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.
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 in Northern Ireland which provides the public transport in the region. NI Railways, Ulsterbus and Metro are all part of Translink. It is led by CEO Chris Conway.
Belfast Lanyon Place is a railway station serving the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Located on 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.
The Belfast–Newry line operates from Lanyon Place station in County Antrim to Newry in County Down, Northern Ireland. The manager for this line is based at Portadown railway station, although the line extends to the border to include the Scarva and Poyntzpass halts and Newry. Newry is on the fringe of the network, being the last stop before the border with the Republic of Ireland. The line follows the route of the northern half of the main Dublin–Belfast line, with the exception of calling at Belfast Great Victoria Street.
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–Dublin Main Line is a main and busiest railway route on the island of Ireland that connects Dublin Connolly station in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast Lanyon Place station in Northern Ireland. It is 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.
Newry railway station serves Newry and Bessbrook in Northern Ireland. The station is located in the northwest of Newry, County Armagh on the Dublin-Belfast line close to the Craigmore Viaduct. It is the most southerly railway station in Northern Ireland.
Helen's Bay railway station serves Helen's Bay as well as the nearby village of Crawfordsburn in the townland of Ballygrot, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Lurgan railway station serves Lurgan in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Located on William Street. The station is managed by NI Railways. With just over 670,000 passengers in the year 22/23. Lurgan railway station is Northern Ireland's 9th most used station.
Scarva railway station serves Scarva in County Down, Northern Ireland. Despite serving the County Down village, the station itself is in County Armagh, the nearby Newry Canal being the boundary.
Lambeg railway station serves Lambeg in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 1 September 1877.
Derriaghy railway station is located in the townland of Derriaghy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies between the centres of Belfast and Lisburn.
Dunmurry railway station is located in the townland of Dunmurry in west Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Finaghy railway station is located in the townland of Finaghy in south Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The Great Northern Railway of Ireland opened the station on 9 February 1907.
The Lisburn–Antrim line is a 20-mile (32 km) railway line of Northern Ireland Railways. It links Knockmore Junction on the Belfast–Newry line with Antrim on the Belfast–Derry line. It has been closed to passenger services since 2003.
The 450 Class is a type of diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train formerly used by Northern Ireland Railways. They were affectionately nicknamed 'Thumpers' and 'Castles' by rail enthusiasts.
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.
Poyntzpass is a small village on the border between southern County Armagh and County Down in Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballymore and the historic barony of Orior Lower within the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon area. It had a population of 552 people in the 2011 census. It was a part of the South Armagh constituency and is now part of the Newry and Armagh constituency.
