Belfast’s Shiny New Toy: Grand Central Station
By Alicia McCormack
Belfast Grand Central Station opened in October 2024, promised to be a newer, shinier and more modern upgrade of Europa/Great Victoria bus and train station. The location has only moved a few minutes up the street from the original, which does count if you’re speed-walking to catch a ride. But the new building has left the dark, basement-like corners of Europa far behind. It doesn’t feel like a bus or train station when you walk in – the wide open space, the escalators and the large glass doors and windows making it bright and white instead give an airport vibe. One of my friends from England described it as ‘surprisingly modern for Belfast’. Kind of insulting, but you get her point.
The station has adopted a very modern design and feel. I am personally a sucker for dusty old train stations and vintage décor, but modern perks do come in handy – the new self-service ticket machines most of all. I have traumatic memories of running to Europa with three minutes to go and jumping up and down in a queue to the single open desk (this particular time someone tried to skip me and if I ever saw red, it was then). In another case, I had a bus at eight in the morning, the mLink website was down and none of the ticket desks had opened yet. It’s a nice change to avoid all this stress and just coast into Grand Central to use any of the six ticket machines to buy or collect tickets. If you ever have any trouble, there are countless hi-vis workers floating about to ask. The squad always standing by the trains to direct you to your carriage, wish you a good journey and double check ‘train to Dublin, love?’ are a reassuring presence if you ever get paranoid that you’re hopping on the wrong train.
With all its modernity and spaciousness however, there is almost too much empty space in Grand Central. There is very little seating available and on busy days there are crowds standing up waiting. It’s a first world problem but there is a lot of room for extra seats if they ever wanted to spend even more money. Some of the additional space is filled by businesses with M&S Food and Pret A Manger on the ground floor and Brewdog and Starbucks upstairs. The new station has faced criticism for ignoring the opportunity to promote local Irish businesses to the tourists and newcomers passing through every day. [1] Their arrival at the station is the ideal time to make a good first impression and give a flavour of what Belfast and beyond has to offer. But unlike Europa, which housed local bakeries and cafes, Grand Central only provides an introduction to UK and American businesses that everyone already knows anyway. They also seem to be aiming for a more ‘bougie’ vibe by choosing companies known for higher pricing and a more affluent market instead of catering to the Belfast everyman. Goes with the Grand in Grand Central.
Translink has promised to make it up to us and support local businesses and chains by opening a new food market called ‘Halt’ on the premises of the closed Europa Bus Station, set to open in the summer, which might repair a fraction of the hole Trademarket left in our hearts. They are also exploring ways to promote local traders within Grand Central. [1] They certainly have plenty of room. Grand Central is a recent but really important contribution to Belfast which has made transport a bit easier and less Stone Agey and will hopefully take the chance to champion the small business scene in Belfast and give it space to flourish.
References
[1] Lynch, C. (2025). Translink statement on why there are no local businesses at Belfast Grand Central Station. Belfast Live. [Online]. 11 May 2025. Available at https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/translink-statement-no-local-businesess-31618053 [Accessed 22 May 2025].
