The new station is hoping to open for rail services in the next few months. Credit: Northern Ireland Department for Infrastructure.

A new integrated public transport station in Belfast, Northern Ireland, has opened its doors to the public in what is hoped will be a significant step forward for rail and bus connections to the capital city.

The £340m Belfast Grand Central Station opened for bus services this week but needs to complete a rail safety authorisation process before it can welcome train services, with no date given for the rail launch but some predictions expecting it in the next few months.

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Northern Ireland’s infrastructure minister John O’Dowd said: “This is truly a new era for public transport here in Belfast and across the north and indeed the island of Ireland.

“This new flagship station is iconic as well as historic and it signals our intent in relation to our climate commitments and our focus on transport decarbonisation.” 

Construction of the transport hub on Grosvenor Road began in 2016 and will continue into next year with some work still needed on pedestrianisation and cycling routes around the station.

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Translink, the state-owned company responsible for rail and bus services in the country, has said that the station will cater for an estimated 20 million journeys per year once it is fully operational and can replace the almost 200-year-old Great Victoria Street Station site.

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The historic station closed in May 2024, leaving rail travel from the city centre in disruption while passengers await the new rail hub to open.

Belfast Grand Central Station’s launch comes shortly after the publication of the first joint report on rail infrastructure on the island of Ireland by the governments of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which called for further investment into the rail network.

The All-Island Strategic Review said the island’s railway line should be expanded and upgraded to deliver faster and more frequent services if both governments are to deliver on net zero ambitions by 2050.