The Dublin–Belfast corridor (population 3.3 million) is a term used to loosely describe a geographical area that encompasses
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
's capital city,
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
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. North ...
's capital city,
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 Kingd ...
. It also includes the smaller cities 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 th ...
and
Newry
Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011.
Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, although ...
; major towns such as
Drogheda
Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...
and
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is hal ...
; and the Dublin
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
suburb of
Swords
A sword is a cutting and/or thrusting weapon.
Sword, Swords, or The Sword may also refer to:
Places
* Swords, Dublin, a large suburban town in the Irish capital
* Swords, Georgia, a community in the United States
* Sword Beach, code name for th ...
.
The term has been used in papers regarding planning strategies in the area, with the aim of capitalising on the expanding economies of both cities.
Since the implementation of
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAE ...
, the corridor exists inside the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...
on its
Irish side, and outside the European Union on its
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
side, but there is no so-called "
hard border
The impact of Brexit on the Irish border and its adjacent polities involves changes in trade, customs, immigration checks, local economies, services, recognition of qualifications, medical cooperation, and other matters, now that it is the o ...
" between the two states.
Economy
The main economic engines of the region are the
Greater Dublin Area
The Greater Dublin Area (GDA; Irish: ''Mórcheantar Bhaile Átha Cliath''), or simply Greater Dublin, is an informal term that is taken to include the city of Dublin and its hinterland, with varying definitions as to its extent. As of 2022, its ...
and the
Belfast Metropolitan Area. Greater Dublin has a
GDP of around €85 billion (2012) while Belfast Metropolitan Area has €30 bn (2013) giving a total regional GDP of €115 bn.
Infrastructure
The main route linking the two cities is along the
M1 and
N1 in the Republic of Ireland and the
A1 and
M1 in Northern Ireland.
There is also 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 ...
train service connecting the two city regions.

There are three major airports:
Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport ( Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of ...
(32.9 million passengers; 2018),
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 ...
(6.2 million passengers; 2019) and
Belfast City Airport
George Best Belfast City Airport is a single-runway airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated in County Down, it is adjacent to the Port of Belfast and is from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Spirit AeroSystems (fo ...
(2 million passengers; 2019) which together deal with over 40 million passengers each year.
For the two cities:
*Dublin is served by the
Dublin Suburban Rail
The Dublin Suburban Rail ( ga, Iarnród Bruachbhailteach Baile Átha Cliath) network, branded as DART/ Commuter, is a railway network that serves the city of Dublin, Ireland, most of the Greater Dublin Area and outlying towns. The system is ma ...
network,
Dublin Bus
Dublin Bus ( ga, Bus Átha Cliath) is a State-owned bus operator providing services in Dublin. By far the largest bus operator in the city, it carried 138 million passengers in 2019. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann.
...
network,
Luas
Luas (pronounced ; Irish for "speed") is a tram/ light rail system in Dublin, Ireland. There are two main lines: the Green Line, which began operating on 30 June 2004, and the Red Line which opened on 26 September 2004. Since then, both lin ...
tram network,
Dublin Area Rapid Transit
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit system (stylised as DART) is an electrified commuter rail railway network serving the coastline and city of Dublin, Ireland. The service makes up the core of Dublin's suburban railway network, stretching from Gre ...
and the planned
MetroLink.
*Belfast is served by the
Belfast Suburban Rail network,
Metro (Belfast)
Metro is the trading name for bus company Citybus in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, within the common management structure of Translink, along with Ulsterbus and Northern Ir ...
bus service, the new
Glider (Belfast) bus rapid transport system and some
Ulsterbus
Ulsterbus is a public transport operator in Northern Ireland and operates bus services outside Belfast. It is part of Translink, the brand name for the subsidiary operating companies of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, which als ...
services.
See also
*
Economy of Dublin
Dublin is the largest city and capital of Ireland, and is the country's economic hub. As well as being the location of the national parliament and most of the civil service, Dublin is also the focal point of media in the country. Much of Ire ...
*
Economy of Belfast
*
Central belt
The Central Belt of Scotland is the area of highest population density within Scotland. Depending on the definition used, it has a population of between 2.4 and 4.2 million (the country's total was around 5.4 million in 2019), including Great ...
Scotland (Glasgow-Edinburgh) (3.5m)
*
Øresund Region
The Øresund Region ( da, Øresundsregionen ; sv, Öresundsregionen ), also known as Greater Copenhagen for marketing purposes, is a metropolitan region that comprises eastern Denmark and Skåne in southern Sweden. Centred around the Øresun ...
*
Tricity Poland
*
List of European city regions
City region is a term in use since about 1950 by urbanists, economists and urban planners to mean a metropolitan area and hinterland, often having a shared administration. Typically, it denotes a city, conurbation or urban zone with multiple admin ...
References
External links
Belfast GDP Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for ...
Dublin GDP Dublin Chamber of Commerce
Dublin Chamber of Commerce also known as the Dublin Chamber, is the oldest chamber of commerce in Ireland.
Origins
The Dublin Chamber of Commerce was founded in 1783. It had been preceded by other collective bodies including the Guild of Merch ...
Irish Planning Institute – Dublin–Belfast corridor2012 Dublin Regional GDP
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dublin-Belfast Corridor
Belfast
Dublin (city)
Geography of Ireland
Transport in Ireland
Transport in Northern Ireland
Transport corridors