General information | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Location | Belfast Northern Ireland | ||||||
Coordinates | 54°35′39″N5°56′10″W / 54.5942°N 5.9362°W | ||||||
Owned by | NI Railways | ||||||
Operated by | NI Railways | ||||||
Platforms | 4 | ||||||
Construction | |||||||
Structure type | At-grade | ||||||
History | |||||||
Original company | Ulster Railway | ||||||
Post-grouping | Great Northern Railway (Ireland) | ||||||
Key dates | |||||||
12 August 1839 | First station opened | ||||||
13 November 1848 | First terminus completed | ||||||
November 1968 | Terminus largely demolished | ||||||
24 April 1976 | First station closed | ||||||
30 September 1995 | Second station opened | ||||||
10 May 2024 [1] | Closed, to be replaced by Grand Central station | ||||||
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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. [2] Great Victoria Street railway station closed permanently on 10 May 2024, several months before its replacement was due to open. [3]
Great Victoria Street was the busiest railway station in Northern Ireland, with 3,939,261 passengers passing through the station in 2022–2023. [4]
The station was on the site of a former linen mill, beside where Durham Street crossed the Blackstaff River at the Saltwater (now Boyne) Bridge.
The Ulster Railway opened the first station on 12 August 1839 . A new terminal building, probably designed by Ulster Railway engineer John Godwin, was completed in 1848. [5] Godwin later founded the School of Civil Engineering at Queen's College. [5]
The station, built directly on Victoria Street, was Belfast's first railway terminus, and as such was called just "Belfast" until 1852. By this time, two other railway companies had opened termini in Belfast, so the Ulster Railway renamed its terminus "Belfast Victoria Street" for clarity. In 1855 the Dublin and Belfast Junction Railway was completed, [6] making Victoria Street the terminus for one of the most important main lines in Ireland. The Ulster Railway changed the station name again to "Great Victoria Street" in 1856, in line with a change of the street name.
In 1876 the Ulster Railway became part of the Great Northern Railway (GNR), [6] making Great Victoria Street the terminus for a network that extended south to Dublin and west to Derry and Bundoran.
Express passenger traffic to and from Dublin Connolly station was always Great Victoria Street's most prestigious traffic. The GNR upgraded its expresses over the decades and in 1947 introduced the Enterprise non-stop service between the two capitals. [7] As Belfast suburbs grew, commuter traffic also grew in volume.
In 1958, the Ulster Transport Authority took over Northern Ireland's bus and rail services. Three years later Great Victoria Street station was modernised, and a bus centre incorporated into the facility. [7] Then in 1968, a large section of the 1848 terminal building was demolished to make way for the development of the Europa Hotel, which opened in 1971. [7]
During the conflict known as The Troubles, the station was attacked several times. On 22 March 1972, 70 people were injured, a train was destroyed and the station significantly damaged by a Car bomb. [8] Another bomb explosion happened on 21 July, destroying four busses but causing no casualties. This was one of 20 bombs that exploded that day, planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in an event that became known as Bloody Friday [9]
In April 1976 Northern Ireland Railways closed both Great Victoria Street [7] and the Belfast Queen's Quay terminus of the Bangor line and replaced them both with a new Belfast Central Station, now renamed Lanyon Place. The remainder of Great Victoria Street station was demolished. After a feasibility study was commissioned in 1986 it was agreed that a new development on the site, incorporating the reintroduction of the Great Northern Railway, was viable. The Great Northern Tower had already been built on the site of the old station terminus in 1992, [10] and so the second Great Victoria Street Station was built behind the tower block, yards from the site of its predecessor. The new station was opened on 30 September 1995. [11] The station closed on Friday 10th May 2024 to make way for the new Belfast Grand Central station. The last train to depart was the 23:32 service to Bangor.
The final station had two island platforms providing a total of four platform faces. Platforms 2 and 3 ran the full length of the site and opened onto the station's main concourse. Platforms 1 and 4 were half the length and were accessible by walking down the other platforms.
