Northern Ireland's Transport: Translink in focus

Northern Ireland is often overlooked in the UK transport scene, being essentially a cut-off Irish network. However, this does not detract from its very interesting nature, and today we'll look into this most interesting of providers.
Discord: / discord
Statistics: www.translink.co.uk/corporate...
Photographic licences used:
Joehawkins, CC BY-SA 4.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
The "Enterprise" at Belfast by Rossographer, CC BY-SA 2.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/..., via Wikimedia Commons
Jongleur100, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Music:
The Monuments and Tunnels in Goa and Hampi - Bail Bonds
Snowfall Butterflies - Asher Fulero
#translink #northernireland #transport

[@bigfrontier2980]

I think there's also one major factor you forgot to mention - The cost. Not only are our trains reliable, comfortable, on time, and frequent at peak times, they are also very affordable, which is a strong contrast to many English rail services which are less reliable, punctual, and significantly more expensive. Translink is by no means perfect, but we have to admit, they have got the fundamentals right when it comes to the trains. Any talk of expanding the service needs to be well thought out in order to protect the successful business they already have and grow it in a way that doesn't diminish their well-regarded service or add additional cost to the ticket prices. Regarding the Sunday services, you also need to bear in mind that many people in NI still regard Sunday as a day of rest. Many businesses don't trade on Sundays, and many events are Friday and Saturday focused, as Sunday is generally a poor day in terms of trade (Belfast Giants don't play home games on a Sunday as they don't get a good turnout. In GB, Sunday is the best day for selling these kinds of activities). So the demand for services in the manner that you describe might not exist in the volume necessary to warrant expanding the services to the extent that you mentioned. NIR, Goldliner, Metro, and Glider services run frequently on Sundays, however the intra and inter town/village services don't. It's also worth noting that a significant part of the bus fleet are built in Ballymena (Galgorm). For a very short period preceding the collapse of Wrightbus, Translink had seemingly stopped buying Wrightbus vehicles, but since the new Wrightbus ownership, it seems like we would be hard pressed to get them to buy anywhere else. Another interesting fact about Ballymena is that the owners of Wrightbus squandered the business to build an evangelical commune on the outskirts of the town, leading to the demise and collapse of the business. They also said that brexit was good for their business. They aren't the business masterminds that they were sometimes made out to be.

[@_Madfly]

Most of the limitations of public transport in Northern Ireland are caused by the Department for Infrastructure being almost exclusively car focused, so hardly any money is invested in improving the system, sadly. When upgrades do happen they are usually miss a lot of their potential, such as the Dargan Bridge being built as single track, or Glider not having proper BRT busways. Translink mostly makes do pretty well with what they have, although rail reliability, particularly on the Derry line, seems to have decreased a lot recently.

[@schwarzalben88]

Going back to the 1950's The Northern Ireland Government was very anti rail and of course thats when most of the railway routes closed, under The UTA. Imagine closing Great Victoria Street Station ( to replace it with Belfast Central which of course isnt Central at all) and then to demolish the old station and replace it further down the line with the new Station.

[@isnitjustkit]

The Enterprise coaches are actually De Dietrich stock, manufactured with by a company that has since been acquired by Alstom

[@TheTrainspotterFromTauranga]

I'd love to go to Northern Ireland some day. Recently I've become fascinated with their railway system, aided by the fact that the electric trains in Auckland were also built by CAF. Incidentally I've noticed from watching videos of them that the 4000 class DMUs sound very similar to the Class 172. Apparently there is one heritage railway in Northern Ireland. It's the Dunpatrick and County Down Railway, and one of their units is the sole surviving 450 class DEMU.

[@GWVillager]

Yeah, it's an interesting little network. I believe the transmission is virtually identical on the CAF sets and the 172s, and indeed with CAF's Civity trains in Great Britain, hence the similar sounds.

[@greek9244]

The map for old NI railways is mad, but they have released all island rail review plan. So lots more railways to come hopefully, and more frequency on transport. More bike infra too. Downpatrick and County Down railway is cool too wish it was still open today, but they still keep their old trains which is cool

[@tomedy_official]

Well believe or not the majority of Ireland's Okomotives were actually built-in the UK. As neither northern or Southern Ireland have their own real manufacturers. The reason why there are Classed differently was becauseThey run on a different Track gauge to most of europe

[@Dams2016RBLX]

Ticket checks are actually rare in my experience, anytime I’ve been made going from derry to Belfast or Coleraine, rarely see ticket checks, only ever onboard staff selling tickets after small stations that aren’t staffed.

