Mallon welcomes start of work at Trooperslane Park and Ride

Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon has welcomed the start of work on new Park and Ride facilities at Trooperslane, Carrickfergus.

The scheme which is being brought forward under the first phase of Minister Mallon’s Park and Ride programme will provide approximately 200 additional spaces at Trooperslane rail station and is designed to help meet present and future demand from passengers on the Larne Line. 

Visiting the site to view the start of works Minister Mallon said: 

“I am committed to developing sustainable transport projects, greening our infrastructure and doing what I can to tackle the climate emergency and encourage more people to use public transport.   

“Last year I announced my intention to progress a number of Park and Ride schemes across Northern Ireland and I am delighted to be in Carrickfergus today to see work starting on the first of those schemes at Trooperslane.   

“I believe that our public transport network is vital in our recovery from COVID-19 and it is encouraging to see that more and more commuters are opting to use Park and Ride facilities as part of their daily journey. This is good news as journey times can be reduced, traffic congestion minimised, car emissions lowered and commuters can experience stress free travel while helping to deliver a cleaner, greener environment.

"The development of this Park and Ride facility, which will provide an additional 200 spaces, along with the others that are progressing at Cairnshill, Downpatrick, Comber, Newtownards, Moira, Tillysburn and Dungiven is a positive move and is part of my Green recovery action plan. Together we can change the way we travel and help protect our environment.”

Chris Conway, Translink Group Chief Executive, said:

‘‘Translink is delighted to commence work on this significant new Park and Ride site at Trooperslane, providing much needed capacity on one of the busiest routes on the NI Railways network, as well as facilitating future passenger growth.

‘‘As the post-pandemic recovery takes hold, more sustainable transport modes, including public transport, will be essential and Park and Ride enables journeys to be made by public transport.  

‘‘Bus and rail travel will be vital as Northern Ireland looks to the future, helping to re-connect communities with employment, education, retail and leisure opportunities and driving a sustainable recovery for everyone.  Park and Ride has a key role to play in that process, helping to reduce congestion in towns and cities and developing safer, healthier communities, as well as encouraging active travel and social, economic and environmental progress.’’

Notes to editors: 

1. In September 2020 Minister Mallon announced the first five Park and Ride projects that would be prioritised to address growing demand.  They included Newtownards, Comber, Cairnshill, Downpatrick and Trooperslane, Carrickfergus. 
2. The Minister subsequently announced the progression of further schemes at Tillysburn, Moira and Dungiven.
3. All of these projects will service busy commuter routes and when complete will provide over 3000 spaces.  
4. The Trooperslane scheme will be completed in 2022 and the project will be carried out by contractor, F.P McCann Ltd.
5. The enhanced Trooperslane site will be a secure facility, with accessibility parking, 24-hour CCTV, security fencing and lighting, with cycle parking also accommodated. 
6. The bulk of project activity will take place during normal daytime working hours (8 am-6 pm).  Every effort will be made to keep noise and disruption to a minimum at all times.  Work will also be carried out in accordance with current government and industry advice on social distancing to ensure the safety of the local community and the workforce. 
7. Pedestrian access will be maintained throughout the project.  There will be no disruption to train services.
8. All media queries should be directed to the Department for Infrastructure Press Office at: press.office@infrastructure-ni.gov.uk.
9. The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.
10. Follow the Department on Twitter @deptinfra and on Facebook @DepartmentforInfrastructure

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