Yorkgate railway station

Yorkgate railway station served the north of the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. The station opened in 1992, replacing the previous York Road railway station nearby. The station was in turn replaced by the nearby York Street station in 2024, with the new station re-using the existing platforms of Yorkgate.^[4][1]

Yorkgate
Yorkgate station in 2009
General information
Location	Belfast Northern Ireland
Coordinates	54.6105°N 5.9223°W / 54.6105; -5.9223
Owned by	NI Railways
Operated by	NI Railways
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Other information
Status	Closed
Key dates
1992	Opened
27 April 2024[1]	Closed, replaced by York Street railway station
6 May 2024	Station buildings demolished
Passengers
2022/23	533,882 [2]
2023/24	647,022 [3]
NI Railways Translink NI railway stations
Location Yorkgate Location within Northern Ireland

History

Following the demolition of York Road station in 1992, a new station had to be constructed to serve the in-development Cross Harbour Rail Link.

Yorkgate station was therefore constructed to the side of the original site of York Road station and served as a temporary terminus for Larne Line services until the completion of the high-level Dargan Bridge, which joined the Larne Line to the rest of the NIR network at Lanyon Place, allowing services to run from Yorkgate directly through to the city.

The rest of the site of York Road station is now occupied by Northern Ireland Railways' central maintenance depot, while the old works remain, a few yards to the north and backing onto York Road itself. The majority of the depot is visible when passing by train.

Following the opening of York Street railway station, the buildings of Yorkgate station were demolished in May 2024.^[5]

Service at closure

From Monday to Friday, there was a half-hourly Larne Line service, with the outbound terminus alternating between Whitehead and Larne Harbour every half an hour. All inbound Larne Line services terminated at Great Victoria Street, except for some early morning and late night services which only travelled as far as Lanyon Place.

Larne Line services on Saturday retained their half-hourly operation, but there were fewer peak-time trains. On Sundays, the service reduced to hourly operation.^[6]

Weekday services on the Derry~Londonderry Line also called at Yorkgate on an hourly basis. All inbound services operated to Great Victoria Street, with some peak time services terminating at Lanyon Place. Outbound trains alternated hourly between services to Derry~Londonderry, and services to Coleraine, most of which continued on to Portrush via the Coleraine-Portrush railway line.

On Saturdays, there was a slightly reduced number of Derry~Londondery Line trains, but remains largely similar. On Sundays, the service reduced to seven trains in each direction operating on a two-hourly basis. All services operated between Great Victoria Street and Derry~Londonderry, except for the final train of the day, which only operated as far as Coleraine.^[7]

Preceding station		Northern Ireland Railways		Following station
Lanyon Place		Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Derry		Whiteabbey
		Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Larne

Port of Belfast

Yorkgate was the nearest station to the Port of Belfast. Sailings travelled from here to Cairnryan, where there was a bus link to Stranraer or Ayr.^[8] From here, onward connections can be made along the Glasgow South Western Line to Glasgow Central.

Preceding station		Ferry		Following station
Port of Belfast (via Metro Service 96)		Stena Line Ferry		Stranraer or Ayr (via bus link from Cairnryan)
Port of Belfast (via Metro Service 96)		Stena Line Ferry		Port of Liverpool
Port of Belfast (via Metro Service 96)		Isle of Man Steam Packet Ferry(seasonal)		Douglas