Lanyon Place railway station

Lanyon Place
NI Railways
Station on East Bridge Street, before it was renamed Lanyon Place in 2018.
Other names Belfast Central
Location East Bridge Street, Belfast
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Coordinates 54°35′43″N 5°55′02″W / 54.5953°N 5.9172°W / 54.5953; -5.9172Coordinates: 54°35′43″N 5°55′02″W / 54.5953°N 5.9172°W / 54.5953; -5.9172
Owned by NI Railways
Operated by NI Railways
Platforms 4
Construction
Structure type At-grade
Key dates
1976 Opened as Belfast Central
2003 Refurbished
2018 Renamed "Lanyon Place"
UK Railways portal

Belfast Lanyon Place (formerly 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.

Located on East Bridge Street in the city, Lanyon Place is the northern terminus of the cross border Enterprise service to Dublin Connolly, which runs every two hours. As well as this service, Lanyon Place is also served by Northern Ireland Railways, which operates routes to other locations in Northern Ireland, including Derry, Bangor, Portadown and Larne.

Description

Regular services also operate between Lanyon Place and the city's other main station: Great Victoria Street.

It is located further from Belfast city centre than Great Victoria Street station. The station was opened on Monday 26 April 1976.[1] The first Station Manager was Mr John Johnston.

By the 1990s, it became clear that the facilities at Lanyon Place were in need of upgrading. A major refurbishment programme started in 2000 and was completed in 2003.[2]

There are two Island Platforms at Lanyon Place, capable of accommodating trains up to 9 coaches long.

Platform 1 is usually only used at peak hours, as well as for Railway Preservation Society of Ireland specials. Platform 2 is the Enterprise platform. Platform 3 is the 'southbound platform', normally used for trains to Great Victoria Street, Portadown, Lisburn and Newry, with Platform 4 being the 'northbound platform' for trains along the Derry, Larne and Bangor lines.

2.6 million people used the station in 2017.[3]

Future & Name Change

On Thursday 8 February 2018, Translink announced that Belfast Central would undergo a face-lift. This would see the entrance hall and East Bridge Street façade completely redesigned, with the removal of the blast wall. Inside, the ticket hall would be rebuilt and new retail and dining facilities provided. A Belfast Bikes dock will also be included in the redesigned station.[4]

As part of the redesign, Belfast Central was renamed Lanyon Place on 1 September 2018. This is despite the fact that the station is not located there but on East Bridge Street.

It is expected that the Enterprise will move from Lanyon Place to the new transport hub at Great Victoria Street once that project is completed.

Service

Main hall of Belfast Central (prior to refurbishment as Lanyon Place)
Train departing from Lanyon Place
NIR Class 3000 (C3K) train in Lanyon Place

Newry–Belfast–Bangor line

From Monday to Saturday, there is a half hourly service from Bangor to Portadown, with some trains continuing on to Newry. During peak times there are up to 6 trains per hour operating to Bangor with 3 being express services and the other half being slow services stopping at all stations between here and Bangor. The service is reduced to hourly operation in the evenings. Some early morning trains in either direction will terminate at or start from Great Victoria Street rather than continuing on through Belfast to the respective outlying terminus.

On Sundays, the service is hourly operating between Bangor and Portadown. There are no local services calling at stations between Portadown and Newry on Sundays.

Larne line

Inbound Larne Line services run half-hourly to Great Victoria Street. Outbound services run half-hourly on an alternating basis to either Whitehead or on to Larne Harbour. Extra services at peak times run to Carrickfergus, and some early morning and late night inbound trains terminate here.

At weekends, the service still runs half-hourly on Saturdays on the same alternating pattern to Whitehead or Larne Harbour. On Sundays, the service reduces to hourly operation, with the outbound terminus alternating every hour as before.

Derry~Londonderry line

All Derry~Londonderry Line trains call at Lanyon Place. During the week, the service runs hourly in each direction between Great Victoria Street and Londonderry Waterside or Coleraine on an alternating basis.

On Saturdays, the service is slightly reduced, however operation remains much the same as during the week. On Sundays, the service reduces to two-hourly operation, with only seven trains operating each way.

Dublin line

There is an Enterprise train service every two hours between Dublin Connolly and Lanyon Place with the service being reduced to five trains each way on Sundays. This line can be popular with rugby fans connecting at Dublin Connolly for the DART to Lansdowne Road. The line is also used by rail passengers changing at Dublin Connolly onto the DART to Dún Laoghaire for example or travelling to Dublin Port for the Irish Ferries or Stena Line to Holyhead, and then by train along the North Wales Coast Line to London Euston and other destinations in England and Wales.

Preceding station   Northern Ireland Railways   Following station
Terminus   Enterprise
Belfast-Dublin
  Portadown
or
Lisburn (Sundays only)
Botanic   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Derry
  Yorkgate
  Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Larne
 
Botanic   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Newry
  Terminus
  Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Bangor
  Titanic Quarter

Rail and Sea Connections

Port of Belfast

The Port of Belfast has a Stena Line ferry connecting to Cairnryan for the bus link[5] 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[5])
  Stena Line
Ferry
  Port of Belfast
(nearest stations Yorkgate, Lanyon Place and
Great Victoria Street)
Liverpool   Stena Line
Ferry
  Port of Belfast
(nearest stations Yorkgate, Lanyon Place and
Great Victoria Street)
Douglas   Isle of Man Steam Packet
Ferry(seasonal)
  Port of Belfast
(nearest stations Yorkgate, Lanyon Place and
Great Victoria Street)
Stranraer Harbour
(via bus link from Cairnryan[5])
  P&O Ferries
Ferry
  Larne Harbour

Port of Larne

The Larne line connects with Larne Harbour with P&O Ferries sailing to Cairnryan for the bus link[5] 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.

References

  1. "Central 1". IRRS. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  2. "Central 2". Translink. Archived from the original on 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  3. Translink. "Central Station to get a New Name and Makeover - Translink". www.translink.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  4. Translink. "Central Station to get a New Name and Makeover - Translink". www.translink.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
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