Belfast Nightlife Boosted by a record surge in late-night festive bus and train journeys

Translink’s Late‑Night festive services have been hailed a major success, with around 30,000 journeys on bus and train – an increase of over 70% on last year – as more people chose public transport as a safe, reliable and convenient way to travel during the festive Christmas period.

This marked increase also underlines the vital role of extended late‑night public transport in supporting Belfast’s evening economy, offering reliable travel options for residents and visitors, and encouraging sustainable travel choices. Translink worked closely with the Department for Infrastructure and a range of city stakeholders to deliver services that have helped support Belfast’s vibrant nightlife while maintaining a strong focus on safety and sustainability.

Chris Conway, Translink Group Chief Executive, said:

“Bus and train services have proved popular, with passenger journeys over the festive period significantly higher than last year.

“Additional late-night bus services, funded by the Department for Infrastructure and the wider NI Executive and Belfast City Council as part of the year-long pilot, have also delivered strong results. More than 7,000 bus passenger journeys were recorded on the pilot services significantly contributing to the overall rise in passenger numbers across all services during the busy festive season.”

“Christmas is traditionally the busiest time of year for late-night travel, and this year’s success provides an excellent foundation to build upon in the months ahead.

“Working together, public transport has helped to energise the city’s nightlife while offering a greener, safer way to travel. This success clearly demonstrates what can be achieved through collaboration and innovation – not just for late‑night travel, but as a model for how public transport can better serve communities across Northern Ireland.  By working together, we can unlock economic, social and environmental benefits for everyone.”

“We look forward to building on this strong start for late night services and will continue to collaborate with stakeholders to maximise benefits of public transport for the city and for customers” Chris concluded.

Welcoming the increase in people using public transport over the Christmas period, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said: “It is very encouraging to see the support that has been given to the introduction of late-night transport services.  This demonstrates the need and underlines my commitment to ensuring safe and sustainable travel.  The benefits are wide-ranging and the boost to the night-time economy is welcome. I hope people continue to make use of public transport throughout 2026 so that together we can continue to build the case for public transport as a good choice for travel.”

The year long bus pilot scheme for late-night services will continue to operate every Friday and Saturday night during 2026.  These will be supported by the NI Executive and Belfast City Council.

Timetabled late night rail services will operate as normal on Friday and Saturday nights.

Plan your journey: Full-service details are available at http://www.translink.co.uk/latenightservices