Grand Central Station Worth £350m Opening In Belfast
A new public transport hub, the Grand Central Station, is about to open in Belfast which is worth £350 million. It is assumed to be a “game changer” for bus and rail services in Northern Ireland and in the other neighbouring regions.
Grand Central Station serves both the transport modes, rail and bus. On Sunday, the first bus service is expected to leave for Dublin as a cross-border bus.
(Also read: A Fresh Employment Streak with New Jobs at GlobalLogic in New Northern Ireland Office)
An hourly bus service is going to launch between Belfast and Dublin for which Translink has been working as a facilitation firm. Essential engineering assistance is provided by the firm for the railway line between Belfast and Lisburn.
However, it would take some time before the common public is able to enjoy the service freely as a cross-border train. The train service is still in the testing phase and needs time to complete the track. The installed project needs thorough checking at all levels before vehicles are allowed to run.
Meanwhile, the date for the start of the train service from Grand Central Station will be announced soon.
Complexities during the construction phases of Grand Central Station
The original business’s estimated cost was approximately £300 million. The extra £50 million has been spent to put down the inflationary pressures coming from the Ukraine war. Another reason is that the work was started during the time of COVID-19, which escalated the building costs of the project.
The project contractor said that at one time, he was not sure whether he would be able to source the steel required for the station due to increasing conflicts amidst the Russia-Ukraine war.
70 per cent of the companies that were invited to work for the project were from Northern Ireland. Alongside, a Dublin-based company was contracted for the work of glazing. The glass was sourced from County Tipperary.
The project is presumed to be completed on time as every phase is completed within the set timeframe. A support worth €25m is from the Irish government.
Grand Central Station is projected to be the biggest public transport hub integrated to date across the island. It might replace Europa Bus Center and Great Victoria Street train station. However, there still remains an issue.
The dispute over signage is yet to be dealt with. Irish language activists proposed that bilingual signage should be considered throughout the station. They urged Translink to evaluate the proposal.
Despite getting support from Belfast City Council and the Infrastructure minister, John O’Dowd of Sinn Féin, the decision to have signage in one more language beside Irish has not been finalised yet.
Translink assured that the discussion over the issue is still in progress and would consult with the relevant authorities.
The chief executive of Translink, Chris Conway, said that the public transport hub would be a “world-class facility”. It would strengthen the connectivity of Northern Ireland with neighbouring areas. The country would be in a position to grow its services via establishing connection with towns and cities, he emphasised.
The company is currently working with safety authorities to plan the inauguration of the railway tracks and hopes to announce the date soon.
He also explained that he is looking forward to the new hourly train service at the Grand Central Station which would enhance connection between the two cities, expected to start later this year.
The Grand Central Station would double the amount of its rail platform from 4 to 8 and the bus stand might increase to 26. Collectively, they would be able to cater to 20 million journeys a year.
Moreover, global retail giants would be allowed to serve at the station, which would include Starbucks, M&S, Pret a Manger and Brewdog along with local shops with good food and coffee.
