The Minister of Infrastructure of Northern Ireland, John O’Dowd, and the Chief Executive of Translink Group, Chris Conway, inaugurated the rail services at Belfast Grand Central Station on October 13, 2024, being reopened the rail line between Belfast and Lisburn and services at Botanic and City Hospital stations. Bus and coach services have been operating since 8th September.
“This is another significant step in the development of our public transport offer. I am delighted that rail services have started from Grand Central Station. The re-opening of the rail line between Lisburn and Belfast is good news for the thousands of commuters and cross border passengers who use this route,” the Minister for Infrastructure said.
Enterprise service was the first train service which departed for Dublin, arriving at the destination after one hour and 10 minutes. Enterprise services will relocate from Lanyon station and operate to/from Belfast Grand Central Station which will be the main terminus station for the city. All NI Railways local services will operate to/from Grand Central Station. Due to the opening, Bangor and Portadown line services will now terminate at Grand Central Station.
As the new terminus station for the region, Belfast Grand Central Station offers enhanced connectivity and integration with the wider public transport network for connections across Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland and beyond. It will also increase the reliability and efficiency of services across the network.
Passengers should allow extra time to interchange to another bus or rail service if continuing on a different route.
“The commencement of rail services at Belfast Grand Central is a significant milestone in the transformation of public transport in Northern Ireland, providing integrated services which connect people and place. With new rail timetables in place and many new features at the station including new ticket gates, we would encourage passengers to plan ahead and build in a bit of extra time for your journey until you familiarise yourself with the new station,” Chris Conway, said.
The new Belfast Grand Central Station will further transform public transport, enhancing local and international connectivity it is a game changer for the whole of Northern Ireland, set to inspire people to use more sustainable travel for a better connected, cleaner and healthier region.
The new train station also see automatic ticketing gates introduced, and passengers can purchase tickets which they can scan at gates to speed up journeys and enhance convenience. Passengers can buy their ticket from one of the rail ticket vending machines in the station, use the mLink mobile app or iLink Smartcard.
Public Realm work is ongoing around the new station and will continue through 2025 to significantly upgrade the streets and enhance pedestrian safety making it easier and more accessible for all.
The station is fully inclusive offering an enhanced user experience for up to 20 million customer journeys annually. Due to the project, the number of rail platforms increased from four to eight and 26 bus stands compared with 16 increasing available capacity. With a clear focus on active travel, streets adjoining the station will give more space to pedestrians and cyclists with parking for more than 200 bikes and extensive public realm works underway.
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