Helen's Bay railway station

54°39′59″N 5°44′27″W / 54.66639°N 5.74083°W / 54.66639; -5.74083Owned byNI RailwaysOperated byNI RailwaysPlatforms2Tracks2ConstructionStructure typeAt-gradeKey dates1865Opened1950Goods traffic ceased2008RefurbishedPassengers2022/23135,371 ^[1]2023/24 167,849 ^[2]

Helen's Bay railway station serves Helen's Bay as well as the nearby village of Crawfordsburn in the townland of Ballygrot, County Down, Northern Ireland.^[3]

The station in the grand Scottish Baronial style, built in 1863, was the creation of Lord Dufferin, through whose land the line was laid. His family had their own private entrance and waiting room. The architect was Benjamin Ferrey.

The next station on the line towards Bangor used to be Crawfordsburn, but this was closed in 1997.

On the 22nd of July, 1922, two brothers, who were well known in Helen's Bay were killed at the station whilst waiting on a train to Belfast. Their bodies were placed in the old station house.^[4] Another person was killed at the station in 2004.^[5]

Service

Mondays to Saturdays there is a half-hourly westbound service to Titanic Quarter, Belfast Central, Botanic, Belfast Great Victoria Street, Lisburn, Portadown or Newry in one direction, and a half-hourly eastbound service to Bangor West and Bangor in the other. Extra services operate at peak times, and the service is reduced to hourly operation in the evenings. Certain peak-time express trains will pass through Helen's Bay station without stopping.

On Sundays, there is an hourly service in each direction.

Preceding station		Northern Ireland Railways		Following station
Seahill		Northern Ireland Railways Belfast-Bangor Line		Carnalea

Sometimes, due to the ongoing construction of Belfast Grand Central Station, the timetables will be subject to change and as of March 2024, this has happened numerous times, mostly affecting services to Portadown. ^[6]

References