Great Victoria Street station to close after almost 200 years: All you need to know about impact

Today, Great Victoria Street Train Station will close its doors for the final time ahead of construction on the new state-of-the-art Belfast Grand Central Station.

The day will be marked by Translink who will give those travelling from Great Victoria Street Station a free commemorative ticket.

The transport company have also published a limited-edition special booklet outlining the history of the station as it departs ahead of the nearly £400m upgrade.

Watch: Inside the new £200m Belfast Grand Central Station as work enters final phase

The first station opened on the site of Great Victoria Street station in 1839, some 185 years ago.

The final train will depart (delays permitting) at 11.32pm to Bangor.

As the train leaves the station, it marks the beginning of travel disruption for some commuters, which Translink said will be “minimal” with various bus substitutions in place.

The transport company will operate a Belfast base from Lanyon Place, with no changes to Botanic or City Hospital stops.

However, later in the summer as engineering work continues, the rail line will close between Lanyon Place and Lisburn.

During this time, bus substitution services will operate and passengers will also be able to use scheduled Metro and Ulsterbus services operating between Belfast train stations and along the Lisburn Road.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph before the station shuts down its rail services, business owners who operate in the shopping mall, which connects the entrance to the stations, said they had mixed feelings about the closure.

A more recent addition to the station is Bread Street, whose employees didn’t wish to be named, but admitted they were not too concerned.

“We’ve been busy since we opened, and nothing has been said to us. We’re still going to be trading and open the whole way through the shutdown of the station,” one employee said.

“Bread Street is actually really busy, as you can see the amount of people in here, it’s great. But there will be no changes to us.”

Sarah Bonar, who works within the electronic cigarette stand and vape shop, Ziggicig, expressed some concern, saying their shop is “one of the busiest in Belfast”.

“I work across Belfast, including shops in Lisburn, and this is one of the busiest there is. See the minute people get off those trains or buses, they’re straight in here. It’s crazy busy.

“We haven’t heard much about the closing of the station, but I doubt we’ll close due to the business of this shop.”

However, owner of mobile and tech accessory stand ProMobile, Navid Hemd is slightly more concerned.

The concession stand sells phone cases and any last-minute accessories for those heading on long journeys, including power banks. The stand is one of the only non-housed traders in the unit, but it is a permanent fixture.

“There will be the buses, yes, but it’s mostly train passengers coming through here at rush hour who are stopping to look at the phone cases. I am worried,” he admits.

“It means there won’t be as many people. We are a very busy place, and that is because of the train station. With bus passengers we don’t get as many. We’re not moving though, and we’ll just stay here and hope.”

Metro Barbers, which operates just yards away from the entrance to the bus station, connected to the soon-to-close train halt, is not closing its doors and while owner and manager Paul McGill admits it will be tough, he’s looking at the bigger picture.

“We’re still open, I dare say we will be affected,” he said.

“We tend to get a fair share from the bus and train, but other customers do come to us as well. But at the end of the day, we’re looking at the bigger and longer picture.

“The plan they say is that this area will be the thoroughfare to the main new hub. So there are going to be a lot more people coming through here once it’s done.

“But it will be tight for a few months, but we just have to focus on what is to come. This Linen Quarter and new square is going to filter a lot of people through here which is good for us.

“The only thing we’re worried about is that the barrier right next to the shop will have to close, it’s the cut-off part for the work, but it’ll be just a few months, but we’re not closing and will still be trading the entire thing.

“We actually look at it as exciting for a new development to come here which will bring more customers to us.”

Great Victoria Street closure — your questions answered

When does Belfast Great Victoria Street close?

Great Victoria Street’s train operations will close tonight (Friday, May 10) with the final train leaving at 11.32pm.

When does it reopen?

The station itself, which still operates as a bus station, will not reopen in its current form. Instead, a new station, Belfast Grand Central, will replace it in the autumn.

What does this mean for travel into Belfast?

The railway line will remain open throughout Belfast but will no longer serve Great Victoria Street Station.

Translink has said passengers can continue to use other city centre stations including York Street, Lanyon Place, Botanic and City Hospital.

Major routes such as the Derry-Londonderry line will remain unaffected, with Belfast travellers instead boarding the train at Lanyon Place.

I travel from Lisburn to Lanyon place, how will I be affected?

From later this summer, the line from Lisburn to Lanyon will be closed. Translink has said a bus substitution will be in place.

Once in Belfast and at Lanyon Place, other bus services will also be available to commuters.

Will this affect larger summer events in Belfast like the Twelfth of July?

The disruption will be minimal. Only those travelling using the Lisburn line will be affected when travelling into Belfast.

For example, if you’re travelling from Lurgan and wish to go to Portrush, you would use the bus substitution to Lanyon Place and board the Derry-Londonderry service there.

What about the Enterprise service?

The Enterprise service will continue to operate from Lanyon Place.