The Derry~Londonderry Line

Phil Richards / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

  • DistanceAbout 95 miles, Belfast to Derry~Londonderry
  • DurationAbout 2 h 12 min · 39 min from Coleraine
  • Best seasonEvery day · every two hours beyond Coleraine on Sundays

Introduction

The Derry~Londonderry Line runs about 95 miles from Belfast to Derry~Londonderry, the westernmost railway in the United Kingdom. For most of the way it is a busy single-track main line through the farmland of County Antrim. The last 32 miles, from Coleraine, are the reason to ride it: Michael Palin called this stretch one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world.

West of Coleraine the train crosses the Bann, tunnels through the headland beyond Castlerock and comes out on the edge of Downhill Strand, with Mussenden Temple on the cliff above. It then runs for miles behind the dunes of Benone, below the cliffs of Binevenagh, and along the shores of Lough Foyle into Derry~Londonderry, where it stops on the Waterside, across the Peace Bridge from the walled city.

NI Railways runs a train every hour from Belfast Grand Central, and the whole journey takes about two hours and twelve minutes. Coleraine to Derry~Londonderry takes 39 minutes. For the best of the sea, sit on the right-hand side going west.

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The Journey

Trains leave Belfast Grand Central and call at Lanyon Place, then cross the Lagan to York Street and head north on a single line through Mossley West to Antrim. Beyond it the line runs through the farmland of County Antrim, by way of Ballymena, Cullybackey and Ballymoney, to Coleraine, where the shuttle to Portrush connects.

Coleraine to Castlerock

Leaving Coleraine, the Portrush branch turns away to the right and the Derry line crosses the River Bann on a lifting bridge, which can open for boats on the river. The train follows the west bank of the river towards the sea and calls at Castlerock, a small resort with a station designed by John Lanyon.

Through the headland to Derry~Londonderry

Just beyond Castlerock the line plunges into the headland through two tunnels, of 668 and 307 yards, cut in the 1840s with 3,600 lb of gunpowder in what is still remembered as the Great Blast. It comes out at Downhill, on the edge of the beach, with Mussenden Temple on the cliff top above. For the next few miles the railway runs between the cliffs and the dunes of Downhill and Benone Strand, with Binevenagh rising inland.

At Bellarena trains in opposite directions pass each other on the loop built in 2016. The line then crosses the flat land of the Magilligan peninsula, much of it reclaimed from Lough Foyle when the railway was built, and follows the shore past City of Derry Airport. It runs under the Foyle Bridge, along the east bank of the River Foyle and beneath the Peace Bridge, into the restored Waterside station of 1874, which trains returned to in 2019.

The trains

Most trains are Class 4000s, diesel units built by CAF in Spain that entered service in 2011. Translink bought 21 extra carriages so that some could run as six-car trains, and the first of those entered service in 2021. Every seat is Standard class.

Six-car Class 4000 No. 4016 leaves Derry~Londonderry beside the River Foyle on the 09:38 to Belfast Grand Central, August 2025.Phil Richards / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
A 70-class diesel railcar hauls a freight train under the cliffs at Downhill in July 1979. The class left service in 1986.The Carlisle Kid / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped
A Class 4000 train on the single line through Castlerock, June 2025.Kenneth Allen / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped
Class 4000 No. 4014 leaves Derry~Londonderry for Belfast along the bank of the Foyle, July 2023.davwheat / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Class 4000 No. 4012 at Coleraine, where the shuttle to Portrush meets the Derry trains, November 2021.Mx. Granger / Wikimedia Commons · CC0 · cropped
Mussenden Temple on the cliff top above Downhill Strand. The railway runs in tunnel beneath the headland.Amkazi / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
The wall of the Downhill Demesne along the cliff top, high above Downhill Strand, May 2023.Z thomas / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

Along the route

N Chadwick / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

The Downhill tunnels

West of Castlerock the train plunges into the headland through two tunnels, of 668 and 307 yards. Their rock was blasted out with 3,600 lb of gunpowder, an event remembered as the Great Blast, and the line comes out at Downhill, on the edge of the beach.
Z thomas / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

Below Mussenden Temple

Out of the tunnel, the railway runs along the foot of the cliffs beside Downhill Strand, with Mussenden Temple on the cliff top above. The sand carries on west as Benone Strand, almost to the mouth of Lough Foyle.
john.purvis / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

Binevenagh and the flats

Past the dunes, the line crosses flat farmland won from Lough Foyle when the railway was built, below the cliffs of Binevenagh, the western edge of the Antrim lava plateau. Trains pass each other at Bellarena, on a loop opened in 2016.
Simon Burchell / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped

Along the Foyle into Derry

The last miles follow the shore of Lough Foyle and then the river, past City of Derry Airport and under the Foyle Bridge. The train slips beneath the Peace Bridge into the Waterside station, restored in 2019.

