Northern Ireland's Infrastructure Minister, John O'Dowd, has welcomed "a new era for public transport" as he officially opens the largest transport hub on the island of Ireland, Belfast's Grand Central Station.

Bus stands at the new world class transport hub become operational this week in the first phase of opening. The new facility will advance the transformation of public transport with a step change in customer experience.

A date for the commencement of rail services will be confirmed once the rail safety authorisation process is complete. That important and necessary process is continuing and will be finalised as soon as possible to enable train services at the new station to get underway.

Public Realm work to put a clear focus on allocation of road space to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport around the station will continue in to 2025.

Speaking as he opened Grand Central Station as bus services begin to operate, John O’Dowd said: "This is truly a new era for public transport here in Belfast and across the north and indeed the island of Ireland. This new flagship station is iconic as well as historic and it signals our intent in relation to our climate commitments and our focus on transport decarbonisation.

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"There is no doubt that this is an impressive facility with the space to cater for up to 20million customer journeys per year. At the moment 16 bus stands are operational and this will increase to 26 and double the number of rail platforms from four to eight. With 200+ spaces for bicycles, we are focused on encouraging more active travel and providing passenger facilities and services that deliver an enhanced user experience.

"This is an example of the importance of infrastructure and the transformative changes my department can deliver. I would like to thank everyone who has worked tirelessly on this project to make this happen and bring the vision of Ireland’s largest integrated transport hub to reality."

Chris Conway, Translink Group Chief Executive said: "We are excited to be opening this modern major transport interchange this week. With advanced customer features and integrated networks, it offers huge opportunity to grow public transport driving economic development across the region and play a major part in tacking the climate emergency. That means a better-connected future for people and communities for generations to come. I would like to thank the Minister and his Department for the funding and the wider NI Executive for their support in designating this as a Flagship Project. I would also like to thank the Translink team and the contractors for their commitment and dedication to get this project to this key stage."

Duane McCreadie, Project Director for Farrans Sacyr JV, said: "The departure of the first bus from Belfast Grand Central Station this weekend has been a proud moment for the FS JV team who have worked hard to deliver this first operational phase on time. There has been a true sense of collaboration on this project since day one and we have worked closely alongside Translink, Babcock and our local supply chain to meet the challenging construction programme. This is an impressive building which has been built for the city of Belfast by local people who are invested in our region. We know that it will have wide ranging positive benefits for sustainable travel in Northern Ireland."