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DfI’s difficult relationship with Active Travel Projects
According to campagn groups the DfI is not on track to meet Active Travel spending targets.
Image by John Knight, CC BY 2.0 license via Flickr
1.2.2025
BBC News
26.11.2024
Armagh I
Lurgan linkages
Design concepts have been delivered for regenerating linkages (alleyways, coutyards etc.) in Lurgan.
Assembly committee gathers information on All-island Strategic Rail Review
Assembly members attempt to gain clarity on projects’ progress.
6.11.2024
Northern Ireland Assembly
26.10.2024
BBC News
Titanic Quarter to Bangor ferry start delayed
The start date of the ferry link has been delayed to Autumn 2025.
Update on Armagh to Portadown rail link feasibility study
The study into the reopening of the Armagh to Portadown railway is due to be completed by March.
13.10.2024
BBC News
Grand Central Station rail services begin
Just over a month after Grand Central station opened for bus services, rail services commence.
Grand Central Station bus services begin
Grand Central station has opened with bus services using the station.
8.9.2024
BBC News
23.8.2024
X
Moira Park & Ride finally approved?
According to a Translink post on X, reposted by Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council, planning permission has been granted for the Park & Ride. How this ties in with previous issues and when building will commence is unclear.
Initial opening date for Grand Central station announced
Translink have announced that bus services will start running from Grand Central station from September 8th. It is not yet clear when train services will begin.
19/20.8.2024
BBC News
All-Island Strategic Rail Review final version finally published
31.7.2024
Long in the making, the final report is now available here.
4.7.2024
FutureTransport-News
Electric high-speed ferry unveiled for Isle of Wight route
Meanwhile, all is quiet on the Titanic Quarter to Bangor ferry service to be operated with a similar ferry.
Preliminary works commence for the Lagan pedestrian and cycle bridge
These are geotechnical investigations “needed to inform the design and construction of the Lagan pedestrian and cycle bridge before it can progress further”.
24.6.2024
X
19.6.2024
Phase two of Ulster Canal reopening completed
The work includes 1km of new greenway.
Insufficient funding for Glider North/South route
Brendan Hughes reveals on X that funding is far from complete for a Glider North/South route.
19.6.2024
X
4.6.2024
Construction begins on Narrow Water bridge
Construction has now begun on the Narrow Water vehicle-, cycle- and footbridge.
Start date announced for hourly Enterprise service together with timetable proposals
Irish Rail have proposed a timetable for the hourly Enterprise service with a start date of 7th October. There will however be no late night services.
13.5.2024
RTE News
Work on new bridge linking Down and Louth set to begin
Work is finally to begin on the Narrow Water vehicle-, cycle- and footbridge.
York Street: New train station opens in north Belfast
The new, more accessible train station at York Street has opened.
29.4.2024
BBC News
28.4.2024
BBC News
Rollout of train station ticket machines begins
The first tickets have begun being sold at a train stations using new vending machines.
Moira Park & Ride delayed further
Belfast live reports on a delay to the Moira Park and Ride. David Honeyford MLA frames this as the Department for Infrastructure reviewing itself.
16.4.24/14.5.24
Belfast Live/X
Dublin-Belfast train to take less than two hours and run hourly after multimillion investment
9.4.2024
Irish Times
Funding totalling €165 million towards the scheme from the Peace Plus programme has been announced.
Image author unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0 license via Wikimedia Commons
9.3.2024
Belfast Telegraph (paywall)
Image author unknown, CC BY-SA 4.0 license via Wikimedia Commons
Enterprise improvements and NI access to Irish fares and reservations investigated
Sam McBride talks to Translink in-depth about plans for the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service. The article presents how the increase in frequency will be realised with existing train stock, that reservations should soon be possible for journeys booked via Translink and that the aspiration is there for equal prices for IE vs. Translink customers. The article also discusses the bigger plan for electrification in the future.
Pedestrian/cycle bridge across the Bann at ‘detailed design stage’
ArmaghI reports on the progress of plans to bridge the Bann at Bannfoot, which would remove a massive detour for cyclists wishing to bike around Lough Neagh.
Assembly debates and passes motion in support of All-Island Rail Network
27.2.2024
The motion text included these aspirational words: “this Assembly recognises the transformative impact that expansion of an all-island rail network will have on communities across Ireland;… further acknowledges that investing in high quality rail is critical to reaching net zero carbon emissions targets by 2050”. The full text and debate are available on YouTube. A lot was said about Fermanagh’s absence from the rail review, a topic taken up by the Fermanagh Herald. Another interesting point to come up was the assertion that the restored “Derry Road” link to Derry-Londonderry would have a speed of 200km/h (approx. 125 mph). This was then taken up by the Belfast Newsletter, who pulled in an academic opinion that 200 km/h is too fast to connect two cities with, although the international definition for high-speed rail has a lower limit of 200 km/h and 125 mph has been standard in the UK for decades.
Major funding announced for Enniskillen to Sligo greenway
Amidst all the talk about rail and the lack of rail to Fermanagh, plans to build a greenway along, or roughly along the rail route from Enniskillen to Sligo have made significant progress.
Funding for hourly enterprise service and Narrow Water Bridge announced
The Irish Government has announced a major funding package for projects in Northern Ireland.