[@GWVillager]

Oh that's odd, every service I travelled on was checked frequently and promptly.

[@eldrago19]

"The minister in charge of the department of regional development, who was Conor Murphy at the time, he instructed Northern Ireland railways to get a train in [to Derry from Belfast] before 9'o'clock. Northern Ireland railways then issued a new timetable and it said first train into Derry: 9:02. And I said, that's a bit strange, you know, 9:02, and eventually someone who works for Northern Ireland railways told me those two minutes represented two fingers to Conor Murphy." - Mark Steele's in Town

[@johntoal9449]

Contactless payment on all buses would be nice. Also, reopen the Lisburn to Antrim line and have a stop at the "international" Airport.

[@TheOfficialStal]

The new ticketing system across the network will feature tap on tap off smartcard that you can load with credit aswell as vending machines for paper tickets when Belfast Grand Central station is complete in 2024, supposedly you'll be able to use the same smartcard on the bus, train and the glider. I've noticed many train stations already have a small shelter built where a ticket machine might sit.

[@GWVillager]

That would be a great step forward if you ask me.

[@emily1]

3:46 4000s do have charging ports but only on specific sets. The 3000 didn’t have chargers originally but a refurbishment was rolled out over the past 2 years to. They probably won’t last long tho, the general public seems to have a knack for shoving objects into the ports and taking them apart so they’re as much use as a door stop. Logo integration is pretty slow and around 15 years. The early Translink logo can still be found plastered on signs and flooring and some uniforms. The 2005 logo still has a good 5-10 years left and will probably still be left on something later on.

[@GWVillager]

Is there any pattern to which 4000 sets have chargers or not? The 3000 chargers not lasting a while doesn't surprise me, they seem to be quite a weak design, far from the chunky wall insets of Great Britain.

[@DJ-bf1xl]

​@@GWVillager absoutely, in 2021 new Class 4000 carriages were added to 7 sets to increase their length to 6 cars for the Derry/Londonderry line in response to increased demand. These sets were then fully refurbished to match the new carriages and all 7 have USB ports. Essentially all the 6 car Class 4000 walkthrough sets have USB Ports

[@emily1]

@@GWVillager The 4000/6 6 car trains that usually run on the Derry ~ Londonderry service all have them.. They’re the same chargers used on all of our buses that have them, they do actually last in terms of the sorrounds. But as I said, people lack respect for them and will shove everything into the usb port which cannot really be prevented. The sorrounds are taken off easily enough though if you put a bit of force into them tho. Pretty sure I’ve seen them in use in the mainland too, NXWM and Arriva are the first two I’m aware of.

[@FurboTheFurryYT]

yo bro, wake up. translink listened to you. they added ticket machines at stations

[@anthonyholroyd5359]

I could legitimately see Armagh getting a railway back. Possibly even a southern route to Derry/Londonderry via Dungannon, Omagh, Newtownstewart & Strabane. For any other lines to be reopened - and to be clear, this is a matter of geography and population density not politics - reunification with the Republic would probably be a prerequisite.

[@jimcrawford5039]

I remember riding to Derry on the Dungannon route in 1961 or 2. This line should never have been closed. Cheers from Australia.

[@that1niceguy246]

It's a sunday. If you plan on going on a trip, you go on friday or saturday, inside a city, maybe, but Sunday is to sleep in and take walks and not go on adventures, i like sundays being quieter days.

[@that1niceguy246]

a minimum number of services yes, but far less than on other days.

[@johnUB4478]

They're an excellent company, with good trains and buses

[@gallowglass2630]

I live 45 minutes from NI never knew until now what the transport service was called or knew such athing existed

[@FurboTheFurryYT]

you mean that youre in ireland?

