Portadown
NI Railways
Portadown Railway Station in December 2014
General information
LocationPortadown
Northern Ireland
Coordinates54°25′30″N 6°26′46″W / 54.425°N 6.446°W / 54.425; -6.446
Owned byNI Railways
Operated byNI Railways
Line(s)Belfast-Dublin line (Enterprise)
Belfast-Newry line (1)
Platforms3
Tracks3
Train operatorsNI Railways, Iarnród Éireann
Bus routes5
Bus stands1
Bus operatorsUlsterbus
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Architect1862: John MacNeill[1]
Other information
Station codePDOWN
Fare zone3[2]
Websitetranslink.co.uk
History
Previous namesPortadown - Craigavon West
Key dates
1842Opened
1848Moved to present location
1863Returned to original location
1970Returned to present location
2013Refurbished
Location
Portadown is located in Northern Ireland
Portadown
Portadown
Location within Northern Ireland

Portadown Railway Station serves the town of Portadown in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

The station is located on the Belfast-Dublin railway line. The original station opened in 1842, and the present station opened in 1970.

History

The station, c. 1879.

The original Portadown station was sited half a mile east of the present station and opened on 12 September 1842, replacing a temporary station at Seagoe that had opened the preceding year. The Portadown station was moved to the present location in 1848 then reverted to its original site between 1863 and 1970. Goods traffic ceased on 4 January 1965. The present station opened in 1970, replacing a large and largely redundant station.

At the time (1970) the station was called Portadown - Craigavon West, a title that was quietly dropped after the "new city" Craigavon failed to materialise. The layout of the 1970 station was modified in 1997 to allow bi-directional working on all three platforms. The lines to Cavan via Armagh (closed 1957), and Derry via Dungannon and Omagh (closed 1965) diverged immediately west of the present station.[3]

Portadown new station in 1970
Portadown station in 1972.

In 2012, work began on a major refurbishment of the station. A new, modern building was constructed and a footbridge replaced the subway. The refurbishment was completed in 2013.[4]

Lay-out

The station has three platforms. After the station upgrade being completed in late May 2013 both platforms 1, 2 and 3 have lifts and have disability access. Platform 3 is usually used for storage of a train but one departs from this platform occasionally towards Great Victoria Street.

A C3K at Portadown

Service

This is the terminus for most services from Bangor or Belfast but there are 4 services which continue to Newry Mondays to Saturdays only. There is a half-hourly service to Great Victoria Street, Lanyon Place and Bangor. There is a two hourly Enterprise service to Dublin Connolly or Lanyon Place. On Sundays there is an hourly service to Bangor and no NIR services at all to Newry, although five Enterprise services still operate between these two stations.

This line can be popular with rugby fans connecting at Dublin Connolly for the DART to Lansdowne Road. The line is also used by rail passengers changing at Dublin Connolly onto the DART to Dún Laoghaire for example or travelling to Dublin Port for the Irish Ferries or Stena Line to Holyhead, and then by train along the North Wales Coast Line to London Euston and other destinations in England and Wales.

There is a possibility of re-opening of the line from Portadown to Armagh railway station.[5] Government Minister for the Department for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy MLA indicates railway restoration plans.[6]

The Armagh railway line has been listed in proposed plans to reopen the line.[7]

Bus connections

Ulsterbus services operating from Portadown railway station:

References

  1. ↑ "1862 Railway Station". archiseek.com. archiseek. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  2. ↑ "iLink Zone information". translink.co.uk. Translink. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Allen, Jonathan M (2003). 35 Years of N.I.R.: 1967 to 2002. Colourpoint Books.
  4. ↑ "Translink leads the way in sustainable station development - Global Railway Review". Global Railway Review. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  5. ↑ The Ulster Gazette. 16 May 2013
  6. ↑ "Kennedy has hopes for Armagh line restoration - Portadown Times". Archived from the original on 21 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  7. ↑ "New lines proposed in Northern Ireland rail plan". railjournal.com. 3 May 2014.
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