The next phase will be a detailed design for a bus based rapid transit system connecting Belfast City Centre to West Belfast, East Belfast and the Titanic Quarter.
The Minister said: “This project is our opportunity to create a new dynamic transportation system for Belfast, one that helps link people to jobs, hospitals, schools and colleges. It will also link communities to the city centre and the emerging opportunities in Titanic Quarter, and can be expanded to other parts of the city in due course.
“The development of Rapid Transit will also result in a boost to the local economy with employment opportunities in engineering, construction and operation of the new system. It will help to regenerate neighbourhoods and open up new development opportunities.
“The speed, reliability and comfort of the service will attract drivers out of their cars as they see the advantages of rapid transit. It is also expected to attract over 5.5million passengers a year and there will be high frequency services every five minutes at rush hour.
“Bus based rapid transit technology has been described as a ‘tram on tyres’. No track is required but it will be segregated from other traffic as much as possible. This bus based rapid transit system is used in cities throughout the world such as Las Vegas, Adelaide, and Amsterdam.
“The pilot system will have three routes: one running from Dundonald in the East to the city centre; one serving the development in Titanic Quarter and one from the city centre to the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) and beyond into West Belfast. The exact alignments of these routes will be established through the detailed design stage.”
The system will have high quality halts with level access to vehicles, real time information systems and off vehicle ticketing to speed up the boarding process. The detailed design stage will now start and involve a number of statutory assessments and consultation with all stakeholders, including the local communities.
The Programme for Government highlights rapid transit as a key priority with a commitment to start construction work on the first scheme by 2011. It is estimated that the network will cost around £150million to complete and the Department will continue to explore opportunities to draw in additional private-sector finance.
Notes to Editors:
1. The Department for Regional Development published a Strategic Outline Case (SOC) on 8 April 2008 which examined the potential technologies and routes for a network.
2. The Department has undertaken an engagement exercise with key stakeholders on the findings and recommendations of that report.
3. The Regional Development Committee published its response to the SOC on 29 May 2008.
4. A take note debate on the topic was discussed on 3 June 2008.
5. Media queries to: Department for Regional Development, Tel: 028 9054 0887. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
