The Belfast–Derry line (referred to as the Derry~Londonderry Line by

NI Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent ...

) runs from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. The line is double-track on the short section it shares with the

Belfast–Larne line The Belfast–Larne line, or Larne line, is a railway line in Northern Ireland, operated by Northern Ireland Railways. It runs as double track along the majority of its route north along the scenic east Antrim coastline from Belfast to the coa ...

, but is composed primarily of single track from Monkstown to Derry with passing points at Templepatrick, Antrim, Magherabeg, Ballymena, Killagan, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Bellarena.

Current service

Weekday and Saturday services on the line run hourly from in Belfast to and vice versa (except weekdays last train from Derry will terminate ). Hourly shuttle services to and from connect with the line at . On Sundays services from Great Victoria Street to Derry operate every two hours from Derry to Belfast and vice versa. During those hours when trains do not depart from Derry, the shuttle service from Portrush to Coleraine continues on to Great Victoria Street. This means that only passengers departing from Derry, and have a two-hour wait between departing services. The first train Monday to Saturday begins at Coleraine and weekends begins from Coleraine.

Previous operations

Before 2001, and the reopening of the Bleach Green viaduct, services operated via Crumlin,

Glenavy Glenavy () is a village and civil parish in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, 17 kilometres north west of Lisburn on the banks of the Glenavy River. In the 2011 Census it had a population of 5,697 people. In early documents it was known as Lena ...

Ballinderry Ballinderry () is a small civil and ecclesiastical parish on both sides of the County Londonderry / County Tyrone border in Northern Ireland. It is a rural parish of about 350 houses and lies on the western shores of Lough Neagh. The parish c ...

and

Lisburn Lisburn (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with ...

. The reopening of the Bleach Green viaduct resulted in shorter journeys between Belfast and Derry. A skeleton service continued on the Lisburn–Antrim line until 2003, when the line and its stations were closed. This section of railway is now used solely for driver training or other operational requirements e.g. special services to major events.

Upgrade and Future

In 2011, it was planned to reduce services on the

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern I ...

to Londonderry section to five services, in each direction on weekdays, to facilitate safety improvement works during refurbishment of the line due to commence in 2012, but the £75 million that it was to cost was unavailable. This led to fears that the line would be permanently closed. Regional Development minister Danny Kennedy relocated funding from the A5 dualling project to the railway upgrade project, allowing for a 3-phase upgrade. Phase 1 saw the line close for nine months to completely relay two sections (Coleraine to Castlerock; and Eglinton to Derry), extending the life of the remaining section by converting the jointed track to

continuous welded rail A railway track (British English and UIC terminology) or railroad track (American English), also known as permanent way or simply track, is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, railroad ties (sleepers ...

, elimination of wet spots, and essential bridge repairs. This was completed by 2013, and timetable changes resulted in a morning train reaching Derry before 9 a.m. for the first time since Northern Ireland Railways took control of the network in the 1960s. Phase 2 saw the passing loop removed and the 'down' track lifted at Castlerock, replaced with a new loop further down the line at Bellarena halt. New signalling was introduced, and the signal boxes at Castlerock and

Waterside, Derry The Waterside ( Ulster-Scots: ''Wattèrbroo'', ) generally refers to the part of Derry on the east bank of the River Foyle. Traditionally, the Waterside ends at the Caw roundabout near the Foyle Bridge. Areas such as Eglinton and Limavady are no ...

closed, with the line operating under

absolute block Absolute block signalling is a British signalling scheme designed to ensure the safe operation of a railway by allowing only one train to occupy a defined section of track (block) at a time. This system is used on double or multiple lines wher ...

. An hourly service between Belfast and Derry was introduced in 2017. Phase 3 will include rail renewal between Castlerock and Eglinton, the introduction of a line speed between Castlerock and Derry and other works, however funding for this part of the project is doubtful for the foreseeable future. Other future plans for the Derry line include the reinstatement of the double line from Antrim to Ballymena, and the doubling of the track from Monkstown to Templepatrick. The route terminus in Derry was relocated in 2019 when the former

Belfast and Northern Counties Railway The Northern Counties Committee (NCC) was a railway that served the north-east of Ireland. It was built to Irish gauge () but later acquired a number of narrow gauge lines. It had its origins in the Belfast and Ballymena Railway that opened to ...

Waterside station reopened, replacing the 1980 terminus.

Railway engineering feature

Coleraine has a

bascule bridge A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- or ...

for the railway over the

navigable A body of water, such as a river, canal or lake, is navigable if it is deep, wide and calm enough for a water vessel (e.g. boats) to pass safely. Such a navigable water is called a ''waterway'', and is preferably with few obstructions against di ...

River Bann. Just after Castlerock station there are two tunnels created during an event known as the Great Blast in October 1845. Castlerock tunnel is long and is the longest operational railway tunnel in Northern Ireland. After passing through a short opening trains pass through the shorter Downhill tunnel which is in length.

Signalling

Signalling on the line from Great Victoria Street to Slaught level crossing (just south of Ballymena station) is controlled by the Belfast Central control terminal. From Kellswater South, the signalling and level crossings are controlled by the Coleraine signal cabin. Following the signalling upgrade in 2016, the line north of is no longer controlled by electric token, instead being centralised in the Coleraine signal box. The signal boxes at Castlerock and Waterside, which previously controlled the token system, have now been closed. The whole of the Belfast to Derry line is now controlled by colour light signals, the last semaphore signals at Castlerock station being removed after the 2016 signalling upgrade. The signal box at Coleraine will be moved to Lanyon Place upon completion of the Belfast Hub project.

Rolling stock

Following the complete withdrawal of the

NIR Class 80 The 80 Class is a type of diesel electric multiple unit formerly used by Northern Ireland Railways. They were affectionately nicknamed 'Thumpers' by rail enthusiasts due to the thumping noise their engines produced. History By the early 1970s ...

and

NIR Class 450 The 450 Class is a type of diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train formerly used by Northern Ireland Railways. They were affectionately nicknamed 'Thumpers' and 'Castles' (also known as the Castle Class) by rail enthusiasts. History In t ...

trains, the line is now served by a combination of

NIR Class 3000 The Class 3000 (C3K class) is a class of diesel multiple unit in service with NI Railways. History At the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of rail services in Northern Ireland continued to be operated using Class 80 DEMUs, which had ...

and

NIR Class 4000 The Class 4000 is a type of diesel multiple unit in service with NI Railways. History The fleet covers 20 DMUs procured by Translink. None of the Northern Irish rail network is electrified, and diesel multiple units have been used since nationa ...

diesel multiple units.

References

External links

Translink Timetables
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belfast-Derry railway line Railway lines in Northern Ireland Transport in Belfast Transport in County Antrim Transport in County Londonderry Northern Ireland coast and countryside Tourist attractions in Northern Ireland 5 ft 3 in gauge railways