Frequency of Train services from Newry raised at Stormont

Unfortunately as far as train services from our city are concerned partition has not been very kind to Newry with it 'falling between two stools' in relation to frequency of services.

MLA Justin McNulty has tabled a question to the DfI Minister this week at the newly restored Stormont Executive. Mr McNulty raised the issue of the frequency of train services from Newry to Belfast compared to Portadown to Belfast. He also asked if changes in frequency are planned for the Newry to Dublin service. It's expected that his question will be answered by 20 February.

Despite Newry Train Station being on the Dublin to Belfast line, neither Dundalk nor Portadown host regular services to it and there is a major discrepency between the number of trains from Portadown to Belfast and the number from Newry to Belfast.

Even though Newry is the last stop south, on the service from Bangor/ Belfast, the service is still called "Bangor Portadown Line" which on the surface completely ignores the existence of Newry. This alone could be easily ignored if the number of services serving both places were similar but unfortunately they are not. From Monday to Friday there are 46 trains from Portadown to Belfast while from Newry to Belfast there are a grand total of just 12. The two centres of population have roughly the same population. In the other direction going south from Newry there's just 9 trains to Dublin Monday to Friday and while Dundalk fares better, it's not massively better with 16 services per day.

Additionally Portadown is only 6 miles from another well serviced station, Lurgan while the next station to Newry is Dundalk at 15 miles and Portadown at 19. 

An hourly service has been talked about between Belfast and Dublin with suggestions in 2022 that it could be in place by the end of 2023 but it didn't happen. * We have asked Translink for a progress report and will let you know when received.

Justin McNulty's Question

To ask the Minister for Infrastructure (i) for his assessment of the commuter rail service schedule from Newry to (a) Belfast, and (b) Dublin; (ii) what assessment has been made of the harmonisation of the frequency and schedule of trains departing from (a) Portadown to Belfast; and (b) Newry to Belfast for morning commuters; and (iii) whether he has plans to enhance rail scheduling from Newry to Dublin in order to improve the morning commute.

* UPDATE

In reply to our query Translink spokesperson said “We have seen significant growth on our cross-border rail services with record passenger journeys last year - over one million, the highest in 20 years.

“The current Enterprise fleet was introduced in 1997 and Translink and Irish Rail have commenced a joint project to replace the existing trains, with a modern, high spec fleet offering enhanced performance features and green technology alongside an hourly frequency on the Belfast-Dublin route.

“However, this requires additional investment, and we are working with Irish Rail and both Government departments in NI and RoI to develop this project and secure funding.

“Translink and Irish Rail remain committed to developing and enhancing Enterprise services, to provide a high-quality customer experience for everyone using this flagship service serving this vital economic corridor.

“We will continue to work with our partners in Irish Rail to progress our ambitions for hourly services between Belfast to Dublin as an essential step towards delivering more strategic infrastructure and service developments.”