Train Travel

The Dublin-to-Belfast Enterprise Service, run jointly by Northern Ireland Railways (a company operated by Translink) and Irish Rail–Iarnród Éireann (which only services the Republic of Ireland), operates trains, the fastest of which take about two hours, between Dublin and Belfast's Central Station. A single journey costs £30; a same-day return is £34. You can change trains at Lanyon Place Station for the city-center Great Victoria Street Station, which is adjacent the Europa Buscentre.

Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) runs four rail routes from Belfast's Lanyon Place Station: northwest to Derry via Coleraine; east to Bangor along the shore of Belfast Lough; northeast to Larne (for the P&O European ferry to Scotland); and south to Portadown, Newry and Dublin. Nine daily weekday trains operate between Belfast and Derry, with seven trains on Saturday and five on Sunday. The journey time is about two hours, and a round-trip ticket costs £19. If you travel after 9:30 am, you'll get a third off the standard fare, reducing it to £12.70. Best buy: the £7.50 Sunday Day Tracker gives you unlimited travel on all scheduled train services within Northern Ireland.

There are frequent connections to Lanyon Place Station from the city-center Great Victoria Street Station and from Botanic Station in the university area. If you want to tour the North by train, contact Northern Ireland Railways–Translink: an iLink ticket allows unlimited travel on bus or train (£16 per day, or £58 per week; it costs £1 to buy the card).

Contacts

Enterprise Service. Lanyon Place Station, E. Bridge St., Belfast, Co. Down. 028/9066–6630; www.translink.co.uk/enterprise.

Iarnród Éireann. Dublin, Co. Dublin. 00353/836–6222; www.irishrail.ie.

Northern Ireland Railways. Lanyon Place Station, East Bridge St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 3PB. 028/9066–6630; www.translink.co.uk/services/ni-railways.

Train Stations

Botanic Station. Botanic Ave., Belfast, Co. Down, BT7 1JQ. 028/9089–9400.

Lanyon Place Station. E. Bridge St., Belfast, Co. Down, BT1 3PB. 028/9089–9400; www.translink.co.uk.