Hannon plans to expand Glasgow express coach route across province

County Armagh-based company Hannon Coach launched the Glasgow route in February this year and, following a highly successful first six months, the company is now planning to introduce further direct services including Northern Ireland population centres such as Enniskillen, Coleraine, Ballymena, Londonderry, Cookstown, Strabane and Newcastle.

The Glasgow service is currently the only direct city to city service from the province, operating twice daily in both directions.

“People have responded really well to the service and love the fact that it’s so hassle-free compared to flying and that there’s no extra charge for luggage,” said company director Aodh Hannon.

“There’s a shared history and natural connection between Northern Ireland and Glasgow, which means people will always need travel options, and the success of our new express service from Belfast has shown that there is still a lot of potential to grow this market further.

“We have submitted applications for all of these new services to the Department for Infrastructure and hopefully we will receive the green light soon, so we can get the services up and running as soon as possible.”

Ferry company Stena Line, carrier for all Glasgow Express services across the Irish Sea, has experienced increased coach traffic to Glasgow since the service began, according to Ian Baillie, key account and product sales manager for the UK and Ireland.

“We’ve been carrying people between Northern Ireland and Glasgow for many years, working with a number of coach operators in this time,” said Mr Baillie. “Glasgow has always been a hugely popular destination for NI folk and what the new Hannon Coach service has shown is that there is still room for growth in this market, with our own figures for express coach services to Scotland showing an increase of 7.5% year on year.

“The introduction of new pick-up points from more towns across Northern Ireland can only grow this traffic further, which is something we would obviously welcome,”