Lisburn railway station serves the city of

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 ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, Northern Ireland.

History

The station was opened on 12 August 1839 by the

Ulster Railway The Ulster Railway was a railway company operating in Ulster, Ireland. The company was incorporated in 1836 and merged with two other railway companies in 1876 to form the Great Northern Railway (Ireland). History The Ulster Railway was auth ...

. The station buildings were rebuilt in 1878 to designed by William Henry Mills, for the then newly formed Great Northern Railway of Ireland (GNRI). On Wednesday 20 December 1978, there was a fatal collision between two trains. The fire brigade attended and cut out the person killed from the wreckage. A number of other people were treated for minor injuries and shock.

Current building

It has been renovated, with a new waiting area on platform 1, new toilets and vending machines. In addition, on platforms 2 and 3, a coffee shop operates on weekday mornings, to accommodate commuters travelling towards

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 ...

. To make the station more accessible, lifts have been installed on each platform.

Station House

There is a station house built in Great Northern Railway of Ireland (GNR) style. It is now in private ownership.

Northern Ireland Digital Film Archive

The Northern Ireland Digital Film Archive holds a clip of black and white film. It was made in 1897 and was filmed from a moving train going through Lisburn Railway Station on the way from Belfast to Kingstown (now

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

), Dublin. The name of the station can be seen and in addition, the view includes the platform, train carriages, station buildings and large houses along the length of North Circular Road, Lisburn.

Service

Bygone days at Lisburn station - geograph

Mondays to Saturdays there is a half-hourly service towards or in one direction, and to , or in the other. Extra services run at peak times, and the service reduces to hourly operation in the evenings. Only one Enterprise service calls at the station, the Sunday 09:13 to

Dublin Connolly Connolly station ( ga, Stáisiún Uí Chonghaile) or Dublin Connolly is one of the busiest railway stations in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterCi ...

. Certain peak time trains also run as expresses between here and . On Sundays there is an hourly NIR service in each direction.

Enterprise connections

The

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterprise ...

can be popular with

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

fans connecting at for the

DART Dart or DART may refer to: * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts Arts, entertainment and media * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dar ...

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium ( ga, Bóthar Lansdún, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for ...

. The line is also used by rail passengers changing at Dublin Connolly onto the DART to

for example or travelling to

Dublin Port Dublin Port ( ga, Calafort Átha Cliath) is the seaport of Dublin, Ireland, of both historical and contemporary economic importance. Approximatively two-thirds of Ireland's port traffic travels via the port, which is by far the busiest on the ...

for the

Irish Ferries Irish Ferries is an Irish ferry and transport company that operates passenger and freight services on routes between Ireland, Britain and Continental Europe, including Dublin Port–Holyhead; Rosslare Europort to Pembroke as well as Dublin Po ...

Stena Line Stena Line is a Swedish shipping line company and one of the largest ferry operators in the world. It services Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Stena Line is a major unit of Ste ...

Holyhead Holyhead (,; cy, Caergybi , "Cybi's fort") is the largest town and a community in the county of Isle of Anglesey, Wales, with a population of 13,659 at the 2011 census. Holyhead is on Holy Island, bounded by the Irish Sea to the north, and is ...

, and then by train along the

North Wales Coast Line The North Wales Coast Line ( cy, Llinell Arfordir Gogledd Cymru), also known as the North Wales Main Line ( cy, Prif Linell Gogledd Cymru or cy, label=none, Prif Linell y Gogledd), is a major railway line in the north of Wales and Cheshire, ...

London Euston Euston railway station ( ; also known as London Euston) is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden, managed by Network Rail. It is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, the UK's busiest inter-city railw ...

and other destinations in England and Wales.

Former services

Until 2003, Lisburn was also a stop on the Belfast-Derry railway line. However, in 2001, the Bleach Green route (via Mossley and Templepatrick) was re-opened, after being closed in 1978. This provided a faster route for Derry Line trains than the Lisburn-Antrim line. A skeleton service was operated on this line until 2003, when passenger services were withdrawn. The other reason why the line was cut was because of the congestion on the route which caused considerable problems with the Enterprise Service for over 20 years. The line itself is still maintained for rolling stock transfers and emergency diversions. Passengers now wishing to travel to destinations on the Londonderry Line can no longer travel directly from Lisburn station, and must travel to to change trains.

Former lines

The

brought trains from

Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station Great Victoria Street is a railway station serving the city centre of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is one of two major stations in the city, along with , and is one of the four stations located in the city centre, the others being Lanyon Place ...

Portadown Portadown () is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town sits on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population of a ...

and

Armagh railway station Armagh railway station was a railway station that served Armagh in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. Development The Ulster Railway opened Armagh station in 1848, linking the city with Belfast. The Ulster Railway was extended from Armagh to Mon ...

Armagh Armagh ( ; ga, Ard Mhacha, , "Macha's height") is the county town of County Armagh and a city in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Pri ...

. Later the Great Northern Railway of Ireland had a much more extensive system with trains to

Omagh Omagh (; from ga, An Ómaigh , meaning 'the virgin plain') is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers River Drumragh, Drumragh and Camowen River, Camowen meet to form the River Strule, Strule. North ...

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , 'Cethlenn, Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of ...

Bundoran Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle marks ...

and

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 ...

being linked, which in the 1950s and 1960s was closed west of

Future lines

There is a possibility of reopening the line to Antrim and possible reopening of the line from

. The Armagh Line has been listed in proposed plans to reopen the line.

References

External links

Digital Film Archive
– Official web site, provided by

Northern Ireland Screen Northern Ireland Screen is the national screen agency for Northern Ireland. The agency's purpose is to promote the development of a sustainable film, animation and television production industry.About Us > Overview Northern Ireland Screen website, ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lisburn Railway Station Railway stations in County Antrim Buildings and structures in Lisburn Railway stations served by NI Railways Railway stations served by Enterprise Grade B1 listed buildings Railway stations in Northern Ireland opened in 1839