No train link for Belfast Airport
27.02.08
A cost of over £35m and insufficient numbers of potential passengers has now all but ended a bid to have Belfast International Airport linked by its own railway halt.
Despite a call from easyJet to build a rail link to counter a lack of transport links to Aldergrove and calls for the redevelopment of the disused Knockmore line - which runs about a mile away from the airport - the Department of Regional Development said the cost of developing the line was prohibitive given the number of passengers who use the airport.
A spokesman said: ‘There are no plans at present to extend rail links to Belfast International airport.' However, easyjet spokesman Tony Nicol said it was ‘absolutely ridiculous’ that there were no plans to reopen the line, given how close it was.
He said: ‘Transport access to Belfast International Airport is something of an embarrassment compared with airports in the rest of Europe. The people of Northern Ireland would benefit enormously if that link was up and running and people could get from all over Ireland, but particularly from the centre of Belfast straight through on the train.’
A halfway house would be to use a local stop and have a bus travelling between it and the terminal. This works well at Luton Airport, easyJets home hub.
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