Work on the new £200m Belfast transport hub is continuing at pace and is on track to be completed on time in 2025, Translink has said.
An Executive flagship project, the hub will replace the existing Europa and Great Victoria Street bus and rail stations in the city centre. It is anticipated it will transform public transport in the city and further afield.
Belfast Grand Central Station will be part of a wider £400m regeneration scheme called Weavers Cross.
Originally announced in 2010, a planning application for the transport hub was submitted in 2017 and granted in 2019, with work on the development beginning last March.
The hub is to feature 26 bus stands, eight railway platforms — double the amount of existing platforms and a 50 per cent increase in bus stands. A new bridge is also currently under construction over the railways, spanning 55 metres.
Weavers Cross is aimed at regenerating the land around the new station with mixed-use commercial and residential space.
Translink, which put the plans forward, has said that Weavers Cross could create 8,000 jobs.
In 2019, the public transport provider said the development of the transport hub would create up to 500 jobs over the construction period.
Belfast Grand Central Station is due to be completed in 2025 and is expected to facilitate 20m passenger journeys a year.
Construction firm Graham have undertaken the preparatory work for the hub, with another construction company Farrans and Spanish infrastructure group Sacyr jointly carrying out the main works for the project.
According to a report prepared for members of Belfast City Council's planning committee when the application for the hub was submitted: "The Hub is to be constructed a substantial distance to the rear of the original station and will be of a relatively low density, operating for the most part as a standalone transport facility albeit integrated within a network of public realm proposals.
“Transport hubs have become much more than just a place to get on and off trains and buses and are increasingly becoming places within which to shop, work, do business and relax.
“While there is a simplicity and elegance in the proposed contemporary architectural approach, including historical references to railway engineering vernacular through the use of [columns] and the undulating roof form, the opportunity could have been taken to deliver a transport hub with multiple functionalities.
“In this instance consideration could have been given to explore a range of compatible uses under one roof which may have resulted in a building of a higher density, presenting a more sustainable and legible solution that delivers a strong urban presence within the city that would be expected from a project of this calibre.”
Once completed, the hub will be the largest integrated transport facility on the island of Ireland.