Northern Ireland

Belfast Grand Central Station opening for trains ‘very soon’, says Translink boss

Translink chief executive Chris Conway said that they were making ‘very good progress’

Translink chief executive Chris Conway
Speaking to the BBC's Nolan Show, Translink chief executive Chris Conway said he hoped to make an announcement "very soon" on the station's opening for rail travel. (Liam McBurney/PA)
By Mark Robinson

Translink chief executive Chris Conway has said that an announcement on the opening of Belfast Grand Central Station for rail is coming “very soon”.

Belfast Grand Central Station opened earlier this month for bus travel, however rail travel from the station is not yet available to the public.

Speaking to Mark Simpson on the BBC’s Nolan Show, Mr Conway said that he hoped to be able to make an announcement soon.

More: Aircoach and Dublin Express in talks to get use of Belfast Grand Central Station

“We are working very closely with the safety authority now,” he said.

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Pacemaker Press 08-09-2024: A new £340m public transport hub has opened in the centre of Belfast with the start of bus services. Translink has estimated the new Grand Central Station will cater for up to 20 million journeys a year. The Europa bus centre closed its doors at 23:30 BST on Saturday, with the first bus departures - to Dublin and to Belfast International Airport - from the new station at 05:00 BST on Sunday. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.
Belfast's £340m transport hub opened to the public for bus travel earlier this month, however no date has been set for the start of rail operations. Picture By: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press.

“Obviously, everyone will want us to make sure that everything we do is safe, so it’s important we go through that process with due diligence.

“We hope that we will be able to announce a date for opening very soon,” he added.

The Translink CEO said that construction on the railway system was complete and that staff training was well underway.

“When we talk about construction, I’m talking about the railway system,” he said.

“Most people come in and see the station, but there’s a railway system which sits in behind that.

“We have training going on in that at the minute, so there are trains running on that network with staff to do training.

“We’re nearly complete on the training as well.”

While Mr Conway acknowledged that they were “making really good progress”, he was unable to give any clarity on when exactly to expect an announcement as the system is still undergoing checks by the safety authority.

“We have to make sure the safety process is done properly and diligently,” he said.

“It’s important that they have the time to do that process correctly.”

Mr Conway was also questioned on traffic disruption around the station as work continues.

Thanking everyone for their patience, he said that the station “will be here for decades to come and future generations will benefit from that” while acknowledging that some “short-term disruption is inevitable as we go through that process”.