Belfast Grand Central Station on Track for Autumn 2024
Belfast Grand Central Station, NI’s flagship infrastructure project, continues to progress at pace and is set to open to the public this autumn. The internal fit out is well underway, alongside work to the bus stands, rail platforms, track and signalling infrastructure.
Over the coming months, activity will intensify with the commencement of major public realm work around the station with road enhancements to maintain pedestrian safety, enhance walking routes, accessibility and cycling. In addition, there will be a programme of roadworks to facilitate necessary utilities for the modern world class facility. These works will disrupt the road network around the new station.
Check out new fly through CGI footage of the future here.
Translink has been working collaboratively with a range of organisations to plan and prepare for these works and are introducing a range of measures to encourage more use of active and public transport to minimise the overall impact.
John Glass, Director of Infrastructure and Projects at Translink said:
“As engineering works ramp up on this complex project, it is important that passengers and the wider public are aware of the implications of these works and provided with timely advice and guidance to help them plan their future journeys.
“To date, through careful planning, the work has largely progressed with minimal impact on passengers or the wider public.
To ensure we keep the city moving, we are introducing a range of special measures and mitigations to encourage active and public transport.
“These will include enhancing public transport capacity with additional Metro and Goldliner services on key routes and enhanced park and ride services. We are also introducing pedestrian and bus passenger priority measures working closely with colleagues in the Department for Infrastructure.
“Belfast Grand Central Station, set to be Ireland’s largest integrated transport hub, offers an exciting opportunity to reimagine the city where more people travel on public transport, walk, wheel and cycle.
“Over the coming months we hope people consider choosing cleaner, greener travel choices and start the city’s transformation tackling the climate crisis and transition to a healthier city and region for everyone.
“While we will be monitoring the impact of the works, road users should expect some delays and are encouraged to switch to an alternative mode of travel or chose a different route.
“We would like to take this opportunity to thank the general public for their patience during these essential works.”
For more information visit the website www.translink.co.uk/bgcs
ENDS
Notes to the editor
What stakeholders say
Clare Guinness, Belfast Chamber:
“We want to increase our footfall and encourage people into the city centre to support our economy. Belfast Grand Central Station will really help with all those agendas. We do appreciate there will be short-term disruption but in the medium to long term this will be well worthwhile.”
Michael Lorimer, IMTAC:
“Imtac sees Belfast Grand Central Station as a significant step forward in making our public transport system more inclusive and accessible for everyone. In addition to significant enhancements to the provision for bus and rail services, Grand Central will deliver features that make it an exemplar in relation to accessibility.”
Debbie Caldwell, Belfast City Council Climate Commissioner:
“As a city we have committed to reducing our emissions by 80% by 2030. With transport accounting for around one fifth of our emissions, Belfast Grand Central Station can play a critical role in encouraging greater use of public transport and reducing air pollution in our city. With significant active travel improvements alongside the new Station, it will facilitate more cycling and walking – supporting our ambition to transition to an inclusive, resilient net zero city by 2050.”
Suzanne Wylie, NI Chamber:
“The new Grand Central Station will be a game changer, not only for Belfast but all of Northern Ireland. For anyone who has had a glimpse of the scale of the development underway, they will have a sense of this, but we have no doubt that when the station opens, towards the end of the year, the people of NI, businesses and tourists alike will be wowed by its quality and the part it will play in regenerating the surrounding areas, improving passenger experiences, numbers and services such as the planned improvements to the Belfast-Dublin service, and attracting more investment.
“This scale of development will inevitably involve some disruption as we come into its final stages but given the role it will play in our future, the NI Chamber welcomes its ambition and progress to date and very much looks forward to its completion.”
Timetable of activity
Road, Lane and footpaths
• April to August – Public Realm improvements:
– A single lane and footpath closure on Grosvenor Road heading westbound starting before Durham Street junction and ending at junction with the A12 (Westlink). *Left turn onto Durham Street and the A12 (Westlink) will remain operational.
– lane and footpath closures on Glengall Street and the Great Victoria Street / Grosvenor Road junction
• October until project completion 2025 – Public Realm improvements:
• Durham Street closed.
New Bus Lanes (June / July 2024)
• Outbound bus lanes on
o Howard Street
o Great Victoria Street
o Bruce Street
o Dublin Road
Subject to final feasibility designs, extension of the inbound bus lane on Lisburn Road (operating 7.30am to 9.30am Monday – Friday)
Providing priority for bus passengers to allow more people to move more efficiently with more reliable journey times to help encourage modal shift.
Train lines
• Saturday, May 11th – Great Victoria Street station:
Closes permanently. Last passenger train, Friday 10th *Bus substitution services in place.
• July/August 2024 – Rail works:
Closure of railway line from Lanyon Place to Lisburn to connect train lines into new
station. *Revised Metro, Ulsterbus timetables and bus substitution services in place.
Belfast Grand Central Station opens in the autumn bringing increased rail capacity. The Enterprise service will relocate to operate from the new station.
The Europa Buscentre will remain open as normal until BGCS is operational.
Picture Captions:
1. Belfast Grand Central Station will offer an enhanced user experience, significantly increased capacity allowing for more services and a clear focus on active travel.
2. Belfast Grand Central Station will be the largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland and able to cater for some 20 million passenger journeys a year. It will be the main transport gateway to Belfast – enhancing local and international connectivity with rail, bus and coach across Northern Ireland and beyond.
For further information contact:
Angela Madden
PR Manager – Corporate Communications
Translink
angela.madden@translink.co.uk
+ 44 (0) 7769 499 399
