£340m hub to be a ‘game-changer for public transport in Northern Ireland’

A £340 million hub is set to be a “game-changer” for public transport in Northern Ireland.

Belfast Grand Central Station at Weavers Cross will host its first service, a 5am bus to Dublin, on Sunday.

It will then fully open in phases over the next year, with train services to come and public realm works aimed at transforming the once forgotten area of Belfast to continue to 2025.

This will include an hourly Enterprise train service from Belfast to Dublin due to start later in the autumn.

It is to become the largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland, replacing the Europa Bus Centre and the former Great Victoria Street Station.

Grand Central is expected to see around 20 million customer journeys each year as the main transport gateway to Belfast.

Retailers confirmed for the station so far include Pret A Manger, Marks and Spencer and Brew Dog.

Chris Conway, chief executive of Translink, said he believes the hub will be a “game-changer for public transport in Northern Ireland”.

“We’re really pleased to welcome everyone to Grand Central Station, it’s a world class facility which I think everyone will appreciate when they get into it, and it’s an opportunity to be a game-changer for public transport in Northern Ireland,” he said.

“This will connect towns and cities right across Northern Ireland, give us the capacity to increase the frequency on our bus network and rail network, but also connectivity across the island of Ireland with our new hourly Enterprise service coming in later in the autumn and obviously all of our bus connections between Belfast and Dublin here as well.

“It’s an opportunity to grow public transport.

“The first service will be 5am on Sunday, leaving here for Dublin.”

Mr Conway said the cost is expected to come in at £340 million.

“This is a £300 million, with inflation and other factors we’re looking at an end cost of around £340 million,” he said.

“The benefits far outweigh the cost in terms of public transport use but also the regeneration of this area and this part of Belfast.

“You can already see that start to take shape.”

John Glass, director of infrastructure and projects at Translink, 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.”