It has been almost 20 years since the railway service between Antrim and Lisburn was closed.

The service ran through Crumlin, Glenavy & Ballinderry and connected the North Coast of Northern Ireland to the southern rail corridor through to Portadown, Newry and Dublin.

FundTheNINE wants to fulfill part of the vision of the late Brian Guckian and finally see this railway line reopened to not only serve the communities of the towns and villages that lost their connectivity, but to connect our railway network to the Belfast International Airport.

A first on the Island of Ireland, Belfast International Airport Railway Station would mean that accessibility to and from Northern Ireland's busiest airport would be at its highest in its existence.

It is estimated that within the first year over 1 million~ (1,000,000~) passengers will use the line, netting a first year revenue of £300,000~. It goes without saying that as the years go on this number will increase exponentially as people swtich from driving to the terminal to taking the train due to the difference in cost and simplicity of train travel.

The line is currently fit to host rail traffic as it is up to code and structurally sound, so it is mostly a matter of reintegrating signalling along the line, reconstructing the passing loops at Crumlin and Ballinderry and then rebuilding/renovating the stations.

The International Airport Station however, would take extra work to build the new track layout and terminal-side station, something that is entirely feasible and well within our budgets.

FundTheNINE wishes to see this line and its stations back in service by 2030, as that is by far the most reasonable deadline given the current politcial deadlock in NI, however a return to the executive would mean progress could be made in half that time.

We hope we have convinced you that this campaign is worthwhile, so please consider signing the petition and sharing it on your social platforms of choice.

It is time to #RebuildOurRailways

- FundTheNINE