Faster Londonderry line re-opens

The new service should reduce travel times by about 10 minutes

Journeys on the Londonderry railway line to Belfast have been shortened as upgrade work between Ballymena and Coleraine is completed.

Translink said passengers could expect smoother and quieter journeys following the £12.5m track upgrade.

The company said the journey will be reduced by 10 minutes. Further upgrades are scheduled for the track between Coleraine and Derry.

The first passengers to use the service will arrive in Derry at 1105 BST.

The old track was in poor condition - much of it was laid over bogland and trains could barely reach half speed at certain points of the journey.

The new track, constructed using equipment from France and Germany, was laid as continuous welded rails to allow the trains to go much faster.

Bus substitutions between Ballymena and Coleraine have now been stopped.

East Londonderry MLA John Dallat welcomed the completion of the work and said there must be greater investment in rail.

"The next objective must be to ensure that the Knockmore line is reopened allowing rail travellers from the North West to make their journeys to Dublin in a realistic timescale," he said.

"Likewise investigative work on restoring the cross-border line between Derry and Letterkenny and onward to Sligo must be stepped up if Ireland is to have the integrated rail service which its people want and deserve."