A bit of history

Authorised1845 · Parliament approves the Londonderry & Coleraine Railway
First trains1852 · passenger trains start between Londonderry and Limavady
To the Bann1853 · the line opens to Coleraine, with stations at Castlerock and Bellarena
Through to Belfast1860 · a viaduct across the Bann links the line to Belfast
Waterside1874 · a new terminus opens on the east bank of the Foyle in Derry
Bellarena2016 · a new station and passing loop; Castlerock's signal box closes
Every hour2017 · an hourly service between Belfast and Derry~Londonderry
Back to Waterside21 October 2019 · trains return to the restored 1874 station

Culture & experiences along the way

Joseph Mischyshyn / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
By bus from Coleraine

The Giant's Causeway

About 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, left by an ancient volcanic eruption, step down from the cliffs into the sea. The Causeway has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986, and walking to the stones is free; only the visitor centre charges. Ulsterbus 172 runs there from the bus and rail centre at Coleraine.
Supermac1961 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0 · cropped
By bus from Coleraine

The Old Bushmills Distillery

Bushmills dates its licence to 1608 and calls itself the world's oldest licensed whiskey distillery. Guided tours show how the malted barley is distilled three times in copper pot stills. The 172 bus from Coleraine stops at the distillery on its way to the Causeway.
Joseph Mischyshyn / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
By bus from Coleraine

Dunluce Castle

The ruins of Dunluce stand on a basalt outcrop above the sea between Portrush and Portballintrae, joined to the mainland by a bridge. A castle was first built here in the 13th century, and it later became the seat of the MacDonnells. The 172 bus stops beside it.
Andreas F. Borchert / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · cropped
Derry~Londonderry

The Guildhall windows

Across the Peace Bridge from the station, Derry's Guildhall has been at the heart of the city since 1890. Local guides show visitors its stained glass windows, the main hall with its great organ of more than 3,000 pipes, and an exhibition on the Plantation of Ulster.

Timetables

NI Railways runs a train every hour between Belfast Grand Central and Derry~Londonderry on weekdays and Saturdays, and every two hours on Sundays. The whole journey takes about 2 hours 12 minutes, and Coleraine to Derry~Londonderry 39 minutes.

Westbound, Monday to Friday

Belfast Grand Central Ballymena Coleraine Castlerock Bellarena Derry~Londonderry
06:05 06:58 07:43 07:51 08:00 08:22
07:10 08:03 08:43 08:51 09:00 09:22
then every hour at :10 :03 :43 :51 :00 :22
21:10 22:03 22:43 22:51 23:00 23:22

Eastbound, Monday to Friday

Derry~Londonderry Bellarena Castlerock Coleraine Ballymena Belfast Grand Central
06:12 06:33 06:41 06:51 07:30 08:27
07:38 08:00 08:08 08:19 09:00 09:50
then every hour at :38 :00 :08 :19 :00 :50
20:38 21:00 21:08 21:19 22:00 22:50

Good to know:

  • The last train east, the 21:38 from Derry~Londonderry, ends at Belfast Lanyon Place at 23:42 (23:39 on Fridays).
  • Saturdays have the hourly service from Belfast at 07:10 to 21:10, plus a 07:43 from Coleraine; eastbound, the first train leaves Derry~Londonderry at 06:40, then hourly from 07:38, and the 21:38 runs only to Coleraine.
  • Sundays have six trains each way: from Belfast at 09:10, 11:10, 13:10, 15:10, 17:10 and 19:10, and from Derry~Londonderry at 09:38, 11:38, 13:38, 15:38, 17:38 and 19:38. The trains in between go to Portrush.
  • Portrush. A shuttle leaves Coleraine for Portrush every hour, 12 minutes each way.