[@northernadventurer160]

EVERYBODY 💯💯💯💯💯 Agree about logo

[@davidt-rex2062]

I love the old translink logo. They worked it into most things. The stripes while an evolution still kept a consistent feel The T is bloody lazy. When translink first started they had thins like. NI railways - a translink company. This was changed pretty quickly to a translink service. Glidr would be a trial to see if a full tram service is viable in my opinion. Tickets. Most stations are unstaffed and 99% of the time bout on train. You missed the rediclous number of smart card systems in place on translink. Unless it's charged since I was last home. Edit. Just realised I had already commented This came up in my suggestions today. It's so unusual to see NI railways I clicked automatically.

[@GWVillager]

They are under-reported on certainly. I do agree with you about the logos, the original is probably the best.

[@UKMDI]

Ballymenaaaaaa

[@done-ahhh578]

Ireland and the UK share the same loading guage for the most part. It's the track guage that's different. British built MK2s and MK3s for the Irish network w're the same exact size as the UK ones. Except for the bogies being slightly wider.

[@ierf1098]

Indeed,as a person from Ireland our older Rolling Stock is mainly british made stock eg,Mk.1Mk.2,Mk.3.So yea.

[@ierf1098]

Tho our Mk.4's are diffrent from the BR Mk.4.

[@thomasburke2683]

@@ierf1098 Ireland 's mk 4 coaches operate on Dublin - Cork services. They are similar to UK Mk5 coaches recently introduced by Trans Pennine express.

[@alang5764]

This is not correct. Irish loading guage is significantly larger, UK stock being smaller fits so it was easier and cheaper to just buy them as is than to have them redesigned.

[@DJ-bf1xl]

No stations have ticket booths but some have ticket offices, which aren't always open though, also I noticed that the replacement of the old Ulsterbus fleet has really gotten underway in the last year or so

[@Dams2016RBLX]

Also, those eclipse threes are GB hawks, and the eclipse ones are solars.

[@FurboTheFurryYT]

i love the solars

[@hugoandremacmanus3315]

A Dublin Bus ticket in Irish issued in Ballymena! The DUP will have a fit.

[@middletransport]

5:40 a bit nit picky but they aren’t Wright Streetcars. They’re Van Hool EquiCities. But yes they are a fairly similar concept.

[@GWVillager]

Oh are they not? I'd never even thought about it, I was subconsciously certain that Streetcars were the only thing of their type! Odd that they went with Van Hool though, they seem to be pretty loyal Wright buyers.

[@middletransport]

@@GWVillager Wright only ever made 2 batches of Wright Streetcars between 2006-2009 (for First Bus in the UK and RTC SNV in Las Vegas, Nevada.) Belfast Gilder opened in 2018 and bought the Van Hool ExquiCity, which is still being made today since 2011. Another tram-like bus being made at the present is the Irizar ietram that was launched recently as an electric bus option with tram styling, and I believe Go-Ahead London bought a few of the rigid, non-articulated variant.

[@joshuahill6153]

The same DMU set used in Ireland is a variant of the EMUs used in Auckland, NZ. AM class

[@GWVillager]

I did not know that, thank you. I believe they are also from the same product line as the Class 332/333 EMUs in Mainland UK as well, though I could be wrong there.

[@BritishTrainspotting]

@@GWVillager Most of the MUs in Northern Ireland are built by CAF, who also built the fishbowls. So you are probably right. Its also why 172s sound similar to the 4000 and 3000 trains, as the traction / engine systems the 172s use are designed / made by CAF.

[@TYMUL]

@@BritishTrainspotting Just to clarify, because some of the info is close but not quite 100%. Yes, the 332/333 are the same body design family as the NIR Class 3000/4000. The 332/333 bodies and bogies were built by CAF but powered by a Siemens system. The Irish Rail 29000 is a precursor to the NIR 3000 and has the same MAN/Voith Traction system. The NIR4000/IE22000/Class 172 Traction systems are a power pack designed, built and supplied by the Germany based MTU. And yes the CAF supplied EMUs to auckland could be considered evolution of the NIR4000. The CAF 'Civity' DMU fleets in GB continue to use an updated version of the MTU powerpack but otherwise have very little in common with the other fleets mentioned.

