Bellarena railway station

Bellarena
The new station under construction in 2016.
Location	Bellarena Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Coordinates	55°7′36″N 6°57′6″W / 55.12667°N 6.95167°WCoordinates: 55°7′36″N 6°57′6″W / 55.12667°N 6.95167°W
Owned by	NI Railways
Operated by	NI Railways
Platforms	2
Construction
Structure type	At-grade
Key dates
1853	Opened
1976	Closed
1982	Re-opened
2016	Station moved to new site, passing loop constructed
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Bellarena railway station serves the village Bellarena and the broader Limavady area in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The current two-platform station was opened in 2016, replacing the original single-platform 1853 station located on the opposite side of the nearby level crossing.

Original station (1853-2016)

Bellarena station has served several railway companies since its first opening on 18 July 1853. The original station buildings were erected between 1873 and 1875 to designs by the architect John Lanyon.^[1]

It was closed for goods traffic from 4 January 1965, and to passengers from 18 October 1976, but was later re-opened on 28 June 1982.^[2] The original station buildings are now in private ownership and were converted to living quarters in 2005, with the exterior boasting the station's name in a unique tile pattern. The stationmaster's house was renovated in the 1980s.

Current station (2016-present)

In late 2015, work started on a new station at Bellarena, replacing the original 1853 station with one on a new site located on the other side of the adjacent level crossing. The new station opened to traffic on 21 March 2016. Unlike the old station, the new station has two platforms, with a new passing loop replacing the one originally at Castlerock railway station. The original station features are still in existence and can easily be seen from the new station.

The original station, opened in 1853 and closed in 2016. The new station is located behind the camera.

One feature Bellarena retains from BNCR days is the station name spelled out in tiles on the building

Service

Mondays to Saturdays there is a two hourly service towards Londonderry/Derry Waterside or Belfast Great Victoria Street operated by Northern Ireland Railways.^[3]

On Sundays there are 6 trains in each direction.

References

1. The Industrial Archaeology of Northern Ireland. William Alan McCutcheon, Northern Ireland. Department of the Environment. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 1984
2. "Bellarena station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-30.
3. "NIR timetable December 2009" Archived April 14, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.