Belfast–Derry line

Derry~Londonderry Line
NI Railways Class 3000 at Castlerock.
Overview
Status	Operational
Locale	Northern Ireland
Termini	Belfast Great Victoria Street Londonderry Waterside / Coleraine
Stations	15
Service
Type	Commuter rail Regional rail Heavy rail
System	NI Railways
Services	Belfast-Londonderry Waterside Belfast-Coleraine (continues to Portrush) Londonderry Waterside-Portadown (once daily)
Route number	NIR Service 3
Operator(s)	NI Railways
Rolling stock	Class 3000 "C3K" Class 4000 "C4K"
Technical
Track gauge	1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) Irish gauge
Operating speed	70 mph (110 km/h)
Route map Belfast–Derry line Year closed Great Victoria Street 2024 Grand Central Belfast-Dublin line to Portadown, Newry, Dublin Connolly City Hospital Botanic Lanyon Place River Lagan Belfast-Bangor line to Holywood, Helen's Bay, Bangor Lagan Viaduct over River Lagan Cross Harbour Rail Link over Belfast Harbour York Street Yorkgate 2024 York Road depot York Road 1992 Fortwilliam Traincare Depot Whiteabbey Belfast-Larne line to Carrickfergus, Whitehead, Larne Town Belfast-Derry line via Greenisland 1963 Monkstown 1981 Mossley 1982 Mossley West Ballyclare Junction 1961 Ballyclare branch line to Lisnalinchy, Ballyclare 1930 Ballyrobert 1920 Doagh 1970 Templepatrick 1981 Dunadry 1954 Muckamore 1961 Lisburn-Antrim line to Crumlin, Knockmore, Lisburn Antrim Cookstown Junction 1976 Cookstown branch line to Randalstown, Cookstown 1955 Kellswater 1971 Andraid 1850 Ballymena and Larne Railway to Kells, Kilwaughter, Larne Town 1950 Ballymena Ballymena, Cushendall & Red Bay Rly to Rathkenny, Parkmore, Retreat 1940 Cullybackey Glarryford 1973 Killagan 1973 Dunloy 1976 Ballymoney Ballycastle Railway to Dervock, Armoy, Ballycastle 1950 Derry Central Railway to Garvagh, Kilrea, Magherafelt 1950 Macfin 1954 Coleraine Coleraine Harbour 1963 Coleraine-Portrush line to University, Dhu Varren, Portrush River Bann Coleraine Waterside 1861 Barmouth 1856 Castlerock Castlerock Tunnel Downhill Tunnel Downhill 1973 Umbra 1861 Magilligan 1976 Bellarena River Roe Limavady Railway to Limavady, Dungiven Limavady Junction 1976 Ballykelly 1954 Carrichue 1954 Faughanvale 1859 Eglinton 1973 River Faughan Derry~Londonderry

The Belfast–Derry railway line (referred to as the Derry~Londonderry Line by NI Railways) runs from Belfast to Derry in Northern Ireland. The line is double-track on the short section it shares with the Belfast-Larne railway line, but is composed mainly of single track from Monkstown up to Londonderry Waterside station with passing points at Antrim, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Bellarena.

Current service

Services on the Derry~Londonerry Line run on an alternating pattern to and from Belfast. The trains alternate hourly between a service from Great Victoria Street to Londonderry Waterside (and vice versa), and a service from Great Victoria Street to Coleraine, which then continues to Portrush via the Coleraine-Portrush railway line.

On weekdays, stations between Great Victoria Street and Coleraine have an hourly service in both directions, with each outbound train alternating between a service to Londonderry Waterside, and a service to Portrush, except for some peak time trains which terminate at Coleraine. In the other direction, all trains run hourly to Great Victoria Street, with the exception of some late night and peak time services, which terminate at Belfast Central. Stations between Coleraine and Londonderry Waterside are served every two hours in each direction.

On Saturdays, the service remains much the same throughout the line as during the week, except for a reduction in peak-time services.

On Sundays, all trains run between Great Victoria Street and Londonderry Waterside, with the exception of the first and last services of the day, which start from or terminate at Coleraine. Only seven trains run each way on the Derry~Londonderry Line on Sundays.

Any passengers travelling to Portrush on Derry-bound services, or to Derry on Portrush-bound services, have to change at Coleraine station.

Previous operations

Prior to 2001 and the reopening of the Bleach Green line, services operated via Crumlin, Glenavy, Ballinderry and Lisburn. The reopening of the Bleach Green line resulted in shorter journeys between Belfast and Londonderry. A skeleton service continued on the Lisburn-Antrim line until 2003, when the line and its stations were closed. This section of railway is now used solely for driver training, unless emergency diversions are required.

Recent history and future

In August 2011 it was planned to reduce services on the Coleraine to Londonderry section to five services, in each direction on weekdays, to facilitate safety improvement works during 2012. A refurbishment of the line was due to commence in April 2012, however the £75 million that it was to cost, was unavailable. This resulted in opposition from supporters of the section who feared that the line would be permanently closed down.

In October 2011, after years of uncertainty, DRD minister Danny Kennedy relocated funding from the A5 dualling project to the railway upgrade project, allowing for a 3 phase upgrade, which commenced in July 2012.

Phase 1 saw the line close for 9 months to completely relay two sections (Coleraine to Castlerock; and Eglinton to Londonderry) of the route, extending the life of the remaining section by converting the currently jointed track to continuous welded rail, elimination of wet spots, and essential bridge repairs. This was completed on 24 March 2013, and new timetable changes have resulted in a morning train reaching Derry before 9am for the first time since Northern Ireland Railways took control of the network in the 1960s.

Phase 2 has seen the passing loop removed and the 'up' track lifted at Castlerock, replaced with a new loop further down the line at Bellarena station. New signalling has been introduced, and the signalboxes at Castlerock and Londonderry Waterside closed, with the line no longer operating by token. The intention was to introduce an hourly service between Belfast and Derry, however services currently remain at their previous two-hourly level.

Phase 3 will include the complete relay of track between Castlerock and Eglinton by 2021 delivering half-hourly services.

Other future plans for the Londonderry line include the reinstatement of the double line from Antrim to Ballymena, the doubling of the track from Monkstown to Templepatrick, and possible relocation of the route terminus in Londonderry.

Railway engineering feature

Coleraine has a bascule bridge for the railway over the navigable River Bann. Just after Castlerock station there are two tunnels created during an event known as the Great Blast in October 1845. Castlerock tunnel is 668 yards long and is the longest operational railway tunnel in Northern Ireland. After passing through a short opening trains pass through the shorter Downhill tunnel which is 301 yards in length.

Signalling

Signalling on the line from Great Victoria Street to Slaught level crossing (just south of Ballymena station) is controlled by the Belfast Central control terminal. From Ballymena, the signalling and level crossings are controlled by the Coleraine signal cabin. Following the signalling upgrade in 2016, the line north of Coleraine is no longer controlled by electric token, instead being centralised in the Coleraine signalbox. The signalboxes at Castlerock and Londonderry Waterside, which previously controlled the token system, have now been closed. Most of the Belfast to Londonderry line is controlled by colour light signals, but Castlerock station still boasts its original somersault-type semaphore signals.

Rolling stock

Following the complete withdrawal of the NIR Class 80 and NIR Class 450 trains, the line is now served by a combination of NIR Class 3000 and NIR Class 4000 diesel multiple units.

External links

• NIR Timetables