Aldergrove railway station served Aldergrove

Aldergrove, Northern Ireland

Aldergrove is a small village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is within the townland of Seacash and parish of Killead – 6 miles south of Antrim and 18 miles west of Belfast. It is part of the Borough of Antrim....

 in County Antrim

County Antrim

County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. It was south of Antrim the station near RAF Aldergrove

RAF Aldergrove

RAF Aldergrove was a Royal Air Force station situated northwest of Belfast. It adjoined Belfast International Airport, sometimes referred to simply as Aldergrove which is the name of the surrounding area...

 and Belfast International Airport

Belfast International Airport

Belfast International Airport is a major airport located northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly known and is still referred to as Aldergrove Airport, after the village of the same name lying immediately to the west of the airport. Belfast International shares its runways with...

.

History

The station was opened in 1871 by the Dublin and Antrim Junction Railway, which in 1879 became part of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland)

Great Northern Railway (Ireland)

The Great Northern Railway was an Irish gauge railway company in Ireland.The Great Northern was formed in 1876 by a merger of the Irish North Western Railway , Northern Railway of Ireland, and Ulster Railway. The Ulster Railway was the GNRI's oldest constituent, having opened between Belfast and...

. In 1958 it passed to the Ulster Transport Authority

Ulster Transport Authority

The Ulster Transport Authority ran rail and bus transport in Northern Ireland from 1948 until 1966.-Formation and consolidation:The UTA was formed by the Transport Act 1948, which merged the Northern Ireland Road Transport Board and the Belfast and County Down Railway...

, which withdrew passenger services from the line and closed the station in 1960.

The future

Aldergrove railway station could be reopened to serve Belfast International Airport

Belfast International Airport

Belfast International Airport is a major airport located northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly known and is still referred to as Aldergrove Airport, after the village of the same name lying immediately to the west of the airport. Belfast International shares its runways with...

.

Currently the Lisburn–Antrim railway line is closed so plans for a station to serve the airport (a few hundred yards away) are aspirational. The line, and plans for a station here, between Crumlin

Crumlin railway station, Northern Ireland

Crumlin railway station served Crumlin in County Antrim, Northern Ireland but is currently closed to passengers.The station was built for the Dublin and Antrim Junction Railway and opened on 13 November 1871. Translink withdrew passenger services from the line when it reopened the more direct – ...

 and Antrim

Antrim railway station

Antrim railway station serves Antrim in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.Antrim station was opened on 11 April 1848, and was closed for goods traffic on 4 January 1965...

 could be revived under plans to operate a Belfast - Lisburn - Antrim - Belfast circular route