Active travel scheme along the Shore Road and Main Street in Toomebridge
9.2.2024
Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd has announced that work is to commence on a £320,000 shared footway/cycleway scheme on Shore Road/Main Street in Toomebridge.
Returning rail to Fermanagh
The Irish News reports on a campaign to receive commitment from Stormont party leaders for returning rail to Fermanagh, which would be the only county in the UK and Ireland without a rail connection under the current AISRR recommendations.
No scheme approved for
Moira Park & Ride
7.2.2024
The Newsletter reports on neither of two potential schemes for a park and ride facility for Moira station gaining approval.
Ferry operator for Titantic Quarter to Bangor service in financial difficulties
We can only hope that Condor Ferries recover from this “temporary but challenging time”. Condor Ferries are supposed to be running a future Titanic Quarter to Bangor ferry.
16.12.2023
ITV News
07.12.2023
UK Government announces bumper funding package for NI rail projects
As part of the financial response to the Union Connectivity Review, the UK government is to fund feasibility studies for the Belfast-Dublin line electrification (to the border), the Portadown-Armagh extension and reopening of the Knockmore line with a station at Belfast International Airport.
Plans released for redevelopment of Lurgan train station
Things are finally becoming a bit more concrete concerning the redevelopment of Lurgan train station. Armagh I reports.
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New designs for Titanic Quarter to Bangor ferry released
27.09.2023
New designs have been released for Condor’s 100% electric ferry designed by Artemis technologies in Belfast. The passenger-only service is due to start in 2024 with a journey time of around 30 minutes.
How are new rail networks boosting the economy?
22.09.2023
The New Statesman takes a look at the lasting benefits to the economy of investments in rail.
New ‘SailRail’ route to France from Ireland
The Journal
An integrated ticket is now available from Cork or (of more interest to NI residents) Dublin to Cherbourg or Roscoff in France. In the other direction a partial-refund-style discount is still offered to passengers who have arrived by rail, as was previously the case in Ireland too.
Image source: Embracing the Belfast Waterfront Framework Summary
All-Ireland funding sought for Titanic Quarter-Sailortown bridge
18.08.2023
BBC News NI
Belfast is to apply for Shared Island Initiative funding in a partnership with Cork to fund the Sailortown to Titanic Quarter Bridge.
Translink: First zero-emission buses hit streets of Derry
BBC News NI
BBC News reports on new zero-emission buses in Londonderry and on Translink’s intention to make Derry one of the first UK cities to have a completely zero-emissions bus fleet.
07.08.2023
Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council
Council ‘recommends for approval’ £23 million redevelopment of Lisburn site
There has been another development after a long-line of false-starts1,2 around Lisburn West station. Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council (LCCC) have recommended approval for a housing development adjacent to the site of the proposed station. In the same announcement they write that the station is to be finished “by 2025”. Apparently, the plans are low on parking spaces (by conventional counting), which ought to mean the two developments will have to go hand-in-hand.
—
1. Wikipedia: Lisburn West railway station
2. Irish News, 2019: Plans resurrected for Lisburn train halt beside proposed 1,300 home residential development
What does the AISRR mean for Armagh?
26.07.2023
Armagh I reports on what the All-Island Strategic Rail Review means for the Portadown-Armagh rail link, now that the connection was recommended as part of a larger route all the way to Mullingar.
Image from Armagh I
All-Island Strategic Rail Review finally released
25.07.2023
The All-Island Strategic Rail Review has finally been released, despite the absence of a functioning Northern Irish government. The key recommendations for NI are rail links to the International Airport (i.e. reopen the Lisburn to Antrim line), from Portadown to Derry-Londonderry (with a connecting line to Letterkenny), Portadown to Armagh (and on to Clones, Cavan and Mullingar), Lisburn (area) to Newry via Banbridge as well as increasing capacity between Belfast and Lisburn, ideally via a new tunnel. There is an emphasis on decarbonising transport, shifting freight to rail and separating regional and long-distance passenger traffic.
More details emerge on plan to reopen the Fleetwood line
29.06.2023
Blackpool Gazette
The UK government has given more details on how the railway line to Fleetwood is to be reopened as a tram-train service that will be able to run all the way to the ferry terminal. Stena Line ran a ferry service from Belfast to Larne until 2010. Perhaps one day we will see a fast rail/sail service between Belfast and Manchester via Larne and Fleetwood!?
Image source: Fleetwood Railway Line Reopening
Feasibility Study
19.06.2023
Twitter Thread
Informative meeting with Translink Executives
FundTheNine talks to five Translink executives about the future of our railways. It gives a good idea of priorities and potential timescales, but will be dependent on necessary funding.
Why has Ireland’s cross-border railway plan gone off track?
BBC News examines why the All-Ireland Rail Review still hasn’t been published and gives a glimpse into what the future could hold if politicians take the necessary steps forward.
11.06.2023
BBC News NI
Moira ‘park and ride’ facility with over 400 spaces to be ‘priority’ for new council
Armagh I reports on what is delaying the Park & Ride facility at Moira – the main problem seems to be acquiring land.
Image from Armagh I
03.03.2023
BBC News NI
Knockmore Line: Translink to assess reopening closed railway line
A detailed look from BBC News on the prospects of reopening the Knockmore Line now that a feasibility study is due to be carried out.