J3574 : Titanic Quarter station, Belfast (3)

taken 12 years ago, near to Belfast, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland

Titanic Quarter station, Belfast (3)
Titanic Quarter station, Belfast (3)
The 09.57 Bangor – Portadown calling at the “new" station.
Titanic Quarter (Bridge End) railway station, Belfast

Bridge End station opened in May 1977. It served the Harland & Wolff shipyard and (to a lesser extent) the nearby Rupert Stanley College and replaced the halt at Ballymacarrett.
It was renamed “Titanic Quarter” on 28 March 2012. The platforms were extended towards Central earlier in the same year.

Note added 10 August 2017: a draft “Belfast East Bank Development Strategy” published by Belfast City Council in June 2017 envisages the closure of the present Titanic Quarter station and its replacement by a new structure, on a currently vacant site, between Bridge End and Middlepath Street “Relocating the Titanic Halt to a more pivotal and better connected location will enhance public transport accessibility to East Bank as a whole, support higher density development and aid legibility for visitors to the Titanic Quarter. Onward journeys from the station on foot will be supported by public spaces adjacent to the station assisting orientation and wayfinding and the creation of a high quality route northwards to the SSE Arena and Titanic Quarter.”
Note added 28 December 2017. there is the following application (22 November 2017) for planning permission “LA04/2017/2646/F Environmental Improvement Public Realm Scheme consisting of new landscaping works including removal of existing planting, new tree and shrub planting, feature paving, off street car parking, safety railings, directional signage and street lighting improvements. Lands surrounding Ballymacarrett Road and Titanic Halt Train Station including Titanic Halt Underpass extending to Slip Road leading to Bridge Street [sic].”

The Belfast – Bangor railway line

The Belfast & County Down Railway (BCDR) opened its railway line from Belfast (Queen’s Quay) to Holywood on 2 August 1845. This line was extended to the seaside resort of Bangor by the Belfast Holywood & Bangor Railway (BHBR), which opened on 18 May 1865. The BCDR absorbed the BHBR in 1884.

While double-track throughout, the BCDR always regarded its Bangor line as a branch off the main line to Newcastle. However, creation of the nationalised Ulster Transport Authority (UTA) in 1948 changed matters somewhat as only the Belfast – Bangor line survived the mass closures implemented by the UTA in 1950. The old BCDR Bangor line received a further blow in 1965 when it was isolated from the rest of the Irish railway system by closure of the Belfast Central Railway line from Ballymacarrett Junction (east of Queen’s Quay station) to Central Junction, just west of the former GNR(I) Great Victoria Street station (see: LinkExternal link ). However, on a positive note, introduction of UTA built MED railcars gave Belfast – Bangor the distinction of being the first main railway line in the British Isles to be operated solely by diesel traction.

In 1976, the Belfast Central Railway reopened as part of a project to replace both the GNR(I) Great Victoria Street station and the BCDR Queen’s Quay with a “central” station situated in east Belfast. Today (2013), Belfast – Bangor is an important part of the Northern Ireland Railways’ system, with services to Bangor originating from Portadown or the reinstated Great Victoria Street station. While diesel locomotives may occasionally visit with engineer’s trains, all passenger services are in the hands of Spanish built 3000 or 4000 class railcars.

For photographs of the former line to Newcastle, please see: LinkExternal link . For photographs at Queen's Quay station and Central Services Depot, please go to: LinkExternal link

Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright Albert Bridge and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
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J3574, 516 images   (more nearby search)
Photographer
Date Taken
Monday, 2 April, 2012   (more nearby)
Submitted
Monday, 2 April, 2012
Geographical Context
City, Town centre  Railways 
Subject Location
Irish: geotagged! J 3533 7464 [10m precision]
WGS84: 54:36.1116N 5:54.3977W
Camera Location
Irish: geotagged! J 3527 7462
View Direction
East-northeast (about 67 degrees)
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Other Tags
Belfast  Railway Station  Train  Northern Ireland Railways  Translink 

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