I tried Translink’s new bus substitution service, it's fast and efficient but what will the final cost be?

For the hundreds of people who use the Portadown rail line to get to and from Belfast on a daily basis, trains have been replaced by bus services from now until at least early autumn. And after vowing that I wouldn’t give the bus substitution a chance and instead drive on my commute into the city, I decided to try both options and see which one was best. Here’s what I found out..

I’ve used the bus service three times now in and out of Belfast from Lisburn and it’s surprisingly efficient. Dare I say it, actually more efficient than the train.

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I walked up to the train station and on every occasion, there’s never been a wait of more than a few minutes before a bus parks in front of Lisburn station. In fact, there’s almost always at least one bus waiting, and the same for the return from Great Victoria Street in the evening. You can pay cash or card or use the MLink app.

The Translink website says the journey should take 20 minutes to Great Victoria Street or back to Lisburn and on the three occasions I’ve used it, it’s taken between 20 and 25, longer than the train obviously, but shorter than it would be in September when the schools return and commuting levels are back to normal. The bus lanes into Belfast help us bypass the worst of the M1 congestion.

I do have a gripe about the price, which remains at the daily train return of £8, or indeed a three–day flexi ticket is still £20. The price should surely be the same as the cheaper bus return to Belfast. What I can’t comment on is the bus substitution for those using the smaller stations on the Portadown line, including Derriaghy, Dunmurry and Finaghy. The timetable suggests they are regular, but are not direct.

On that question of cost, one of the buses that I used was about half full, and some were much less. It’s great having buses every 10 minutes, but the negative is that many of them are travelling back and forth to Lisburn with very few passengers. Are regular commuters going by car, on holiday, working from home or are the services too regular?

Bus fuel costs won’t be cheap, neither will paying more drivers, and it looks like non-Translink coaches are being used at times. What will the final cost of the substitution service be by the time the rail line is finally reopened? That’s a pertinent question for Translink, bearing in mind that the new Grand Central Station is already costing the eye-watering sum of £340m.

So what happened when I took the car? There are obvious advantages, no walk to the station, the comfort of your own vehicle and in summer, the dreaded, snaking M1 morning queue was largely absent. It was barely 20 minutes of stress-free driving before I was parked in CastleCourt Shopping Centre. CastleCourt’s £7 early bird offer for car owners who park for at least five hours represents excellent value and from there it’s just a short walk to the office.

My last question is this. We’ve been told that the new station will be operational by the autumn, which is all well and good, but when in the autumn? The reopening of the rail line by the start of September feels non-negotiable, but as my pictures show, the project still looks a long way from completion. The prospect of a car or bus journey along the M1 in September isn’t very appealing, and that's putting it mildly…

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