Belfast Grand Central Station: Commuters have their say on how station coped with rush-hour

Monday marked the first big test for Northern Ireland's new £340million public transport hub as rush-hour commuters arrived in their droves.

It came a day after rail services commenced at Belfast Grand Central Station. The first Enterprise train left the station at 8.05am on Sunday on a journey to Dublin Connolly Station with the first train arriving being the 8.30am from Portadown which came in at 9.15am.

The rail line also reopened between Belfast and Lisburn, which had been closed for several months. An hourly Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin is planned to start on Tuesday, October 29th.

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Belfast Grand Central Station is now the main terminus station for the city, replacing the Europa Bus Centre and the former Great Victoria Street Station.

The new station opened in early September with bus services running while works were ongoing to prepare for the rail services. Translink had been running additional bus substitution services since early July to facilitate essential engineering works on the railway line.

The works led to the closure of ten train stations over the summer.

Belfast Live spoke to city centre commuters making their way through the new station on Monday morning.

An early morning passenger from Bangor told us: "It was a very smooth journey and I was able to use wifi on the train which was a great benefit as I usually come to Belfast by train for work purposes. I had to stop over the summer while the trains were stopped.

"The new station is looking good and hopefully there'll be some more shops open soon. It would be great to see more late night services that would be of great benefit to the city and encourage more people to use public transport to get home at night, which is much safer too."

Commuters have their say on first weekday morning rush-hour at Belfast Grand Central Station
Commuters have their say on first weekday morning rush-hour at Belfast Grand Central Station -Credit:Belfast Live

One student said she had been on the go since 4.30am: "I got the 6am bus from Enniskillen to Belfast as I'm a student at Ulster University and now I'm getting another train over to York Gate.

"This is my first time getting the train in ages as I've become so used to driving or getting a bus. I'm very excited as I love getting the train and have really missed them. I had been counting down to this day. The new station is lovely but to be fair it looks like an airport because it's so big."

Another commuter expressed relief that train services were finally running from Grand Central Station, marking an end to weeks of bus substitution services

"I haven't been on a train since the summer when they closed down some of the stations so it's been a bit of a struggle with the substitute buses. I live in Lisburn and work in Belfast so I use public transport a lot but I think they've done a pretty good job. I think it would be good to have somewhere in the station to buy tickets as I found that a bit tricky this morning.".

Commuters have their say on first weekday morning rush-hour at Belfast Grand Central Station
Commuters have their say on first weekday morning rush-hour at Belfast Grand Central Station -Credit:Belfast Live

But one disability campaigner highlighted concerns about access to the new station for blind and disabled people: "I've just come off the train from Carrickfergus and while it's a very large station my issue is disability access to and from here. If someone is blind and needs to access the station how do they get here?

"If a car is to drop them off there's no taxi drop off or pick up points so there's a real issue for the disabled to have access here. It's also a silent station so if you're blind how do you find your bus? If you've no sight, you're left out in the cold and it's cold here this morning."

Commuters at Belfast Grand Central Station on Monday morning
Commuters at Belfast Grand Central Station on Monday morning -Credit:Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live

Translink says it has launched a new Accessibility Guide available both to download and in audio to help passengers journey plan and navigate Belfast Grand Central Station, which was designed in collaboration with the Inclusive Mobility and Transport Advisory Committee (IMTAC), Royal National Institute of Blind People Northern Ireland (RNIB) and Guide Dogs Northern Ireland.

While the feedback from commuters was mixed, there were also some reported cancellations and delays to public transport services in parts of the city on Monday morning.

A Translink spokesperson said: “Belfast Grand Central Station is operating well, with all systems implemented as planned. Passengers have been impressed with the new modern station and facilities available.

“Due to a mechanical fault, there was a delay this morning with a connection from Belfast Grand Central Station and we apologise to passengers who were impacted by this. There were some technical issues with the new screens and our staff on duty at the station assisted passengers.

“We have worked with DfI Roads and disability organisations to create drop off and pick up points - full details are published on the Translink website at www.translink.co.uk.”

Please let us know your experiences of travelling through the new station in the comments section below.

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