The Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) ran rail and bus transport in

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

from 1948 until 1966.

Formation and consolidation

Ulster Transport Authority Bus stop in Millisle

The UTA was formed by the Transport Act 1948, which merged the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board (NIRTB) and the Belfast and County Down Railway (BCDR). Added to this in 1949 was the Northern Counties Committee (NCC), owned by the British Transport Commission's Railway Executive since its previous owner, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), had been nationalised in 1948.

Branch railway closures

In January 1950 the UTA closed almost the entire BCDR network except the

Queen's Quay, Belfast Queen's Quay is a section of the River Lagan, in the western Titanic Quarter of the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. As its name suggests, it originally located the southern section of the Belfast docks complex. But, as ships grew, it became a ...

– Bangor commuter line. In the same year it closed the Macfin – Kilrea section of the former NCC's

Derry Central Railway The Derry Central Railway was an Irish gauge () railway in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. History The line was authorised by the Derry Central Railway Act, 1877, and constructed from Macfin Junction (between Coleraine and Ballymoney) to ...

and the freight-only former NCC line from Limavady to Dungiven. It also withdrew passenger services from the former NCC branch lines to Cookstown,

Draperstown Draperstown ()Toner, Gregory. ''Place-Names of Northern Ireland'', p. 85. Queen's University of Belfast, 1996; is a village in the Sperrin Mountains in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is situated in the civil parish of Ballinascreen ...

and Limavady and the Magherafelt – Kilrea section of the Derry Central. That summer it closed Northern Ireland's last narrow gauge lines: the Ballycastle Railway and the Ballymena and Larne Railway. In 1954 seven 6-coach diesel units were put on the Belfast-Bangor line, making it the first completely dieselised passenger service in Ireland. In 1955 the UTA closed the (by then freight-only) branches to Cookstown and Limavady, and the line between Castlewellan and Newcastle, County Down (which was worked by the GNR). In 1957 the Northern Ireland Government made the Great Northern Railway Board close much of its network in the province. This left no railways in many rural areas, including the whole of

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 ...

. By 1958 the GNR main line was the only remaining railway across the border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In that year what was left of the GNRB was dissolved and split between Córas Iompair Éireann (the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

's nationalised transport company) and the UTA. In 1959 the UTA closed the (by then freight only) remaining Magherafelt – Kilrea section of the Derry Central and the former GNR (by then freight only) branch from Dungannon to Cookstown. The UTA also took over the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commissioners' dual gauge railway that linked Derry's four railway termini, and in 1962 the UTA closed this railway as well.

The Benson Report

In 1962, on the recommendation of Dr Richard Beeching, the Government of

commissioned a senior

Coopers & Lybrand PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...

accountant, Sir Henry Benson, to report on the future of the UTA's railways. In 1963 Benson submitted his report, which recommended closing all UTA railways except the Belfast commuter lines to Bangor and Larne and the main line between Belfast and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, and the reduction of the main line between and to single track. Benson recommended the only reason for retaining the main line between Portadown and Dundalk was not for transport or economics but solely political. The

's government objected to Benson's proposal to single the track between Portadown and Dundalk so the Northern Ireland Government withdrew it. Derry had two rail links with Belfast: the former NCC main line ''via'' Coleraine and the former GNR one ''via'' Portadown. Benson's recommendation to close both lines provoked strong protest from Northern Ireland's second city and towns along both routes. The Northern Ireland Government responded by retaining the former NCC main line, which was slightly the shorter of the two but also served strongly Unionist parts of

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 ...

, plus the short branch between Coleraine and the seaside resort of . In 1965 the Northern Ireland government implemented Benson's recommendation to close the former GNR route between Portadown and Derry, informally known as the "Derry Road", at the cost of 400 jobs. This ended all railway services to stations including , , Strabane, and left the entire southwest of the province, including the whole of

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. It is no longer used as an administrative division for local government but retai ...

, with no rail services. The government also closed the Belfast Central Railway, (that Benson had recommended retaining). The branch between and was also closed, leaving Newry with only the inconveniently sited Newry Main Line station some distance up a hill outside the town. These closures left only the Belfast York Road – Londonderry Waterside, – and – lines in service.

Split into rail and road companies

Transport Acts in 1967 split the UTA into road and rail operations, the bus operations being taken over by a new company called Ulsterbus in the same year. The rail operations temporarily became Ulster Transport Railways (UTR) before being taken over by Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) in 1968. The Northway, Portadown (1) - geograph

Notes

Sources and further reading

* * * * *

External links

Irish Railway Record Society: Ulster Transport Authority

{{commons category, Ulster Transport Authority steam locomotives Bus transport in Northern Ireland Passenger rail transport in Northern Ireland Former nationalised industries of the United Kingdom 1948 establishments in Northern Ireland 1966 disestablishments in Northern Ireland