Belfast Suburban Rail
Encyclopedia
The Belfast Suburban Rail commuter network
serves the metropolitan area of Greater Belfast
and some of its commuter town
s with three lines. The network is owned by Translink
and operated by Northern Ireland Railways
(which is a subsidiary of Translink).
, Botanic
, Belfast Central
, Yorkgate
, Whiteabbey
, Jordanstown
, Greenisland
, Trooperslane
, Clipperstown
, Carrickfergus
, Downshire
, Whitehead
, Ballycarry
, Magheramorne
, Glynn
, Larne Town
, Larne Harbour
.
, Finaghy
, Dunmurry
, Derriaghy
, Lambeg
, Hilden
, Lisburn
, Moira
, Lurgan
, Portadown
.
, Sydenham
, Holywood
, Marino
, Cultra
, Seahill, Helen's Bay
, Carnalea
, Bangor West
, Bangor
.
Commuter rail in the United Kingdom
Urban rail, commuter rail, regional rail, or suburban rail, plays a key role in the public transport system of many of the United Kingdom's major cities. Urban rail is defined as a rail service between a central business district and suburbs or other locations that draw large numbers of people on a...
serves the metropolitan area of Greater Belfast
Greater Belfast
Greater Belfast is an area surrounding and including Belfast in Northern Ireland.It includes Belfast and parts of the North Down, Lisburn, Castlereagh and Newtownabbey district council areas. Greater Belfast is the largest urban area in Northern Ireland, and second largest in Ireland...
and some of its commuter town
Commuter town
A commuter town is an urban community that is primarily residential, from which most of the workforce commutes out to earn their livelihood. Many commuter towns act as suburbs of a nearby metropolis that workers travel to daily, and many suburbs are commuter towns...
s with three lines. The network is owned by Translink
Translink (Northern Ireland)
Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company , a public corporation in Northern Ireland which provides the public transport in the region. NI Railways, Ulsterbus and Metro are all part of Translink....
and operated by Northern Ireland Railways
Northern Ireland Railways
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...
(which is a subsidiary of Translink).
Larne Line
Stations - Belfast Great Victoria Street, City HospitalCity Hospital railway station
City Hospital railway station 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 Great Victoria Street, Botanic, and Central....
, Botanic
Botanic railway station
.Botanic railway station serves the Botanic area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland and students for Queen's University Belfast. It is named after the nearby Belfast Botanic Gardens...
, Belfast Central
Belfast Central railway station
Belfast Central is a railway station serving the city of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is one of the four stations located in Belfast City Centre, the others being Great Victoria Street, City Hospital and Botanic....
, Yorkgate
Yorkgate railway station
Yorkgate railway station serves the north of the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The station opened in 1992, replacing the previous York Road station nearby.-York Road Railway Station:...
, Whiteabbey
Whiteabbey railway station
Whiteabbey railway station serves Whiteabbey in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 11 April 1848. It is the first station outside Belfast on the Larne Line....
, Jordanstown
Jordanstown railway station
Jordanstown railway station serves Jordanstown and the University of Ulster in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. Its station is due to get a new park and ride facility shortly in the hope it will ease congestion on the main Jordanstown Road....
, Greenisland
Greenisland railway station
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...
, Trooperslane
Trooperslane railway station
Trooperslane railway station serves Trooperslane in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.Trooperslane is a hamlet between Greenisland and Carrickfergus. The station was opened on 11 April 1848. For many years it was served by a handful of trains Mondays to Saturdays only...
, Clipperstown
Clipperstown railway station
Clipperstown railway station serves Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.Clipperstown station is within walking distance of the larger Carrickfergus station...
, Carrickfergus
Carrickfergus railway station
Carrickfergus railway station serves Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. There are two more railway stations serving Carrickfergus town: Clipperstown and Downshire.Carrickfergus station opened on 1 October 1862....
, Downshire
Downshire railway station
Downshire railway station serves eastern Carrickfergus in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.This station opened on 1 April 1925 and was known for most of its early life as Downshire Park. Northern Ireland Railways renamed the halt in the late 1970s...
, Whitehead
Whitehead railway station
Whitehead railway station serves Whitehead in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.The station has two platforms with a waiting room on each and the station is signalled in both directions and remains manned during commuter hours by a Senior Porter, who luckily for the commuters is a fully trained...
, Ballycarry
Ballycarry railway station
Ballycarry railway station serves Ballycarry and Islandmagee in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.A single platform now with a corrugated iron shelter and sometimes a street lamp, this station is a sorry reflection of its former glory as a passing loop on the way to Larne. The stationmaster's cottage...
, Magheramorne
Magheramorne railway station
Magheramorne railway station serves Magheramorne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Magheramorne has the only passing loop between Whitehead and Larne.The station was opened on 1 October 1862.-Service:...
, Glynn
Glynn railway station
Glynn railway station serves Glynn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 1 January 1864. Goods traffic ceased in 1933.-Service:...
, Larne Town
Larne Town railway station
Larne Town railway station serves Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station was opened on 1 October 1862. Goods traffic ceased on 4 January 1965...
, Larne Harbour
Larne Harbour railway station
Larne Harbour railway station, Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, serves the ferry port for ferries to Cairnryan and Troon, Scotland and Fleetwood, England...
.
Portadown Line
Stations - Belfast Great Victoria Street, Adelaide, BalmoralBalmoral railway station
Balmoral railway station is located in the townland of Ballygammon in south Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 1 November 1858...
, Finaghy
Finaghy railway station
Finaghy railway station is located in the townland of Finaghy in south Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 9 February 1907.-Service:...
, Dunmurry
Dunmurry railway station
Dunmurry railway station is located in the townland of Dunmurry in south Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 12 August 1839. It lies between the centres of Belfast and Lisburn. Access between platform one and two is provided by a passage beneath the railway line...
