The Lisburn–Antrim line is a railway line of Northern Ireland Railways. It links Knockmore Junction on the

Belfast–Newry line The Belfast–Newry line (known as the ''Portadown line'' by NI Railways) operates from station in County Antrim to Newry in County Down, Northern Ireland. The manager for this line is based at Portadown railway station, although the line ex ...

with on the

Belfast–Derry line The Belfast–Derry line (referred to as the Derry~Londonderry Line by NI Railways) runs from Belfast to Derry in Northern Ireland. The line is double-track on the short section it shares with the Belfast–Larne line, but is composed primarily ...

. It has been closed to passenger services since 2003.

History

The line opened in 1871 as the Dublin and Antrim Junction Railway. The train service on the line was provided by the Ulster Railway until 1876, and by the Ulster Railway's successor the Great Northern Railway thereafter.Hajducki, 1974, page xiii In 1879 the D&A Junction ceased to be a separate company and was absorbed by the GNR.

Current status

The line is currently closed to passengers after all rail services were withdrawn from the line in June 2003. The stations at , , Legatiriff Halt, and Crumlin have all been closed. Translink's reason for closing the line was that it was unable to maintain two routes to Antrim economically. The –Antrim line, which had been closed since 1978, was reopened in 2001, providing a faster route between Belfast Central (now Lanyon Place), Antrim and

Derry~Londonderry 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 ...

. Translink operated a skeleton service on the line, but then gave notice that it would be shut. The route is still maintained and is used for crew training and train diversions, for example, for passenger services on 9 and 23 October 2011 when there was weekend engineering works at . Speculation remains that the line could one day re-open under plans to operate a Belfast — Lisburn — Antrim — Belfast circular route, with the possibility of a station for

Belfast International Airport Belfast International Airport is an airport northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland, is the main airport for the city of Belfast. Until 1983, it was known as ''Aldergrove Airport'', after the nearby village of Aldergrove. In 2018, over 6.2 ...

which is close to the line at Aldergrove. Translink's future plans include re-opening this line, allowing trains from Derry to run once per hour on an alternating pattern between Bleach Green and Knockmore. In 2012, a section of railway embankment, weakened by weather near , gave way as a train was about to pass over. The driver managed to stop and reverse the train away without incident. The embankment has since been repaired. In January 2015, the two

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

s on the line, at Crumlin and , were decommissioned and removed, leaving no more passing points on the line. On Monday 12 September 2016, the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a unionist, loyalist, and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who led the party for the next 37 years. Currently led by J ...

announced that they would propose a motion to re-open the line as part of an Airport Link. It could mean that services could resume on the line in the near future. It would likely mean that would be replaced by the new station at the site of the old SERC building a little further down the line. On Sunday 10 November 2019, units 3002+3003 worked a radio test train over the NIR network, including the Lisburn to Antrim line with the stations Lisburn West, Ballinderry,

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 ...

, Crumlin and

being included. In late 2022, Translink showed timelined plans for the 'Lisburn Area Renewals'. The work is set to start in October 2022 and last until spring of 2024. Maps from Translink showed an 'Antrim Branch' is to receive new bi-directional

railway signalling Railway signalling (), also called railroad signaling (), is a system used to control the movement of railway traffic. Trains move on fixed rails, making them uniquely susceptible to collision. This susceptibility is exacerbated by the enormou ...

. This development is to be combined with plans for a Lisburn West Station. On 1st March 2023, the Alliance Party announced that MLA David Honeyford had secured a commitment from Translink to undertake a feasibility study into reopening the Knockmore Line. On 19th June 2023, FundTheNINE posted on their Twitter detailing a meeting they had with Translink four days prior. FundTheNINE revealed that 'Translink hope to appoint a consultant to undertake the feasibility study within the next 6 months, with the feasibility study taking around 8 months to complete...the overall timeframe for reopening the Knockmore Line is around 4–6 years from the time of the meeting'.

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Translink - Northern Ireland Railways
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lisburn-Antrim line Great Northern Railway (Ireland) Closed railways in Northern Ireland Transport in County Antrim Lisburn Antrim, County Antrim Irish gauge railways