Northern Ireland Railways
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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected public transportation infrastructure. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available. |
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| Franchise(s): | Not subject to franchising government-owned subsidiary |
| Main Region(s): | Northern Ireland |
| Other Region(s): | None |
| Fleet size: | |
| Stations: | 59 |
| Parent company: | NITHCo (Translink) |
| Web site: | www.nirailways.co.uk/ |
Northern Ireland Railways (NIR or NI Railways) – formerly, and very briefly, known as Ulster Transport Railways (UTR) – is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. The sole state-owned inter-urban train operator in the UK, it is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, and has a common Board of Management with the other two transport Companies, Ulsterbus and Citybus, trading under the brand name Translink. The rail network in Northern Ireland is not part of the National Rail network of Great Britain.
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[edit] History
NIR was formed in 1968 when it took over from the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA), which had operated the province's railways since 1948. Much of the railway network closed during the 1950s and 1960s, declining from 900 miles (1,500 km) to 206 miles (330 km) at present.
Suffering frequent disruption and damage to infrastructure caused by the Troubles, and starved of investment by successive political administrations, the NIR network had became badly run down by the 1960s, with old rolling stock and poorly maintained track.
In 1970, NIR used three new locomotives to re-launch the once popular Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. Despite frequent interruptions due to bomb scares, the service has remained a more or less constant feature of the NIR network.
As older trains became obsolete in the 1970s, a new type of diesel-electric multiple unit was introduced to the network, called the 80 class. BREL built these units between 1974 and 1977 to MK 2B design with some trailer cars rebuilt from hauled stock. The power cars are powered by an English Electric 4SRKT engine and are equipped with two English Electric 538 traction motors. These entered service on the suburban lines around Belfast, becoming a stalwart on the whole network. Now a rare sight, a few of these slam-door trains remain in service.
NIR have three EMD 111 class (111–113) for freight and passenger use and were built in 1980 (111–112) and 1984 (113).
During the eighties it was apparent that an additional fleet of trains would be needed. BREL built these nine 450 class sets on former MK 1 underframes between 1985—1987. The power cars are powered by an English Electric 4SRKT engine recovered from former 70 Class units (except 457 which uses the engine recovered from 80 Class power car 88) and are equipped with two English Electric 538 traction motors and is a three car diesel-electric multiple unit, based on a more modern British design, with air operated sliding doors. Now in the process of a mid-life refurbishment, these trains continue in service.
In 1994, NIR bought two EMD 208 Class locomotives, identical to Iarnród Éireann's 201 Class. These haul the cross-border Enterprise, dedicated sets of modern carriages.
In 2004/2005, NIR began to receive delivery of twenty-three 3000 class diesel multiple units from CAF of Spain, in an order which totalled £80m. The final unit, 3023, arrived in Belfast Harbour on 18 July 2005. All units had entered service by 24 September 2005. They operate principally between Bangor, Belfast and Portadown and Derry and Belfast.
[edit] Routes
NIR currently maintains the following railway lines
- Dublin to Belfast railway line (from the border to Belfast)
- Belfast-Bangor railway line
- Belfast-Larne railway line
- Belfast-Derry railway line
- Coleraine-Portrush railway line
- Belfast-Newry railway line
- Lisburn-Antrim railway line
NIR operates regular passenger services along the following major routes (not all intermediate stops are listed):
- Portadown, Lisburn, Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central and Bangor
- Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central and Larne
- Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central, Antrim, Ballymena, Coleraine and Derry
- Coleraine and Portrush
On the cross-border route between Belfast and Dublin, NIR operates a joint service of fast trains (the Enterprise) in conjunction with the national railway company of the Republic of Ireland, Iarnród Éireann.
[edit] Suspended Routes
Following the re-opening of the 15-mile Antrim - Bleach Green line in June 2001[1], which had been closed since 1978, NIR ceased passenger operations between Lisburn and Antrim on 29.06.2003. Combined with the newly built Cross-Harbour Rail Link across the River Lagan in Belfast, the Bleach Green route offered faster journey times between Derry, Coleraine, Antrim and Belfast.
The infrastructure of the Lisburn-Antrim railway line is still maintained, and occasional crew training operations are performed on the line, but Ballinderry, Glenavy and Crumlin stations have closed. Speculation remains that the route could one day re-open, potentially to offer an alternative Antrim - Lisburn - Belfast service. The line passes very close to the Belfast International Airport at Aldergrove. For a number of years there has been suggestions that a new station should be built on the line for trains to serve the airport. This idea remains unlikely at present, although the Airport has marked the building of a new station in its list of future plans.
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Collection of Google Earth locations of NI Railways stations (Requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum.
| Rail transport in Ireland | |
|---|---|
| Enterprise1 - Iarnród Éireann - Northern Ireland Railways | |
| Services: Commuter - Dublin Area Rapid Transit - InterCity | |
| 1 Operated jointly by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways | |
| Domestic: | Arriva Trains Wales - c2c - Central Trains1 - Chiltern Railways - First Capital Connect First Great Western - First ScotRail - Grand Central2 - GNER - Heathrow Connect Hull Trains - Island Line3 - Merseyrail - Midland Mainline1 - Northern Rail Northern Ireland Railways4 - 'one' - Silverlink1 - Southeastern - Southern South West Trains - TransPennine Express - Virgin Trains (VWC - VXC1) |
|---|---|
| International: | Enterprise4 - Eurostar |
| Airport Link: | Gatwick Express - Heathrow Express - Stansted Express5 |
| Sleeper: | Caledonian Sleeper6 - Night Riviera7 |
| 1 Ends November 2007 - 2 Starts 20 May 2007 - 3 Operated by South West Trains 4 Operated on the Irish railway network - 5 Operated by 'one' - 6 Operated by First ScotRail 7 Operated by First Great Western |
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| Future passenger train operators and franchises in Great Britain | |
|---|---|
| New Franchises: | Cross Country1 - East Midlands1 - InterCity East Coast - London Overground1 West Midlands1 |
| Proposed open-access operators: |
Glasgow Trains2 - Grand Union2 - Humber & City2 - Wrexham & Shropshire3 |
| 1 Starts November 2007 - 2 Proposed - 3 Awaiting Approval | |
