The idea of a rapid transit system for the city of Belfast has been proposed for many years. In April 2008 a "Strategic Outline Case" was published which decided that a bus-based system (such as used in the Netherlands) would be more cost effective than a light rail system (such as the Luas in Dublin). The system will consist of modern vehicles with a tram-like feel and will be segregated as much as possible from general road traffic. The ambition as of 2008 seems to be for four routes running from the city centre to the north, east, south and west with an additional line to Titanic Quarter.

The scheme is included on this web site as it will involve the construction of new dedicated roadways, and the modification of the existing road network to create segregated routes for the buses.

In November 2008 the Northern Ireland Executive committed to proceeding with a pilot rapid transit system, consisting of three routes running from the Europa Bus Centre / Great Victoria Street railway station in Belfast City Centre to:

• Dundonald, via the Lower Newtownards Road and then the line of the former railway line.
• West Belfast, likely Ballymurphy area, via the Springfield Road
• Titanic Quarter

The exact routes have not yet been decided (as of November 2008. However, it seems that the first two will terminate at new park-and-ride facilities to encourage commuters to use the system. The map below (from the DRD) shows an indicative network as of 2008:

The Regional Development Minister said in November 2008 that he expected the scheme to run at five-minute intervals at peak times and attract 5.5 million passengers per year. He also said that he would be seeking additional funding from the private sector. It seems likely that the buses will be supplied by Wrightbus, based in Ballymena, who are a global leader in this technology.

The Financial Case for a Bus-Based System

In April 2008, the DRD released figures that they say shows that a bus-based system is more economically viable than light rail. These figures are shown below and were sourced from this press release. Certainly the bus based system is much cheaper to both build and run, although it is likely to attract less patronage. Most of the criticism of the decision not to build light rail has been to do with the international "prestige" of light rail and the fact that it is seen as "better" by many users. In April 2008 the DRD said "The study found that bus based rapid transit produces positive economic results but light rail does not. This is because the likely numbers of passengers do not warrant the extra cost of light rail. There will be the option of migrating to light rail in the future should the demand increase."

Photos

A Wrightbus "Streetcar" being used on York's FTR bus-based rapid transist system in April 2007.
Belfast's system is likely to look very similar. The copyright on this image is owned by RobertG and is licensed for reuse under the GNU Free Documentation License version 1.2. See this image's original location on Wikipedia Commons.

The former railway line to Newtownards through east Belfast is currently used as a cycle path and walkway. This route will be utilised as the main route for the rapid transit system through East Belfast. Picture taken July 2007 from North Road bridge. [Wesley Johnston]