Botanic railway station

Botanic railway station serves the Botanic area in south Belfast, Northern Ireland and students for Queen's University Belfast; it is also near Shaftesbury Square which is along Botanic Avenue. It is named after the nearby Belfast Botanic Gardens. It is one of the four stations located in the city centre, the others being City Hospital, Lanyon Place, and the under-construction Grand Central.

Botanic
NI Railways
Translink commuter rail station
General information
LocationBelfast
Northern Ireland
Coordinates54°35′18″N 5°55′58″W / 54.5884°N 5.9328°W / 54.5884; -5.9328
Owned byNI Railways
Operated byNI Railways
Line(s)Bangor
Derry~Londonderry
Larne
Platforms2
Tracks2
Construction
Structure typeAt-grade
Parkingno
AccessibleYes
Other information
Fare zoneiLink Zone 1
Key dates
1976Opened
2008Refurbished
Passengers
2015/16986,782[1]
2016/17Increase 1,059,520 [1]
2017/18Increase 1,149,721 [1]
2018/19Increase 1,261,872[2]
2019/20Decrease 1,199,695 [3]
2020/21Decrease 178,872 [4]
2021/22Increase 686,153 [5]
2022/23Increase 904,204[6]
2023/24Increase 1.176 million [7]
Route map

(Click to expand)
Year
closed
Great Victoria Street
2024
Belfast Grand Central Belfast-Bangor railway line Belfast-Dublin railway line Belfast-Larne railway line Belfast-Newry railway line
City Hospital Belfast-Bangor railway line Belfast-Larne railway line
Botanic Belfast-Bangor railway line Belfast-Larne railway line
Lanyon Place Belfast-Bangor railway line Belfast-Larne railway line
York Street Belfast-Larne railway line
Yorkgate
2024
York Road depot
York Road
1992
Fortwilliam Traincare Depot
Whiteabbey Belfast-Larne railway line
1963
Monkstown
1981
Mossley
1982
Mossley West
Ballyclare Junction
1961
Ballyclare branch line
to Lisnalinchy, Ballyclare
1930
Ballyrobert
1920
Doagh
1970
Templepatrick
1981
Dunadry
1954
Muckamore
1961
Antrim
Cookstown Junction
1976
1955
Kellswater
1971
Andraid
1850
1950
Ballymena
1940
Cullybackey
Glarryford
1973
Killagan
1973
Dunloy
1976
Ballymoney
1950
1950
Macfin
1954
Coleraine Coleraine-Portrush railway line
Coleraine Harbour
1963
Coleraine Waterside
1861
Barmouth
1856
Castlerock
Castlerock Tunnel
Downhill Tunnel
Downhill
1973
Umbra
1861
Magilligan
1976
Bellarena
Limavady Junction
1976
Ballykelly
1954
Carrichue
1954
Faughanvale
1859
Eglinton
1973
Derry~Londonderry
Year
closed
Great Victoria Street
2024
Belfast Grand Central Belfast-Bangor railway line Belfast-Derry railway line Belfast-Dublin railway line Belfast-Newry railway line
City Hospital Belfast-Bangor railway line Belfast-Derry railway line
Botanic Tunnel
Botanic Belfast-Bangor railway line Belfast-Derry railway line
Lanyon Place Belfast-Bangor railway line Belfast-Derry railway line
York Street Belfast-Derry railway line
Yorkgate
2024
York Road depot
1992
Greencastle
1954
Whitehouse
1954
Whiteabbey Belfast-Derry railway line
Bleach Green
1977
Jordanstown
1963
Greenisland
Trooperslane
Mount
1977
Harbour branch line
to Carrickfergus Harbour
Clipperstown
Carrickfergus
Barn
1977
Downshire
Eden
1977
Kilroot
1977
Whitehead
Whitehead Excursion
RPSI depot
Ballycarry
Magheramorne
Glynn
Larne Town
Larne Harbour ferry/water interchange
Location
Botanic is located in Northern Ireland
Botanic
Botanic
Location within Northern Ireland
Botanic is located in island of Ireland
Botanic
Botanic
Location on the Island of Ireland
Map

The station opened on 26 April 1976 and is very close to City Hospital Station[8]

Passengers can alight here for the Ulster Museum, which is situated on the edge of Botanic Gardens.

Services

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Train Services

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On weekdays, there is a half-hourly service on the Bangor Line between Grand Central and Bangor, with extra trains at peak times. The Derry~Londonderry Line operates an hourly service between Grand Central and Derry~Londonderry, with additional trains to Coleraine at peak times. The Larne Line operates a half-hourly service to Larne Harbour and Whitehead, with the terminus alternating between the two every half-hour. Extra trains operate to Carrickfergus and Larne Town at peak times.

On Saturdays, service patterns remain largely similar except without any additional peak-time trains.

On Sundays, the Bangor Line reduces to an hourly service. The Derry~Londonderry Line alternates its outbound terminus every hour between Derry~Londonderry and Portrush, resulting in a two-hourly service to stations beyond Coleraine. The Larne Line also reduces to hourly but continues alternating the terminus between Larne Harbour and Whitehead, resulting in a two-hourly service to stations beyond Whitehead.

Preceding station     Northern Ireland Railways   Following station
City Hospital   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Derry
  Lanyon Place
  Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Larne
 
  Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Bangor
 

The timetable allows 3 minutes for the trains to travel between Lanyon Place and Botanic.

At one point, the cross-border Enterprise service to Dublin Connolly served Botanic, but no longer stops at the station.[9]

Bus Services

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Belfast Metro's 7 services connect Botanic station to the City Centre, Four Winds, Laurelgrove, Braniel, and Stormont. Additionally, the 625 Ulsterbus service also stop near the station with runs from the City Centre to Ballynahinch and Carryduff. There are no ticket vending machines (TVMs) for bus tickets; passengers can either download the mLink app or pay directly on the bus.

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "NIR Footfall 1518.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 20 December 2018. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  2. ^ "NIR Footfall 1819.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 15 January 2020. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  3. ^ "NIR Footfall 1920.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 11 August 2020. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  4. ^ "FOI1317 NIR Footfall 2021.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 25 February 2021. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  5. ^ "FOI1317 NIR Footfall 2122.xlsx". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 26 April 2022. Archived from the original on 17 June 2024. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
  6. ^ "NIR Footfall 22-23". Whatdotheyknow. 17 April 2023. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
  7. ^ "FOI Footfall 2023 2024 figures PDF.pdf". www.whatdotheyknow.com. 7 May 2024. Archived from the original on 2 June 2024. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  8. ^ Northern Ireland Railways Public Timetable effective April 26, 1976
  9. ^ "Timetable: Belfast, (NIR) Central Stn - Dublin, Connolly Rail Stn - Service 5". nirailways.co.uk. Archived from the original on 25 October 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
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