, Derriaghy
Derriaghy railway station
Derriaghy railway station is located in the townland of Derryaghy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies between the centres of Belfast and Lisburn.The station opened on 9 February 1907 and was closed to passengers between 1953 and 1958....
, Lambeg
Lambeg railway station
Lambeg railway station serves Lambeg in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 1 September 1877.-Service:Mondays to Saturdays there is a half hourly service towards Portadown or Newry in one direction and to Bangor Or Belfast in the other with extra services at peak times and the...
, Hilden
Hilden railway station
Hilden railway station is located in Lisburn, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 1 May 1907.-Service:Mondays to Saturdays there is a half hourly service towards Portadown or Newry in one direction and to Bangor or Belfast in the other with extra services at peak times and the...
, Lisburn
Lisburn railway station
Lisburn railway station serves the city of Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The station was opened on 12 August 1839. It has been renovated, with a new waiting area on platform 1, new toilets and vending machines. addition, on platforms 2 and 3, a coffee shop operates on weekday...
, Moira
Moira railway station
Moira railway station serves Moira in County Down, Northern Ireland. Despite the station serving the County Down town, the station itself is located in County Antrim, the neighbouring Lagan Canal being the boundary. Moira station is the oldest building on the NIR network today having been opened on...
, Lurgan
Lurgan railway station
Lurgan railway station serves Lurgan in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 18 November 1841.- Service :Mondays to Saturdays there is a half hourly service towards Portadown or Newry in one direction and to Bangor or Belfast in the other, with extra services at peak times and the...
, Portadown
Portadown railway station
Portadown railway station serves Portadown in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The original Portadown station was sited half a mile east of the present station and opened on 12 September 1842, replacing a temporary station at Seagow that had opened the preceding year. The Portadown station was...
.
Bangor Line
Stations - Belfast Great Victoria Street, City Hospital, Botanic, Belfast Central, Bridge EndBridge End railway station
Bridge End railway station is located in the townland of Ballymacarrett in east Belfast, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is close to the Odyssey Centre and Titanic Quarter....
, Sydenham
Sydenham railway station, Northern Ireland
For other stations called Sydenham, see Sydenham .Sydenham railway station is located in the townland of Ballymisert in east Belfast, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is near Belfast City Airport. The station is unstaffed, with ramp access to the Belfast-bound platform and stair access only to the...
, Holywood
Holywood railway station
Holywood railway station serves Holywood in County Down, Northern Ireland. The station opened on 2 August 1848 and was closed for goods traffic on 24 April 1950.-Service:...
, Marino
Marino railway station
Marino railway station is located in the townland of Ballycultra in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. The station was opened on 1 December 1870.-Service:...
, Cultra
Cultra railway station
Cultra railway station is located in the townland of Ballycultra in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. It serves the Cultra residential area and the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum....
, Seahill, Helen's Bay
Helen's Bay railway station
Helen's Bay railway station serves Helen's Bay in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Ballygrot.The station in the grand Scottish Baronial style, built in 1863, was the creation of Lord Dufferin, through whose land the line was laid. His family had their own private entrance...
, Carnalea
Carnalea railway station
Carnalea railway station is located in the townland of Carnalea in northwest Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland.It was first opened by the B.C.D.R. on its present site at Station Walk on 1 June 1877 with only an upside platform, serviced by brake van as an office.Through the advent of wooden...
, Bangor West
Bangor West railway station
Bangor West railway station is located in the townland of Ballyvarnet in Bangor, County Down, Northern Ireland.It was opened on 1 June 1928 by the Belfast and County Down Railway to serve the rapidly expanding suburbs of Bangor...
, Bangor
Bangor railway station
Bangor railway station may refer to:*Bangor railway station, Northern Ireland*Bangor railway station...
.
Other information
- Some trains run directly from BangorBangor, County DownBangor is a large town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a seaside resort on the southern side of Belfast Lough and within the Belfast Metropolitan Area. Bangor Marina is one of the largest in Ireland, and holds Blue Flag status...
to PortadownPortadownPortadown is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about 23 miles south-west of Belfast...
and vice-versa (stopping at all stations on the way), though most follow only the routes shown above. - Services typically run every 20 minutes from 06:00 to 20:00 and at 40 minute intervals thereafter. The last train of the day arrives in Bangor and Portadown shortly after midnight.
See also
- MetroMetro (Belfast)Metro is the trading name for bus company Citybus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, within the common management structure of Translink, along with Ulsterbus and Northern Ireland Railways....
- TranslinkTranslink (Northern Ireland)Translink is the brand name of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company , a public corporation in Northern Ireland which provides the public transport in the region. NI Railways, Ulsterbus and Metro are all part of Translink....
- Northern Ireland RailwaysNorthern Ireland RailwaysNI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways , is the railway operator in Northern Ireland...
- Dublin Suburban RailDublin Suburban RailThe Dublin Suburban Rail network, , is a railway network that serves the city of Dublin, Ireland, most of the Greater Dublin Area and outlying towns...
- Cork Suburban RailCork Suburban RailThe Cork Suburban Rail network serves the Metropolitan Cork area in County Cork, Munster, Ireland.There has been a suburban rail system in Cork since the middle of the 19th century however it suffered serious neglect and line closures in the 20th century...
- Galway Suburban Rail
- Limerick Suburban RailLimerick Suburban RailLimerick Suburban Rail is are a group of Iarnród Éireann commuter train services from Limerick Colbert to various other destinations on three different lines.* Limerick - Ennis calling at Sixmilebridge* Limerick - Nenagh calling at Castleconnell and Birdhill...