There are two island platforms at Lanyon Place, each serving two tracks, capable of accommodating trains up to nine coaches long on each side. Platform 1 is usually only used at peak hours, as well as for special services run by the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland. Platform 2 is the Enterprise platform. Platform 3 is the 'southbound platform', normally used for trains to Great Victoria Street, Portadown, Lisburn and Newry, with Platform 4 being the 'northbound platform' for trains along the Derry, Larne and Bangor lines.
Regular services also operate between Lanyon Place and the city's other main station, Great Victoria Street which is located nearer Belfast's city centre.
The station was opened as "Belfast Central" on Monday 26 April 1976,[2] despite it being located further from Belfast city centre than Great Victoria Street station. The first station manager was Mr John Johnston.
By the 1990s, it became clear that the station's facilities were in need of upgrading. A major refurbishment programme started in 2000 and was completed in 2003.[3]
In February 2018, Translink announced that Belfast Central would undergo a face-lift. This would see the entrance hall and East Bridge Street façade completely redesigned, with the removal of the Troubles-era blast wall. Inside, the ticket hall would be rebuilt and new retail and dining facilities provided. A Belfast Bikes dock will also be included in the redesigned station.[1]
As part of the redesign, Belfast Central was renamed Lanyon Place on 1 September 2018. This is despite the fact that, strictly speaking, the station is not located there but on East Bridge Street.
From Monday to Saturday, there is a half hourly service from Bangor to Portadown, with some trains continuing on to Newry. During peak times there are up to 6 trains per hour operating to Bangor with 3 being express services and the other half being slow services stopping at all stations between here and Bangor. The service is reduced to hourly operation in the evenings. Some early morning trains in either direction will terminate at or start from Great Victoria Street rather than continuing on through Belfast to the respective outlying terminus.
On Sundays, the service is hourly operating between Bangor and Portadown. There are no local services calling at stations between Portadown and Newry on Sundays.
Inbound Larne Line services run half-hourly to Great Victoria Street. Outbound services run half-hourly on an alternating basis to either Whitehead or on to Larne Harbour. Extra services at peak times run to Carrickfergus, and some early morning and late night inbound trains terminate here.
At weekends, the service still runs half-hourly on Saturdays on the same alternating pattern to Whitehead or Larne Harbour. On Sundays, the service reduces to hourly operation, with the outbound terminus alternating every hour as before.
All Derry~Londonderry Line trains call at Lanyon Place. During the week, the service runs hourly in each direction between Great Victoria Street and Derry~Londonderry or Coleraine on an alternating basis.
On Saturdays, the service is slightly reduced, however operation remains much the same as during the week. On Sundays, the hourly service alternately runs to Derry~Londonderry and Portrush.
* In addition to the Enterprise inter-city service. Newry also has a limited week-day commuter service all stations to Dublin, provided by Iarnród Éireann.
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