NORTHERN IRELAND RAILWAYS

'Northern Ireland Railways' ('NIR' or 'NI Railways') – formerly, and very briefly, known as 'Ulster Transport Railways (UTR)' – is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. The sole state-owned inter-urban train operator in the UK, it is a subsidiary of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, and has a common Board of Management with the other two transport Companies, Ulsterbus and Citybus, trading under the brand name Translink. The rail network in Northern Ireland is not part of the National Rail network of Great Britain.

Contents

History

Current fleet

Routes

Suspended routes

External links

Sources

History

NIR was formed in 1968 when it took over from the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA), which had operated the province's railways since 1948. Much of the railway network closed during the 1950s and 1960s, declining from 900 miles (1,500 km) to 206  miles (330 km) at present.
Suffering frequent disruption and damage to infrastructure caused by the Troubles, and starved of investment by successive political administrations, the NIR network had became badly run down by the 1960s, with old rolling stock and poorly maintained track. NIR's last steam locomotives were withdrawn in 1970.
In 1970, NIR used three new locomotives to re-launch the once popular ''Enterprise'' service between Dublin and Belfast. Despite frequent interruptions due to bomb scares, the service has remained a more or less constant feature of the NIR network.
As older trains became obsolete in the 1970s, a new type of diesel-electric multiple unit was introduced to the network, called the 80 class. BREL built these units between 1974 and 1977 to MK 2B design with some trailer cars rebuilt from hauled stock. The power cars are powered by an English Electric 4SRKT engine, nicknamed 'Thumpers' due to their characteristic sound, and are equipped with two English Electric 538 traction motors. These entered service on the suburban lines around Belfast, becoming a stalwart on the whole network. Now a rare sight, a few of these slam-door trains remain in service.

NIR have three EMD 111 class (111–113) for freight and passenger use and were built in 1980 (111–112) and 1984 (113).
During the eighties it was apparent that an additional fleet of trains would be needed. BREL built these nine 450 class sets on former MK 1 underframes between 1985—1987. The power cars are powered by an English Electric 4SRKT engine recovered from former 70 Class units (except 457 which uses the engine recovered from 80 Class power car 88) and are equipped with two English Electric 538 traction motors and is a three car diesel-electric multiple unit, based on a more modern British design, with air operated sliding doors. Now in the process of a mid-life refurbishment, these trains continue in service.
In 1994, NIR bought two EMD 208 Class locomotives, identical to Iarnród Éireann's 201 Class. These haul the cross-border ''Enterprise'', dedicated sets of modern carriages.
In 2004/2005, NIR began to receive delivery of twenty-three 3000 class diesel multiple units from CAF of Spain, in an order which totalled £80m. The final unit, 3023, arrived in Belfast Harbour on 18 July 2005. All units had entered service by 24 September 2005. They operate principally between Bangor, Portadown and Derry and Belfast.

Current fleet

Class	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
		mph	km/h
Class 111	Diesel locomotive	90	145	3	Belfast - Portadown	1980 - 1981
Class 450	diesel multiple unit	75	120	9	Belfast - Larne	1985 - 1987
Class 3000	diesel multiple unit	90	145	23	Belfast - Derry Belfast - Portadown Belfast - Newry Belfast - Bangor	2002 - 2004

NIR is in the process of withdrawing the Class 80 DMUs, which have been replaced by the C3K units. The Class 111 locomotives operate some passenger services with a rake of eight modified Class 488 coaches that were formerly used by Gatwick Express. In NIR service these are known as "Gatwick" stock.
NIR also owns two 201 Class locomotives and 14 De Dietrich Stock coaches which are shared with a similar number owned by Iarnród Éireann and used by Enterprise.

Routes

NIR currently maintains the following railway lines

★ Dublin to Belfast railway line (from the border to Belfast)

★ Belfast-Bangor railway line

★ Belfast-Larne railway line

★ Belfast-Derry railway line

★ Coleraine-Portrush railway line

★ Belfast-Newry railway line

★ Lisburn-Antrim railway line
NIR operates regular passenger services along the following major routes (not all intermediate stops are listed):

★ Portadown, Lisburn, Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central and Bangor

★ Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central and Larne

★ Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central, Antrim, Ballymena, Coleraine and Derry

★ Coleraine and Portrush
On the cross-border route between Belfast and Dublin, NIR operates a joint service of fast trains (the ''Enterprise'') in conjunction with the national railway company of the Republic of Ireland, Iarnród Éireann.

Suspended routes

Following the re-opening of the 15-mile Antrim - Bleach Green line in June 2001[1], which had been closed since 1978, NIR ceased passenger operations between Lisburn and Antrim on 29.06.2003. Combined with the newly built Cross-Harbour Rail Link across the River Lagan in Belfast, the Bleach Green route offered faster journey times between Derry, Coleraine, Antrim and Belfast.
The infrastructure of the Lisburn-Antrim railway line is still maintained, and occasional crew training operations are performed on the line, but Ballinderry, Glenavy and Crumlin stations have closed. Speculation remains that the route could one day re-open, potentially to offer an alternative Antrim - Lisburn - Belfast service. The line passes very close to the Belfast International Airport at Aldergrove. For a number of years there has been suggestions that a new station should be built on the line for trains to serve the airport. This idea remains unlikely at present, although the Airport has marked the building of a new station in its list of future plans.

External links

★ Official site

★ Collection of Google Earth locations of NI Railways stations (Requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum.

Sources

★ BBC News: New trains make first journey

★ Translink Press Release: Last New Train lands at Belfast Harbour