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The Lisburn–Antrim railway line is a 20 miles (32 km) line of Northern Ireland Railways. It links Knockmore Junction on the Belfast–Newry railway line with Antrim on the Belfast–Derry railway line.
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The line opened in 1871 as the Dublin and Antrim Junction Railway.[1] The train service on the line was provided by the Ulster Railway until 1876, and by the Ulster Railway's successor the Great Northern Railway thereafter.[2] In 1879 the D&A Junction ceased to be a separate company and was absorbed by the GNR.[2]
The line is currently closed to passengers after all rail services were withdrawn from the line in June 2003. The stations at Knockmore, Ballinderry, Glenavy and Crumlin have all been closed.
Translink's reason for closing the line was that it was unable to maintain two routes to Antrim. The Bleach Green — Antrim line which had been closed since 1978 was reopened in 2001, providing a faster route between Belfast Central, Antrim and Derry. Translink operated a skeleton service on the line but then gave notice that it would be shut.
The route is still maintained and is used for crew training and train diversions, for example for passenger services on 09 and 23 October 2011 when there were weekend engineering works at Mossley West. Speculation remains that the line could one day re-open under plans to operate a Belfast — Lisburn — Antrim — Belfast circular route, with the possibility of a station for Belfast International Airport which is close to the line at Aldergrove.
Translink's future plans include re-opening this line allowing trains from Derry to run once per hour on an alternating pattern between Bleach Green and Knockmore.
In 2010 NIR removed the passing loops at Ballinderry and Crumlin, making the line into a long siding.
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