Member Profile: Translink
Translink is Northern Ireland’s main public transport provider. We provide an essential public service to the people of Northern Ireland which impacts on everyone, supporting economic growth, social inclusion and the welfare of the local communities we serve. This supports the growth and prosperity of Northern Ireland.
Translink operates service brands: Metro & Glider in Belfast; Ulsterbus, a provincewide bus service delivering rural and town services; Goldline, Express bus services connecting major towns and cities in NI and bringing commuters to and from Belfast; and NI Railways/Enterprise: Rail services between major towns and cities in NI, across Belfast and to Dublin.
Our Vision is ‘To Be Your First Choice for Travel in Northern Ireland’.
Belfast Chamber provides Translink with opportunities to work with city centre stakeholders, traders and businesses to make Belfast as vibrant and as prosperous as it can be. Belfast Chamber works for the benefit of the city and its’ member organisations. As the provider of public transport across NI and in Belfast, Translink carries large numbers of passengers across the province and into and out of Belfast, ‘moving people and the economy’ and playing our role in helping businesses, retailers and the leisure economy to prosper in our great capital city.
Name: Norman Maynes
Role: Head of Marketing & Business Development, Translink, with responsibility for brand management, advertising, promotional activity, e-commerce/social media and market research for its group of companies, (Metro, Ulsterbus, Goldline, NI Railways, Glider and Enterprise).
Q: What is your business?
Translink is Northern Ireland’s public transport provider, operating scheduled integrated bus and rail services in Northern Ireland, including cross-border rail and bus services from Belfast. Our main aim is to be ‘Your First Choice for Travel’.
Metro and Glider carry commuters, shoppers, students and visitors to and from Belfast City Centre along key corridors. NI Railways has routes from Belfast to Dublin (Enterprise) and to Derry~Londonderry, Larne, Portadown and Bangor. Translink’s Ulsterbus and Goldline services carry passengers from towns and villages further afield into Belfast City Centre for work and pleasure as well as providing services for business travellers and holidaymakers to and from Belfast International and Belfast City Airports. Translink encourages health and active travel, promoting walking or cycling to the bus stop or train station as well as less stress, more “me” time and value for money.
Q: How many people do you employ?
Translink employs over 3,800 staff
Q: Who are your customers?
Translink’s customers include people from all walks of life and locations across Northern Ireland and beyond, including working commuters, students/pupils, leisure and day trip public transport users, families, young people and seniors.
Q: How has business been for you over the past few years?
Translink carried a record breaking 81million passengers in 2017/18, the highest in 20 years.
This clearly demonstrates the growing desire for using the bus and train as a better way to travel and clearly shows that investing in our public transport infrastructure is right for our customers and is delivering on the ambition of the NI Executive Draft Programme for Government to increase the use of public transport.
Q: Have you any exciting plans for your business over the next 12 months?
2019 promises to be a busy and exciting year for Translink as we progress major infrastructure projects across Northern Ireland. Advancing the Belfast Transport Hub and increasing park and ride capacity are key projects for us. We’ll also be continuing to progress fleet procurement projects for rail and bus, with 21 new class 4000 carriages on the way for rail and new bus fleet ordered for Metro, Ulsterbus and Goldline. In addition, we are committed to developing and enhancing the Enterprise service over the coming year – this includes moving towards an hourly service in both directions and an investment in new fleet, alongside investment in track and infrastructure to reduce journey times.
Work is ongoing on the North-West Multi-Modal Transport Hub in Derry~Londonderry, a major project to restore the city’s Grade-B listed Victorian station.
