Works Close North Coast Railway For Nine Months

A section of railway linking Londonderry and Coleraine has been closed and will stay closed for the next nine months.

Trains on the north coast track will be replaced by a bus service while major engineering works are underway.

The track is expected to reopen in April 2013, too late for the start of Derry's year as UK City of Culture.

People travelling from other parts of Belfast to the celebrations will be affected by the closures on that part of the line for three months at the start of the year.

Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) said the engineering work was "essential" and apologised to passengers for inconvenience caused.

Officials said the line would be safer and perform better after the works, as well as making journeys "smoother, more comfortable and quieter".

The track between disused stations Umbra and Eglinton is to be re-railed while other track works will concentrate on the line at points between Coleraine and Castlerock and between Eglinton and Londonderry.

New drainage will be installed and two bridges will be overhauled – the Bann Bridge and the Pottagh Bridge.

The works had been postponed until 2014, but following lobbying from Martin Bradley of the Culture Company 2013 Ltd, the Stormont Executive approved the transfer of £27m from the budget for improvements on the Derry-Dublin road, in order to allow the work to start this year.

For information on rail replacement buses and other coaches running east from Derry, see www.translink.co.uk.

(NE)