More than four years in construction, Belfast’s £340 million Grand Central Station will finally open its doors on Sunday.
The first service from the new transport hub will depart for Dublin at 5am.
Work has been ongoing on the hub since 2020, with this summer seeing an escalation in the construction and disruption to rail and bus lines expected to continue into the autumn.
More: Video shows how to navigate the new Belfast Grand Central Station
Construction of the new station has been recognised as one of the most complex infrastructure projects in the UK this year.
As anticipation builds around the impending opening of the facility that will mark a significant step forward in Northern Ireland’s public transport system, The Irish News had of tour of what’s inside.
It will be the largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland and replace Great Victoria Street Station, which has closed already, and the Europa Bus Centre, which will shut on Saturday night.
There are 26 bus stands, eight railway platforms as well as cycle and taxi provision to deliver “enhanced connectivity and encourage sustainable active travel for a healthier city”.
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Dozens of large screens displaying bus and rail departure information have been erected throughout the building.
Another new feature is contactless ticketing with the transport hub set to deal with around 20 million customer journeys every year.
The cross-border Enterprise services will relocate to the new station with an hourly timetable later this year.
With a clear focus on active travel, the area adjoining Belfast Grand Central Station will include allocation of road space to pedestrians and cyclists - with the provision of more than 200 capacity for cycle parking.
Translink chief executive Chris Conway said: “This will really change the face of public transport.
“It will bring enhanced frequency and connectivity right across Northern Ireland and give us the capability to do that both on our bus and rail network, but also as well increased connectivity between Belfast and Dublin and with the new hourly Enterprise service coming in in the autumn as well and the ability to connect via bus as well between Belfast and Dublin.
If you can’t see the video below, click here.
“So it really will connect the Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland.”
Mr Conway added that it is “one of the largest integrated station on the island of Ireland”, it is hoped that it will “help to regenerate this part of Belfast”.
While waiting on transport, passengers will able to sit back and relax with a coffee or grab a sandwich for their journey with a number of retail units set to open.
Pret A Manger were putting the finishing touches to their store in the station on Wednesday.
There will also be a phased opening of other retailers, including, Starbucks, Marks and Spencer and BrewDog, while there are hopes that local businesses will avail of the opportunity for pop up stores.
Speaking about the retail units, station manager Louise Doyle, who has been involved in building projects such as the new Wembley stadium in London and the upgrade of Windsor Park stadium, said: “There’s a phased opening of retail, everything should be open by about Christmas... we have some really good brands.
“We also will have throughout the station, once we are fully open, we will opportunities for local vendors for pop-ups in the station as well.”
She added that last minute preparations are underway and staff cannot wait for the doors to open on Sunday.
“We are really looking forward to welcoming everybody into the station,” she said.
“This is the biggest infrastructure project across the island at the moment, the station is very open, it’s very welcoming, I think it will make passenger transport so much more accessible.”
Buses will operate normally from the Europa Bus Centre on Saturday with services relocating to Belfast Grand Central Station on Sunday. Rail operations will commence at a date to be confirmed.
Access to the new station will be via Grosvenor Road and Saltwater Lane (off Glengall Street).
Outside Belfast Grand Central Station there will be a public realm space, Saltwater Square with a strong emphasis on arts and culture for everyone to enjoy.
This work will continue around the station will continue into 2025, aimed at transforming the once forgotten area of Belfast.
The new hub is seen as a major regeneration project for this part of Belfast with the potential for 1.3m sq feet of mixed use office, residential, leisure and retail space.
John Glass, director of infrastructure and projects at Translink, also said the hub had been in the planning before construction for more than a decade.
He said it was the largest infrastructure project in Northern Ireland and one of the largest in the UK, and had faced challenges including increases in the cost of materials and the coronavirus pandemic.
“We started just before Covid, so we had that to deal with which brought with it price increases and material shortages, and then other international events such as the war in Ukraine, and prices were further hiked and materials in short supply,” he said.
“But five years ago, we said we’d open in autumn 2024, and we will open in autumn 2024.”
