Overview
The train from Derry to Coleraine passes directly beneath Mussenden Temple, the 18th-century rotunda on its 120-ft cliff at Downhill – and that’s only the most photographed moment of the 40 minutes. The line follows the shore of Lough Foyle, runs the length of Benone Strand, threads below the cliffs of Binevenagh and crosses the River Bann into Coleraine. Michael Palin featured it in Great Railway Journeys of the World, and Country Living ranked it seventh among UK railway journeys in 2016.
Be clear what you’re buying, though. This is a scheduled NI Railways service on modern CAF units, part of the Belfast–Derry route – no steam, no commentary, an ordinary fare. Four stations remain in use (Derry Waterside, Bellarena, Castlerock and Coleraine) and dozens of the old halts are now private houses. The window does all the work, so sit on the left leaving Derry – that’s the water side.
How it was built
The company was incorporated in 1845 and the line opened in stages: Derry Waterside to Limavady on 29 December 1852, on to Coleraine on 18 July 1853. Getting there meant reclaiming 22,000 acres from Lough Foyle and cutting two tunnels through the rock at Downhill – at 668 yards (about 611 m) and 307 yards (about 281 m), still the two longest railway tunnels in Ireland. The ‘Great Blast’ of June 1846 set off 3,600 lb of gunpowder before a crowd put at up to 12,000, and the company marked the breakthrough with a banquet for 500 guests inside the tunnel.
The rest of the history is brisker. A horse-drawn branch to Magilligan Point – the first railway to serve a ferry terminal on the north coast – opened in July 1855 and was gone by October. Money trouble brought a lease to the Belfast & Northern Counties Railway in 1861 and full absorption in 1871; a lifting viaduct built over the Bann in November 1860 had already tied the line into the Belfast–Derry route. Derry’s 1874 Waterside station was bombed in the 1970s, worst on 4 May 1978, and in 1980 a smaller station replaced it. That 1980 building has since gone: the current station, opened in October 2019, is the original 1874 building brought back into use. Steam went in the 1960s.
Along the line
Derry Waterside is the start – a modern hub with bus links across to the walled city, the Guildhall and the Tower Museum. Bellarena keeps its restored 1853 station building; Queen Elizabeth II opened its new passing loop in 2016. Then comes the lough shore and Benone Strand, seven miles of sand, before the tunnels under Mussenden Temple. The cliffs around Downhill and Binevenagh hold peregrine falcons; early morning gives the best chance of seeing one. Castlerock has a John Lanyon-designed station, a beach, pottery studios and the last mechanical signal box in Northern Ireland, worked until 2016. Coleraine is the joint rail-bus terminal: Mountsandel Fort is a mile and a half’s walk, and Ulsterbus connections run on to the Giant’s Causeway, Portrush and Bushmills. Photographers should note the light on Mussenden Temple is best at sunrise.
Practical information
Trains run hourly each way, with extras at weekday peaks; the full run takes about 40 minutes. Buy tickets on board, through the Translink app or at station ticket offices. The Family & Friends ticket covers up to two adults and four children, valid after 9.30am on weekdays and all day at weekends. Dogs are welcome on board, kept on a lead.
Derry~Londonderry station is open Monday to Saturday 06.00–22.00 and Sunday 09.00–20.00, with 100 parking spaces (6 accessible, 4 with EV charging); parking is free if you’re travelling by train – scan your ticket at the machine behind the barrier – and £2 an hour if you’re not. It has step-free access by ramp (there are no lifts), a Changing Places facility and accessible toilets, and assistance can be arranged on 028 9066 6630. Smaller halts may lack step-free access, so ask in advance. Timetables shift, so check the Translink app before you travel – it also carries live service updates on the day.