The Northern Ireland Assembly's Committee for Infrastructure held its first external meeting of this mandate at the new Belfast Grand Central Station Transport Hub, where Members took evidence from Translink on public transport safety.
Committee Chairperson Deborah Erskine MLA said: “The Committee was delighted to visit the new Belfast Grand Central Station Transport Hub. Given it is one of the Department's major infrastructure investment projects, the Committee wanted to visit the Hub before it opens to the public.
“It will be a key component in delivering public transport for the future and it is hoped that it will encourage better connectivity going forward, between not just the different public transport options, but routes across Northern Ireland”.
The Chairperson continued: “Included in our visit, as a Committee we wanted to not only celebrate this particular project but discuss the challenges that exist.
“The Committee is concerned at incidents of assault on Translink staff. We wanted to hear from Translink to ensure that all possible measures are in place to protect and support those workers.
“It is also vital users of our public transport system can feel safe when making journeys, particularly as we work to encourage more people onto our bus and rail networks”.
The Chairperson concluded: “The Committee also welcomed the opportunity to travel to the meeting on one of Translink's electric buses.
“The decarbonisation of Translink's fleet will play a major role in our move towards Net Zero.”
The new transport hub is due to be completed later this year and, when operating at full capacity, it is estimated that this will be provided up to 20 million passenger journeys per year.
Traffic disruption is expected as a result of the ongoing works and the Committee urges pedestrians and road users to be mindful of road closures and increased traffic particularly during busy periods.
Road and public transport safety will continue to be a focus for the committee in the coming months.
In June, the Committee will be hearing from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on public transport safety and the Road Safety Partnership on the new Road Safety Strategy.
As well as public transport safety, the Committee heard about the 2024-25 budget allocation for the Department of Infrastructure during the meeting.
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