[@davidt-rex2062]

Ballymena was pronounced incorrectly. Ballymeeeennna. :)

[@davidt-rex2062]

There are a lot of reasons why your improvements won't happen. Unfortunately. The exception is the logo. I think they should have done the translink swoosh in the hexagon. They nearly closed the whole network apart from portadown to Bangor as that was the main commuter route into Belfast plus the Dublin service. The issue with additional lines is the lack of people the further west you go.

[@davidt-rex2062]

It's really good to see someone take a look at NI.

[@mastertrams]

@@davidt-rex2062 To be fair, I can see Armagh getting it's railway back soon-ish. Especially with the Belfast Hub project currently ongoing. Also, that project is something you forgot to mention @GWVillager.

[@dwdwone]

Are they building a light rail in Belfast?

[@GWVillager]

Not that I know of, I think the Glider was a cheaper alternative.

[@markwringe2826]

Pity that the illustration of the bus-style tickets was- erm - a Dublin bus ticket. The sometimes rather long black screens (at the start and between shots) are a little disconcerting to the viewer, but certainly better than BBC News' craze for beginning segments with a blurred picture! I agree the older logo is better, but don't agree that the new T is 'more modern' - it looks kinda retro to me.

[@Build-On560]

Ballymena is pronounced ballymeena just so you know

[@AndrewG1989]

Well Northern Ireland is different from England, Wales and Scotland despite still being part of the United Kingdom.

[@stevenjobswell]

The new Translink logo looks like a Crypto scam lmao

[@GWVillager]

It does a bit yeah, not particularly unique.

[@mattevans4377]

I wonder if they could do tram trains? Would help open new lines while still allowing connections to older lines. Not perfect, but better than the current system.

[@GWVillager]

On the existing network? I'm not so sure, particularly on the Derry line - it's quite long.

[@mattevans4377]

@@GWVillager Outside the Network. Say into towns and cities, connecting to the existing network and timetabled around. You'd have to change trains, but it would open up more travel options.

[@GWVillager]

@@mattevans4377 I see, that would be a good possibility if integrated well.

[@standingrblx4680]

my general vibe of our trains and public transport is just... old outdated and dusty. But buses are quickly being upgraded so they are quite good, as for bus station and trains + train stations, its going pretty slow. But roads are basically getting all the funding to get bigger and bigger.

[@GWVillager]

It is interesting, it makes one wonder whether something similar would be the case if transport remained nationalised in Britain. My personal impression was very good though, the bus network seems extensive, and the trains were immaculately clean and very well staffed. Overcrowding seems to be an issue on the Derry Line though, why it's still single tracked I don't know.

[@Bee-rn4bw]

@@GWVillager Unfortunately, Translink is quite a short sighted company, Derry has always suffered from a lack of infrastructure investment because of its overwhelmingly Catholic majority population. Things have got better in the last few years with the new transport hub, new electric buses on Foyle Metro, opening of the A6 Dual carriageway and investment in the airport. But it still has a long way to go, like most of the west of Northern Ireland to be anywhere near comparable to the east.

[@Sparky-ov1ot]

100% punctuality? I must be living in a parallel universe, as for Ballymena it's the end of the world!

[@GWVillager]

They don't give the definitions for what punctual actually means, so it's possible they use something ridiculous like within 15 minutes of schedule. That said, NIR is incredibly reliable compared to basically anywhere else I've been to.

[@CathalQuinn-uu3xn]

The statistics are very old and very wrong! Ask any person who takes transport in NI. It would be terrible lol- guessing those stats are made up.

[@GWVillager]

They are the most recent set of statistics available, from the 8th April-10th June 2019. You can find them here: www.translink.co.uk/corporate/monitoringresults I'm not sure why I didn't put them in the description, I'll add them now, but they're certainly not made up.

[@_Madfly]

The numbers do seem a bit fishy- for Metro their 'observation rating' for punctuality was 100%, but the passenger rated score was only 65%

[@GWVillager]

​@@_Madfly What might be the case is down to a reasonably relaxed definition of on-time. Most European countries use 5 minutes as the threshold (I'm not sure if NI is the same), though passengers would tend to remark that 5 minutes counts as delayed. Either way I think that's reasonably impressive - in my experience it's much more punctual than in Great Britain.

[@slavvy.mp4884]

Hah Nice Adam something refference