Economy of Northern Ireland - Transport

Transport

Northern Ireland has under-developed transport infrastructure with most infrastructure concentrated on Greater Belfast, Greater Derry and Craigavon. Northern Ireland has a total of 24,820 km (15,420 mi) of roads, or 1 km for each 68 people (1 mi for each 109 people), which is considerably more than in the United Kingdom as a whole (1 km per 162 people). There are seven motorways in Northern Ireland, extending radially from Belfast, and connecting that city to Antrim, Dungannon, Lisburn, Newtownabbey, and Portadown.

Northern Ireland Railways runs passenger trains and presently carries no freight though it is possible to carry freight. Northern Ireland railways is owned by the people of Northern Ireland and has embarked upon significant investment on the Belfast-Derry railway line to upgrade the infrastructure between Belfast and Derry the largest cities in Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland Railways connects Belfast Great Victoria Street and Belfast Central to Antrim, Ballymena, Coleraine, Portrush, Derry along the Northern Corridor and the Belfast Suburban Rail network serves places near Belfast, along with the Enterprise (train service) connecting Lisburn, Portadown, Newry and across the border along the Dublin-Belfast railway line to Dublin Connolly.

Northern Ireland Railways could be extended by re-opening railway lines such as from Portadown to Armagh railway station in Armagh.

Northern Ireland is home to three civilian airports: Belfast City, Belfast International, and City of Derry. Major seaports in Northern Ireland include the Port of Belfast, the Londonderry Port and the Port of Larne. The Port of Belfast is one of the chief ports of the United Kingdom, handling 17 million tonnes (16.7 million long tons) of goods in 2005, equivalent to two-thirds of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade.

In addition to these existing links, several organisations have proposed a tunnel under the North Channel, with one possible site connecting the eastern part of Northern Ireland to Wigtownshire. The idea has been given technical consideration since the 19th century, but, as of 2012, no major political party has advocated such a link, due to financial constraints.