Work on extending the Glider service to north and south Belfast will begin later this year.
The extension of the service is the key part of a £48m public transport investment plan announced in the Assembly by Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins.
As part of the development, there will be more “bus priority measures” in the city.
And two elements of the scheme have been dropped for now, with plans to run the Glider to Carryduff, and separately to Glengormley, not proceeding.
The Glider service of tram-like buses opened in September 2018.
It currently runs from the McKinstry roundabout in west Belfast to Dundonald park-and-ride in east Belfast via the city centre.
A second line connects the city centre to the Titanic Quarter.
Ms Kimmins said the Glider “has been a huge success” and has helped transform and modernise public transport services in east and west Belfast.
She said extending the service to the north and south will bring “the benefits of the Glider service to communities living along this route”.
The Glider service will be extending
As part of the upgrade, the G2 line will be extended, connecting with Queen’s University and the City Hospital.
A pilot scheme will trial four EV (electric vehicle) Gliders on the existing G1 (East-West) route, meaning existing vehicles can service the G2 extension.
The minister also announced new “bus priority measures” for the city centre.
These will operate from Clifton Street to Innisfayle Park along the Antrim Road and from Ormeau Road to Park Road on the southern route in readiness for the scheme.
There will also be a park and ride site on the O’Neill Road.
The plans also involve the design and construction of Bankmore Link, which will help ease connections between the proposed new Lagan Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge and Grand Central Station.
But plans to extend the service beyond Cairnshill Park and Ride to Carryduff, and separately to Glengormley, have been dropped.
Ms Kimmins said that funding and feasibility studies led her to conclude “that any extension of the Glider service beyond Cairnshill Road Park and Ride towards Carryduff is not economically viable at this time but will be re-examined when further development along this route is realised”.
She also said that “significant congestion within Glengormley”, as well as the pending public realm scheme and limited funding “make it challenging to extend the service into Glengormley”.
“Therefore, the extension to Glengormley is not feasible at this time, but I will commission further work to determine if a viable option exists in and around the area.”
Ms Kimmins said the overall scheme will bring huge benefits to Belfast.
She added: “This scheme is a £48m investment in our public transport infrastructure. It is one of the projects being taken forward by my department as part of the Belfast Region City Deal.
“Funding of £35m has been allocated from our deal partners, with an additional £13 million from my department to deliver a park and ride on the O’Neill Road.
“Park and ride is a key enabler to encouraging behavioural shift and helping to drive down congestion and emissions. This phase will allow us to put in place key infrastructure which will complement the wider scheme.”
Belfast Lord Mayor Micky Murray said: “We have already seen the impact of the Glider service which has helped to transform public transport services in Belfast since its introduction in September 2018.
“The Belfast Rapid Transit Phase 2 project is the further development of this hugely successful scheme which will see the Glider service extended to the north and south of the city.”
However, DUP MLA Phillip Brett said the exclusion of Glengormley from the scheme’s extension “is hugely disappointing, but unfortunately unsurprising”.
“What is surprising however, was the Minister’s inability to inform members of where the proposed termination point will be in North Belfast. This is basic and vital information,” he said.
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