Some of the women behind Belfast Grand Central Station (L-R): Louise Sterritt, Senior Programme Manager, responsible for the overall construction delivery, Louise Doyle, Station Manager responsible for the operational readiness and transition of the station project to ensure successful opening and future success and Lisa McFadden Programme Manager who manages the delivery of the Rail Systems aspects of the project.
Belfast Grand Central Station will be the largest integrated transport hub on the island of Ireland and, when fully complete, its footprint will exceed that of London’s King Cross station.
Due for operational opening this autumn, we went behind the scenes on International Women’s Day to highlight just some of the women bringing this destination travel hub to fruition.
Lisa McFadden is Programme Manager for Belfast Grand Central Station. She is a chartered civil engineer with more than 15 years’ experience in large infrastructure projects. She first joined Translink in 2018 as Project Manager for the North-West Transport Hub project for Phase 1 of the Construction stage after working for High Speed 2 (HS2) and Network Rail in England.
Lisa said:
“During my time at Translink I have had the opportunity to be involved in and responsible for a wide range of projects, including the restoration of the Grade B listed old railway station building and 1.8km of track renewal which included 6500m3 ballast delivered by road through one shared access point. In my current role as delivery Programme Manager on Belfast Grand Central Station my work has been varied and has included responsibility for the new bus facilities.”
As Senior Programme Manager, Louise Sterritt is responsible for providing leadership in the design, construction, commercial management and programme delivery for Belfast Grand Central Station. She manages the collaborative project delivery team including associated Consultant teams and Contractors.
Louise is a chartered civil engineer with over 20 years’ experience of multi-disciplinary construction projects. Since joining Translink as a Project Manager in 2006 she has managed large property construction and park & ride projects.
In addition to a programme of station upgrade projects, she also led the project and programme management of the high profile Portrush Train Station project, completed in advance of the 2019 Golf Open.
Meanwhile, Louise Doyle has been Belfast Grand Central Station Manager since joining Translink in October 2021 and is responsible for the operational readiness and transition of the station project to ensure successful opening and future success.
Previously, Louise worked in large venue and public event spaces management, including Wembley Stadium and the SSE Arena, Belfast, where she played a lead role in its launch. She has also worked as Stadium Director for the Irish Football Association at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park leading on events throughout the build period through to completion and opening, overseeing strategic planning, commercial, health & safety and operational management.
Belfast Grand Central Station
Designed to be fully inclusive for all, the impressive high-quality Belfast Grand Central Station will offer an enhanced user experience for around 20 million customer journeys every year. There will be double the number of rail platforms from four to eight and an increase in the number of bus stands to 26 significantly increasing the available capacity.
The modern, spacious, transport facility with mezzanine level will also be a destination retail space with a dedicated public realm space, Saltwater Square, for arts, culture and community events and activities.
Belfast Grand Central Station has been welcomed by stakeholders such as The Consumer Council, Visit Belfast, Belfast City Council, Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Belfast City Climate Commissioner, Imtac and Sustrans, as providing social, economic and environmental benefits to Belfast and the entire region.
Claire Pollock, Head of Sustrans Northern Ireland said:
“The development of the new Belfast Grand Central Station presents an opportunity for people to rethink how they travel and to choose sustainable modes. Active and sustainable travel has so many benefits to health, household budgets, wellbeing and the climate, we would encourage everyone to build active travel into their daily travel routine.”
Noyona Chundur, Chief Executive of the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland said:
“Belfast Grand Central Station is an excellent project that will bring many socio-economic benefits to consumers in Northern Ireland. It is an ambitious plan which will strengthen connectivity across all parts of Belfast and beyond, improve the customer experience, and offer greater choice for passengers.
“Passengers will be able to integrate rail, bus and active travel and importantly, by addressing consumers’ desire for choice, convenience and greater accessibility, it will also help many people reduce the environmental impact of their travel.”
Similarly, Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NI Chamber) said:
“The new Grand Central Station will be a game changer, not only for Belfast but all of Northern Ireland. For anyone who has had a glimpse of the scale of the development underway, they will have a sense of this, but we have no doubt that when the station opens, towards the end of the year, the people of NI, businesses and tourists alike will be wowed by its quality and the part it will play in regenerating the surrounding areas, improving passenger experiences, numbers and services such as the planned improvements to the Belfast-Dublin service, and attracting more investment.”