North-West Transport Hub confirms Translink commitment
New enhanced passenger facilities and platforms are now available at the North-West Transport Hub, located at the former Waterside Train Station in Derry~Londonderry, with NI Railway services operating to and from the facility in the city’s Waterside area.
Representing an investment of £27 million, funding for this major project has been secured from the EU’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special European Union Programmes Body (SEUPB) with support from the Department for Infrastructure and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport in the Republic of Ireland, as well as Derry City and Strabane District Council.
Built in 1873 to a design by John Lanyon for the old Belfast and Northern Counties Railway, Waterside Train Station served as one of the city’s main railway facilities for over a century before closing in 1980.
The Grade B-listed building has been restored and repurposed for use as a 21st Century transport facility, and will act as a gateway to the city and the wider North-West region, as well as promoting active and sustainable travel, bringing together a wide range of transport modes and providing enhanced customer and staff facilities, including a Changing Places facility. It is future-proofed to accommodate anticipated additional growth in passenger numbers.
The next phase of works, including the enhanced park and ride site, improved public realm and bus turning circle, will complete during the summer of 2020, marking the full completion of the project and making the Hub a key gateway for the entire North-West region.
The North-West Transport Hub is an exciting development which comes at an exciting time for Translink. We recently marked our highest number of passenger journeys in 20 years, with 84.5 million journeys recorded in 2018/19. Translink is continuing to respond to this ever-growing demand from our passengers by working to provide enhanced facilities and services, as well as promoting ‘greener’ and more environmentally friendly travel. Strong growth in passenger numbers has been evident throughout our ongoing five-year ‘Get on Board’ strategy, demonstrating a resurgence of public transport in every part of Northern Ireland, resulting in the removal of over 4.8 million car journeys from our roads since 2016.
Following a 12-day line closure between Derry~Londonderry and Coleraine, the North-West Transport Hub entered service on 21 October; this allowed the facility to form a key part of Translink’s Halloween activity in the city, with tens of thousands of people arriving in Derry~Londonderry to enjoy themselves with many also taking the opportunity to check out the new station for themselves.
The North-West Transport Hub will allow for improved co-ordination between rail and local and cross-border bus services, as well as a Greenway link to the city centre and Foyle Street Bus Centre via the Peace Bridge. Working with a wide range of stakeholders, it will help encourage more people to consider active and environmentally-friendly travel options in line with draft Programme for Government objectives.
The Hub also offers a unique and vibrant space within the building, an area where communities and organisations can tell their stories and a venue for events and classes in a building that is part of the city’s heritage. Look out for a wide range of activity in this space throughout the next few months.
The Hub sits proudly alongside other Translink investment in the city and surrounding area in recent years, totalling over £70 million — this includes the introduction of new Goldline fleet and upgrades to the North-West railway corridor, as well as the enhancement of Foyle Metro. Taken together, these significant investments demonstrate Translink’s commitment to the North-West, linking the city and the wider region ever closer to other urban centres and make travelling to and from the region easier than ever before. The Transport Hub represents significant progress on Translink’s journey to make public transport ‘first choice for travel’ for everyone, helping to encourage greener, more active travel.
More details on the Hub can be found at www.translink.co.uk/nwhub
