2022 and completed in April 2024, with the station opening to the public on 28 April 2024 and was officially opened on 29 April 2024 [2] [3] [4] by the Minister for Infrastructure John O'Dowd.
The station features a boardroom at street level, with a café on the upper ground floor run by Ground Espresso, as well as new lifts, an escalator, touch-screen ticket vending machines [5] and a new passenger foot-bridge between platforms [2] . Automatic ticket barriers are in use in the station, the first to be introduced on the NI Railways network. There is no ticket office at this station.
A sculpture was commissioned for the new station, located to the south of the premises, known as 'Journeylines', created by local artist, Kevin Killen with collaboration from the local community. [6]
On the Larne Line, the station sees a half-hourly service in both directions, with extra services at peak times. Trains northbound call at all stops to either Larne Harbour or Whitehead, with the terminus alternating every half-hour. Additional peak-time services operate to Carrickfergus and Larne Town. Southbound trains call at all stops to Great Victoria Street, with some peak-time trains terminating at Lanyon Place or running through to Lisburn and Portadown. The Saturday service remains similar, minus any additional peak-time trains. On Sundays, the service drops to hourly, with the northbound terminus alternating every hour between Larne Harbour and Whitehead, resulting in a two-hourly service to stations beyond Whitehead. [7]
On the Derry~Londonderry Line, the station has an hourly service in both directions. Trains northbound operate to Derry~Londonderry, with some peak-time, late-night, or holiday season trains terminating at Coleraine or running through to Portrush. Southbound trains call at all stops to Great Victoria Street, with some peak-time or late-night trains terminating at Lanyon Place. The Saturday service remains similar. On Sundays, the service remains hourly, however the northbound terminus alternates each hour between Derry~Londonderry and Portrush, resulting in a two-hourly service to stations beyond Coleraine. [8]
These two lines combine to give York Street approximately three trains per hour toward the city centre on every day of the week. [7] [8]
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 eight publicly owned train operators in the United Kingdom, the others being Direct Rail Services, 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.
York Road railway station served the north of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly one of the three terminus railway stations in Belfast. The others were Great Victoria Street, and Queen's Quay.
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 the under-construction Grand Central. Lanyon Place is the northern terminus of the cross-border Enterprise service to Dublin Connolly. It is also served by Northern Ireland Railways, which operates routes to other locations in Northern Ireland, including Derry, Bangor, Portadown and Larne.
Derry ~ Londonderry railway station, also known as North West Transport Hub or Waterside railway station, is a railway terminus in Derry, Northern Ireland, on the east bank of the River Foyle, operated by Northern Ireland Railways and its 7th busiest station across the network with 952,126 passengers boarding or alighting at the station in the 2023/24 financial year. It is on the Belfast–Derry railway line, terminating at Belfast Lanyon Place. Derry/Londonderry has the longest platforms on the NIR Network, at 258.3 metres in length.
Antrim railway station opened 1848 and serves the town of Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
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.
Ballymoney railway station serves the town of Ballymoney in County Antrim, Northern 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.
Mossley West railway station is located in the townland of Ballyhenry in the north of Newtownabbey, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, owned and operated by NI Railways, a subsidiary of Translink.
Whiteabbey Railway Station serves the village of Whiteabbey in Newtownabbey, 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.
Greenisland railway station serves Greenisland in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 11 April 1848 as Carrickfergus Junction. It was renamed on 10 January 1893. The station used to be larger, with a third platform, but this was removed after the closure of the spur to the Derry~Londonderry Line. The station building is staffed from 7am to 3pm. A park and ride facility was built in 2009.
Carrickfergus railway station serves the centre of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. In addition to this, Clipperstown serves the west of the town, and Downshire the east.
Downshire railway station serves eastern Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Whitehead railway station serves Whitehead in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
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 the under-construction 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.
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.
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 main bus station. The railway and bus stations will be replaced by the adjacent Belfast Grand Central station later in 2024. Great Victoria Street railway station closed permanently on 10 May 2024, several months before its replacement was due to open.