Ballymena railway station

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Ballymena
NI Railways
File:Railway station, Ballymena - geograph.org.uk - 2428572.jpg
Location Ballymena
Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Coordinates Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Owned by NI Railways
Operated by NI Railways
Platforms 2
Construction
Structure type At-grade
Key dates
11 April 1848 Original station opened
4 December 1855 Station relocated
1904 Rebuilt
1981 Current station opened
2008 Refurbished
UK Railways portal

Ballymena railway station serves the Ballymena area in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is located just outside Ballymena town centre on the Galgorm Road, and is integrated with the local bus station. It is situated on the Derry line between Antrim and Cullybackey. The station is operated by Northern Ireland Railways.

History

The first station in Ballymena opened on 11 April 1848 by the Belfast and Ballymena Railway. This initial station was rebuilt and relocated on 4 December 1855[1] when the Ballymena, Ballymoney, Coleraine and Portrush Junction Railway extended the line northwards.

At one time, there were several other stations in the Ballymena area, however the only other one which survives to this day is Cullybackey.

In addition to mainline services between Belfast York Road and Coleraine, the station provided a terminus for two narrow gauge railways:

The station buildings were rebuilt in 1903-1904[2] to designs by Berkeley Deane Wise. The rebuilding cost in excess of £15,000 (£Error when using {{Inflation}}: |end_year=2,024 (parameter 4) is greater than the latest available year (2,021) in index "UK". as of 2024).[3] The clock was provided by Sharman D. Neill of Belfast, and iron water storage towers were constructed by Cowan Sheldon and Company of Carlisle. On 19 May 1921 the station suffered an arson attack by the Irish Republican Army.

The original station buildings were removed in 1981-1982 during a modernisation programme by Northern Ireland Railways.

Station exterior
Platform 1 during rebuilding works
Ballymena station in 1980 prior to the 1981 modernisation

Current services

Ballymena railway station consists of two platforms, and serves as a passing point on the mainly single-track Belfast-Derry line.

On Mondays to Saturdays, there is an hourly service to Great Victoria Street. In the other direction, trains alternate every hour between a service to Londonderry Waterside, and a service to Coleraine or Portrush.

Only seven trains run each way on Sundays on a two-hourly basis. All services are between Londonderry Waterside and Great Victoria Street, except for the last outbound train of the evening, which terminates at Coleraine.

Future plans involve the reinstatement of the original double-track between Antrim and Ballymena.

Preceding station NI Railways Northern Ireland Railways Following station
Antrim   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Derry
  Cullybackey
Historical railways
Andraid
Line open, station closed
  Belfast and Ballymena Railway
York Road-Ballymena
  Terminus
Terminus   Ballymena, Ballymoney,
Coleraine and
Portrush Junction Railway

Ballymena-Portrush
  Cullybackey
Line and station open
Terminus   Ballymena, Cushendall
and Red Bay Railway

Ballymena-Retreat
  Ballygarvey
Line and station closed
Terminus   Ballymena and Larne Railway
Ballymena-Larne
  Kells
Line and station closed

References

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Department of the Environment. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984
  3. UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.