The people of Belfast are finally getting what we’ve all been dreaming of – investment into their railways.
The city’s brand new Grand Central Station, which will become the biggest transport hub on the island of Ireland when it opens, is in its final stages of being built. It’s expected that it could see as many as 20 million passengers pass through it annually, and it will act as ‘the main transport gateway to Belfast’, according to developers.
As well as connecting Belfast to the rest of Northern Ireland, the station will offer cross-border services into the Republic of Ireland, including a train to Dublin.
As if creating a huge railway/bus hub wasn’t enough, plans are also being realised to create a ‘new exciting public realm space’ right outside Grand Central’s doors. This area will have ‘a strong emphasis on arts and culture for everyone to enjoy’ and open up around 1.3 million square feet of property available to be turned into offices, homes, or public leisure space.
The bulk of the station is set to open for operation this autumn, with final construction works on the surrounding areas, including adding bike lanes and improving accessibility, being ready sometime next year.
Here’s what Belfast Grand Central station could look like when it’s completed:
Pretty swish, eh? Enjoy your brand-new fancy rail station, Belfast!
Public transport in the UK
Love it or hate it, we all use public transport pretty much daily. That’s why we at Time Out keep up to date with what’s going on in the world of UK transport. For example, these are the British cities doing public transport best, Liverpool might be getting a brand-new high-speed railway link, and this city is officially the UK’s electric bus capital. And of course, we’ve got a regularly updated guide to train strikes across the country.
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