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PA Media
Planned engineering works will affect cross-border and Northern Ireland rail lines
Rail passengers are being urged to plan ahead this weekend as services on key routes will be disrupted due to planned engineering works affecting cross-border and Northern Ireland rail lines.
The train line between Drogheda and Dublin is closed from Saturday 31 January to Monday 2 February, due to engineering works being carried out by Irish Rail.
A further closure on the same section of line is scheduled for Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February.
Translink said a wider programme of essential engineering works will affect services on the Dublin, Bangor, Larne and Derry/Londonderry lines over the coming weeks.
PA Media
Rail replacement bus services will be in operation during these closures
Rail replacement bus services will operate for Enterprise services between Drogheda and Dublin Connolly, while a revised train timetable will run between Belfast Grand Central Station and Drogheda.
Translink teams will also carry out works across two weekends in late February.
On Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 February, and Saturday 28 February and Sunday 1 March, works will affect the line between Lanyon Place Station and Bangor, the Coleraine to Derry/Londonderry line, and the Larne line between Carrickfergus and Larne Harbour.
Rail replacement bus services will be in operation during these closures.
The programme includes maintenance works at multiple locations, including platform extension works at Helen's Bay station, tunnel maintenance at Castlerock and Downhill, culvert repairs between Coleraine and Derry/Londonderry, and essential embankment repairs at Cloghan Point near Whitehead.
Translink said grouping the works into fewer closure periods helps protect the safety and reliability of the rail network while reducing the overall impact on passengers.
Translink's Director of Infrastructure and Projects, John Glass, said the works were vital to the long-term sustainability of the network.
"We are committed to maintaining and enhancing our rail infrastructure to deliver a high quality, safe and sustainable public transport network today, and for future generations," he said.
"We've planned these works carefully so that several essential upgrades, from tunnel repairs to platform extension work and embankment maintenance, can be delivered in one closure period."
