Bus substitutions for part of Belfast to Dublin rail line this weekend

Passengers are advised to allow extra time for their journey

Bus substitutions will be in place for part of the train line between Belfast and Dublin this weekend.

Translink has advised passengers that due to engineering works by Irish Rail, there will be a line closure affecting Enterprise cross border train services between Drogheda and Dublin Connolly. It will be in place on Saturday 25th, Sunday 26th, and Monday October 27 (inclusive).

Enterprise passengers will travel by train from Belfast Grand Central Station to Drogheda station, where bus substitutions will complete the remainder of the journey.

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Travelling northbound, bus substitutions will operate from Dublin Connolly to Drogheda, from where passengers can continue their journey by train. There will also be some timetable adjustments for cross-border services during this line closure.

Translink has advised passengers to allow extra time for their journey, and to check online at www.translink.co.uk or use the Journey Planner before they travel.

Last October, hourly cross border train services from Belfast and Dublin commenced after the opening of Grand Central Station.

With funding of €25million (£20million) provided by the Government of Ireland, from the Shared Island Fund and the Irish Department of Transport, the hourly service represented the most significant expansion of services on the route in over a quarter of a century.

A total of 15 Enterprise services were announced to operate in each direction between Belfast Grand Central Station and Dublin’s Connolly Station from Monday to Saturday, up from eight each way previously, and eight each way on Sundays (up from six each way previously).

Meanwhile, a number of Belfast Metro and Glider services will be diverted this weekend due to a pro-Palestine parade taking place in Belfast city centre this Saturday, October 25.

It’s expected up to 1,000 people will attend the march, which starts at Writer’s Square on Donegall Street at 12.15pm, before making its way across the city centre to BBC Blackstaff House.

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