Minister and Translink commit to future Derry rail improvements as usage soars to almost 1m

Figures obtained by Into The West show that almost one million passed through the Derry station on the Derry to Belfast line during the year to the end of March 2024.

While welcoming the ‘record-breaking’ numbers using the line, the rail campaigners said Translink and the department needed to expedite and release funding for new and improved rail routes and to the region.

Into The West said figures secured from Translink show that a ‘phenomenal’ 952,126 passengers passed through Derry’s rail station across 2023-24. The lobby group said this represents an increase of almost a quarter of a million journeys versus the previous 12 months – which itself was also a record year - and amounts to a 32% year-on-year rise.

It is also, they pointed out, the highest number of passengers Derry’s rail station has ever carried, and has “propelled the city up one more place on the leader board to now rank as NI’s 7th busiest station (over-taking Coleraine)”.

Into The West said it was clear that investment in the Derry line and the new rail station have been instrumental in growing passenger numbers, and demonstrated the huge potential for growth in the region.

They said that the situation was even more dramatic when Derry’s rail performance pre- and post-Covid is compared to the rest of NI, which has seen a 1% overall decline in rail passengers since before the pandemic.

Into the West said the recently closed Great Victoria Street station suffered NI’s greatest fall in demand since the pandemic - down 448,000 users, or 8%. It is currently being replaced by a new £340m station with a capacity for 20 million users, which will be the largest transport hub on the island, they point out. Meanwhile rail usage from Derry, they added, has surged by 80% compared with before Covid, with 423,000 more passengers in 2023-24 versus 2018-19.

Into The West said that Derry’s phenomenal growth has come despite the 3 rail stations West of the River Bann on the Derry-Belfast line (Castlerock, Bellarena and Derry) receiving 2,600 fewer rail services a year than every station East of the Bann gets on the same line – including only half as many trains on a Sunday.

They also claimed that Stormont and Translink ‘continue to focus their funding and energy on improving rail in Belfast – where demand has been falling – rather than in Derry, where it continues to soar’ and where the line was once threatened with closure.

Chair of Into The West, Steve Bradley, said: “It’s fantastic to report yet another record-breaking year for rail demand to and from Derry.

"We’d like to thank the people of Derry, who have shown repeatedly that they value the ability to travel by rail - with even modest improvements in services and facilities here resulting in huge increases in passenger numbers."

Mr Bradley said there was only one train from Derry which reaches Belfast before 9am every morning, whereas Coleraine has four and even Portrush has two. The last train departing Belfast for West of the Bann in the evenings is at 9.10pm and 7.10pm on Sundays, which, he added, “rules out using rail to attend a concert, the theatre, Ulster Rugby etc”.

"Yet services for every station up to Coleraine leave Belfast as late as 10:40pm. Most inexplicable of all, Derry has only six rail services on a Sunday – one every two hours – whereas every station on the line East of the Bann has 13. All of this amounts to Derry, Castlerock and Bellarena each receiving 2,600 fewer rail services every year than the stations East of the Bann. Just think how high the demand for rail from Derry would be if the city didn’t have one hand tied behind its back in this way?”.

Into The West are now calling on Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd to re-examine the timetabling. Mr Bradley claimed: “The Minister recently announced that £141m will be used to fund hourly trains on the Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin – a route that carries fewer than half the passengers that the Derry-Belfast line does. Yet at the same time we’re told that a few hundred thousand pounds can’t be found to ensure that Derry has hourly trains on a Sunday.

“Rail investment across NI is not reflecting the changed demand and new reality since Covid. To avoid public money being prioritised on the wrong things – such as the third-of-a-billion pounds being spent on just one massive new station in Belfast – it is essential that Translink and DFI review their capital plans as a matter of urgency to ensure they reflect Belfast’s decline and Derry’s huge growth in rail demand. There is no point ignoring the impact Working From Home has had upon travel patterns in the East of NI. And it is now time to recognise the huge latent demand for rail in Derry, by giving passengers there the equal levels of service that their usage demands. We must ensure that rail spending goes to where the growing demand is – and not just to the places where it has always gone before”.

Responding to those comments, a DfI spokesperson told the Journal: “The Minister is committed to addressing regional imbalance and ensuring that improving rail services to the North West is a key part of this.

"That is why he has ringfenced £4.7million for Phase 3 capital works to complete the renewal of the railway line between Derry and Coleraine to accommodate speed increases and improve journey times.“Additionally, the Minister has also secured funding from the Union Connectivity Review for a feasibility study into the Derry to Portadown line.Finalising the All-Island Strategic Rail Review is one of Minister O’Dowd’s key priorities. The rail review offers an opportunity to deliver real and lasting change for people, communities and our island economy through faster speeds, greatly improved frequency, new routes particularly across the North-West and widened accessibility across the island.

"The Minister will continue to work to ensure that appropriate investment is made available, as much as possible, to enhance our rail network and increase journeys, including that in the North West.”

Meanwhile a spokesperson for Translink said it was “committed to the future development of services in the North West”.

Listing investments over recent years and planned works as an indicator of this, the spokesperson said: “Our North-West Transport Hub, opened in 2019, offers modern, comfortable passenger facilities.

“An outline business case has been approved for Phase 3 of the Coleraine to Derry~Londonderry railway line. This project will include the complete renewal of 20 miles of track bed between Eglinton and Castlerock including replacement of sleepers and new ballast and demonstrates Translink’s commitment to protecting the long-term future and sustainability of this important rail corridor.

“Our Foyle Metro electric bus fleet has made Derry~Londonderry one of the first cities in the UK and Ireland to operate a fully zero-emission urban bus service and our 212 Goldliner Express Service offers a frequent and comfortable coach journey from Foyle Street to Belfast, with 37 departures from Foyle Street each weekday and 39 from Belfast, with two additional 212 services in each direction on Fridays,” the Translink spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin Derry & Strabane Councillor Sandra Duffy said the success of Derry’s North West Transport Hub is a ‘testament to what can be achieved with positive political leadership’.

Colr. Duffy said: “There has been a consistent and dramatic increase in rail traffic to and from Derry since the new transport hub was opened back in 2019.

“This was a £26 million investment delivered by then Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazard with the support of the EU and he said at the time that it would greatly increase rail travel here and provide a much-needed boost to the local economy.

“The fact we are now celebrating that almost a million passengers have passed through the station last year is testament to what can be achieved with positive political leadership.

“We now need to continue building on that and I will continue making the case for the rejuvenation of rail connectivity throughout Ireland but particularly here in the North West where it is most needed.”