Templepatrick railway station

54°42′06″N 6°05′31″W / 54.701753°N 6.091848°W / 54.701753; -6.091848

Templepatrick
CIE weed spraying train passing the remains of Templepatrick station in 1985
General information
LocationTemplepatrick, County Antrim
Northern Ireland
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyBelfast and Ballymena Railway
Pre-groupingBelfast and Northern Counties Railway
Post-groupingNorthern Ireland Railways
Key dates
11 April 1848Station opens as flag halt
9 September 1961Station closes
17 June 1980Station reopens
21 February 1981Station closes
Location
Templepatrick is located in Northern Ireland
Templepatrick
Templepatrick
Location within Northern Ireland
Map

Templepatrick railway station served the village of Templepatrick in County Antrim on the Belfast-Derry railway line.

History

edit

The station was opened in 1848 as part of the Belfast & Ballymena Railway, which would ultimately become part of the Northern Counties Committee group of lines owned by the LMS. Following the nationalisation of the railways, traffic on the line was reduced until eventually the route between Belfast and Derry~Londonderry was diverted via the Lisburn-Antrim railway line, with the stations on the old route, including Templepatrick, closed. Templepatrick was closed in 1981.[1]

Preceding station     Northern Ireland Railways   Following station
Mossley   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Derry (until 1978)
  Antrim
  Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Antrim (1980)
 
  Proposed  
Mossley West   Northern Ireland Railways
Belfast-Derry
  Antrim
  Historical railways  
Doagh   Belfast and Ballymena Railway
Belfast York Road-Ballymena
  Dunadry

Proposals

edit

In 1994, Northern Ireland Railways gained funding approval for the restoration of the Bleach Green section of the Derry line, which would allow more direct services into the centre of Belfast. As part of this project, NIR planned to recommission two new stations, Mossley West and Templepatrick.[2] Mossley West opened in 2001, but there was no movement for a station at Templepatrick. However, Translink, the public company responsible for public transport in Northern Ireland, proposed to build a major transport interchange, featuring both a bus and railway station beside the M2 at Templepatrick.[citation needed] As of 2006 it was reported that this could potentially serve as a park and ride for towns and villages in the area of South Antrim.[3][needs update]

References

edit
  1. ^ Templepatrick station - railbrit.co.uk
  2. ^ Antrim - Bleach Green: Rebirth of a Railway Line; Engineering Archived 28 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine - Translink
  3. ^ "Ford welcomes rail progress at Templepatrick". Alliance Party. 14 April 2006. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Translink expects to submit a planning application for the proposed Templepatrick park and ride scheme before the end of this year [2006]