Times as of October 2026, from the Translink timetable valid from 29 September to 13 December 2026. Check your date on translink.co.uk.

Tickets

NI Railways is not part of the National Rail network, so tickets are sold by Translink: online, in the mLink app and at stations, and every train is Standard class. Sampling Translink's journey planner for one adult on Tuesday 13 October 2026, a single from Belfast Grand Central to Derry~Londonderry was £15.50 and a day return £24; from Coleraine, a single was £13 and a day return after 09:30 £15.80.

On Sundays, the Sunday Day Tracker gives a day of unlimited travel on every NI Railways line for £10, or £5 for a child. Fares checked October 2026 on translink.co.uk; pounds sterling.

Book your tickets

Rail Passes

Interrail passes are valid, but not the one for Great Britain. Interrail's own table of railway companies lists Translink (Northern Ireland) under Ireland and Northern Ireland, so the line is covered by an Interrail Ireland Pass or a Global Pass. The Great Britain table does not list Translink.

BritRail passes are not valid. BritRail's conditions of use exclude "services in Northern Ireland", so a BritRail Great Britain Pass will not get you on this train.

For this journey alone, a pass is not worth buying. A single from Belfast to Derry~Londonderry costs £15.50, and on a Sunday the Sunday Day Tracker gives unlimited NI Railways travel for £10. A pass pays only when this line is one day of a longer trip around the island of Ireland.

Checked October 2026 against interrail.com and britrail.com.

Places to Visit

With a train every hour, the coast is easy to take in stages: get off at Castlerock for the beach and the temple, walk a while, and catch the next train on. The places below run from east to west, from Coleraine to Derry~Londonderry.

JohnDMichael111 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0 · cropped
Where the coast line starts

Coleraine

A market town on the River Bann, where the Derry trains meet the shuttle to Portrush and the buses for the Causeway coast. On its edge, at Mount Sandel, archaeologists found the remains of huts built around 9,000 years ago, among the oldest traces of people in Ireland. The railway leaves for Derry over a lifting bridge across the Bann.
Willie Duffin / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0 · cropped
At the end of the branch

Portrush

A seaside resort on the mile-long promontory of Ramore Head, with three sandy beaches and a small harbour. Its golf links, Royal Portrush, hosted The Open in 1951, 2019 and 2025. A shuttle runs from Coleraine every hour to the station, which has stood here since 1855, and the 172 bus goes on along the coast to the Causeway.
mvghuber / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0 · cropped
The seaside village before the tunnels

Castlerock

A small resort at the mouth of the Bann, with a beach a few minutes from the station that has served it since 1853. Hezlett House, a thatched cottage built around 1691, stands at the crossroads outside the village, and C. S. Lewis spent childhood holidays here. Mussenden Temple is half a mile's walk away.
Tony Bowden / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
On the cliff above the railway

Mussenden Temple and Downhill Demesne

Frederick Hervey, the Earl-Bishop of Derry, built this round library on the cliff edge in 1785, modelled on the Temple of Vesta. Around it lie the ruins of Downhill House, his mansion, and the gardens of the demesne, now cared for by the National Trust. The cliff has been stabilised to keep the temple from the sea.
Luke Carré / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Seven miles of sand

Benone Strand

West of Downhill, the beach runs for seven miles of sand and dunes almost to Magilligan Point at the mouth of Lough Foyle, one of the longest beaches in Northern Ireland and a Blue Flag beach. Behind it rise the cliffs of Binevenagh. The railway runs along its back for the first few miles out of the tunnels.
N Chadwick / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0
Across the river from the station

Derry's walls

Built between 1613 and 1619, the walls run for about a mile round the old city, and you can walk the whole circuit on top of them. They have never been breached, which is why Derry is called the Maiden City. Cannons, many of them used in the siege of 1689, line the ramparts, and the Peace Bridge leads there from the station.

Where to Sleep

Two hotels make good bases. In Derry~Londonderry, the Bishop's Gate Hotel stands inside the city walls, a short walk across the Peace Bridge from the station. On the coast, the Portrush Atlantic Hotel is in the centre of Portrush, at the end of the branch line from Coleraine and on the bus route to the Giant's Causeway.

Where to stay

Questions or corrections

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