The Belfast–Larne line, or Larne Line, is a railway line in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

, operated by

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

. It runs as double track along the majority of its route north along the scenic east Antrim coastline from

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

to the coastal seaport town of

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

, serving commuters and ferry passengers.

Route

Belfast

From , the line crosses the

River Lagan The River Lagan (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ''Lagan Wattèr'') is a major river in Northern Ireland which runs from the Slieve Croob mountain in County Down to Belfast where it enters Belfast Lough, an inlet of the Irish Sea. The ...

on the Lagan Viaduct, branches from the Bangor line, recrosses the Lagan parallel to the

M3 motorway M3 motorway may refer to: * M3 motorway or Riverside Expressway, part of the Pacific Motorway in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia * M3 motorway (Great Britain), a motorway in England * M3 motorway (Hungary), a motorway in Hungary * M3 motorway in ...

on the Dargan Bridge and reaches its first stop, , which replaced the former Yorkgate station in 2024. This in turn replaced the line's original terminus in 1992. Parallel to the dual five-lane M2 motorway (once the UK's widest), the line now heads northeast, past the main

engineering depot and engine sheds, along the coast towards Whitehouse, a former halt. The line then continues north along the coast of

Belfast Lough Belfast Lough () is a large sea inlet on the east coast of Northern Ireland. At its head is the city and port of Belfast, which sits at the mouth of the River Lagan. The lough opens into the North Channel and connects Belfast to the Irish ...

Whiteabbey

Whiteabbey Whiteabbey () is a townland (of 406 acres) in Newtownabbey, north of Belfast in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The original village of Whiteabbey stood at the foot of the Three Mile Water, on the shore of Belfast Lough. In 1958, it and six othe ...

, the line enters a cutting and climbs towards Bleach Green Junction. The station is long gone here too (1977), but the lines diverge here, with the Derry~Londonderry line continuing to and . The next stops – (

University of Ulster Ulster University (; Ulster Scots: or ), legally the University of Ulster, is a multi-campus public research university located in Northern Ireland. It is often referred to informally and unofficially as Ulster, or by the abbreviation UU. It i ...

level crossing A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...

), (former junction) and (level crossing) – are still a few hundred yards inland, and

can be seen from time to time where development is sparse. After Trooperslane, the line passes through a former halt at . This station was closed in the early 1970s.

Carrickfergus

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

town still has three stations, , and . The former halt at has been closed since 1977 (around the same time as Bleach Green Halt). At Downshire bridge the line crosses the A2 road once more and from here north, it follows the coastline at low level, offering views over the lough towards

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

and the

Copeland Islands The Copeland Islands is a group of three islands in the north Irish Sea, north of Donaghadee, County Down, Northern Ireland, consisting of Lighthouse Island (also known as Old Island), Copeland Island (also known as Big Island) and Mew Island. ...

Downshire

From Downshire, the line runs through a former halt at . The station here was closed back in 1977 (similar to Barn and Bleach Green Stations). Erosion has affected maintenance along this section, and the line becomes single track now at Kilroot power station (site of a closed halt), where previously it carried on as double track to . The outer up track has been removed (officially temporarily) for safety reasons. At Whitehead Station, there is a

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 o ...

and a spur to the former Excursion Station which is the headquarters of the

Railway Preservation Society of Ireland The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) is a railway preservation group founded in 1964 and operating throughout Ireland. Mainline steam train railtours are operated from Dublin, while short train rides are operated up and down th ...

Larne

Then north to Larne as single track, there are three intermediate halts, , , and , each serving villages en route. On the coastal side, the peninsula of

Islandmagee Islandmagee () is a peninsula and civil parish on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland, located between the towns of Larne and Whitehead. It is part of the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area and is a sparsely populated rur ...

blocks views of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, but forms the wildlife wetlands of

Larne Lough Larne Lough, historically Lough Larne (), is a sea loch or inlet in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies between the Islandmagee peninsula and the mainland. At its mouth is the town of Larne. It is designated as an area of special scientifi ...

. Small sections of the track at the Larne end are built on causeways, forming ponds landside of the railway. On entering the town, the railway again crosses the road inland to Larne Town station before reaching its terminus at Larne Harbour station, sharing its building with the ferry terminal for the Port of Larne.

Services

On weekdays, trains run half-hourly from Belfast Grand Central, with the outbound terminus alternating every half an hour between and . Extra services operate at peak times to and from and . The service reduces to hourly operation after 8pm. On Saturdays, a similar pattern is maintained to that of the weekday service, minus additional peak-time trains. On Sundays, the line reduces to hourly operation from Grand Central, with the outbound terminus alternating every hour between Whitehead and Larne Harbour. First services on Sunday are later and last services are earlier.

Ferry connections

P&O Ferries P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from Scotland to Northern Ireland, and from England to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisi ...

operates ferries to the Scottish terminal of

Cairnryan Cairnryan (;
or ) is a village in the historical county of < ...

throughout the year.

Onward rail connections

The nearest railway station to Cairnryan is at , with the next nearest. A two-hourly bus service operates between Ayr or Girvan and Stranraer, operated by

Stagecoach West Scotland Stagecoach West Scotland is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, comprising Western Buses Ltd based in Ayr, Scotland. History Stagecoach arrived in the west of Scotland when it purchased Western Scottish Omnibuses Ltd of Kilmarnoc ...

as services 358 and 360, calling at Cairnryan ferry terminal and both Girvan and Stranraer railway stations. However, this is not designed to connect with timetabled ferry services.

References

External links

* http://www.translink.co.uk
Larne Line Passenger Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belfast-Larne Line Railway lines in Northern Ireland Transport in Belfast Transport in County Antrim Transport in Larne Irish-gauge railways