Great Victoria Street was the hub of Northern Ireland's suburban rail services, with Bangor line, Derry~Londonderry line, Newry line and Larne Line trains all terminating there.
On Mondays to Saturdays, there were half-hourly services to Bangor or Portadown on the Bangor and Portadown Lines, with some Portadown-bound trains continuing on to Newry.
There was also a half-hourly service on the Larne Line, with the terminus alternating between Whitehead and Larne Harbour being the terminus every half hour.
Derry~Londonderry Line trains operated hourly from Great Victoria Street to Derry~Londonderry with connecting shuttle service from Coleraine to Portrush via the Coleraine-Portrush railway line.
On Sundays, the Bangor, Larne, and Portadown Line services all reduced to hourly operation. Derry~Londonderry Line services reduced to two-hourly operation, with only seven trains running each way. Derry~Londonderry Line trains were still hourly but alternated between Derry Waterside and Portrush, except for the final train of the evening, which terminated at Coleraine.
Railway access from Great Victoria Street at Sydenham linked into George Best Belfast City Airport on the line to Bangor.
NI Railways constructed a new traincare facility next to Adelaide station for its diesel multiple units. The opportunity was also taken to improve the infrastructure at Great Victoria Street; the plan to begin with was to reduce the curves by realigning the track, and moving the buffer stops and the route from the platforms to the concourse to the other side of Durham Street. Additionally there were plans to add a fifth platform to the station, which would have culminated in Enterprise services transferring from Lanyon Place to Great Victoria Street. [12] However, under Translink's subsequent plan to build a new integrated transport hub, the proposal has expanded to the potential construction of a brand new 6–8 platform station on the site of the old Grosvenor Road freight depot, close to the existing station, because the existing site is too constrained for any further expansion. [13] It was announced that the station would close permanently on 10 May 2024, though the line from Belfast to Lisburn would remain open using the third side of the triangular track layout to bypass the GVS/GC site, as services used to do during the station's first closure from 1976-1995. [14]
Great Victoria Street station closed permanently on 10 May 2024. [15]
The Port of Belfast has a Stena Line ferry connecting to Cairnryan for the bus link [16] 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 [16] ) | Stena Line Ferry | Port of Belfast (from Yorkgate, Lanyon Place or Belfast Great Victoria Street) | ||
Liverpool | Stena Line Ferry | Port of Belfast (from Yorkgate, Lanyon Place or Belfast Great Victoria Street) | ||
Douglas | Isle of Man Steam Packet Ferry(seasonal) | Port of Belfast (from Yorkgate, Lanyon Place or Belfast Great Victoria Street) | ||
Stranraer Harbour (via bus link from Cairnryan [16] ) | P&O Ferries Ferry | Larne Harbour |
The Larne line connects with Larne Harbour with P&O Ferries sailing to Cairnryan for the bus link [16] 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.
Great Victoria Street was part of a major public transport interchange, being adjacent to the Europa Buscentre. This was built in 1991 as the ground floor level of a multi-storey car park. [17] The Buscentre is the Belfast terminus for most Ulsterbus "Goldline" services in Northern Ireland. These serve various destinations that are not on the railway network, including Enniskillen, Banbridge, Omagh, Downpatrick, Cavan, Newcastle, Strabane and Armagh. Also, services from the Buscentre serve both Belfast City Airport and Belfast International Airport directly. [18] Ulsterbus runs joint services with Bus Éireann for its direct express service to Dublin and Dublin Airport, with National Express to Dumfries, Carlisle, Manchester, Birmingham, Milton Keynes and London, and with Citylink to Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The Europa Buscentre will also close its doors in Autumn 2024 to make way for the Belfast Grand Central Station.
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.
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.
The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966.
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 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 8th biggest station across the network with 723,776 passengers in the 22/23 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 meters in length.
Lisburn railway station serves the city of Lisburn in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
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 runs from Belfast to Derry in Northern Ireland.
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.
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.
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.
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 NI Railways network today having been opened on 18 November 1841. The old, now redundant, signal box stands over the station on the Southbound side.
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.
York Street railway station serves the north of Belfast in Northern Ireland.
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