Protests: All buses and trains in Northern Ireland stopped this evening, though handful of Belfast routes suspended unannounced at lunchtime back on for three more hours
All buses and trains in Northern Ireland will be halted from the evening rush hour on, Translink citing concerns of a repeat of last night’s anti-immigration protests.
Bus and Glider routes in Belfast were suspended at around 12.30pm today, in an unannounced move. A handful started running again at 1.30pm, but will stop once more in just a few hours.
Across the province, no buses will be leave their depot after 5pm and no trains will depart any later than 6pm, something Translink said is “due to expected protests”.
A spokeswoman said that stopping routes is “always a last resort” and warned that remaining journeys before this evening’s cut-off points might themselves be changed or cancelled.
Stated the spokeswoman: “We are working closely with a range of stakeholders, including the PSNI, our trade unions, and other key partners to make appropriate arrangements to keep our passengers, staff and the wider public safe.
“Passengers are advised that services may be subject to alteration or cancellation. Where possible, passengers should travel earlier in the day and allow extra time for their journeys.
“Suspending services is always a last resort, but the safety of our customers and staff remains our top priority. We want to give people as much advance notice as possible so they can plan accordingly.
“We thank our staff and customers for their continued support at this time.
“We intend to be in a position to resume normal services tomorrow morning, and passengers are encouraged to check the latest travel updates via Translink social channels and the Journey Planner app.”
The announcement came as some schools and businesses closed hours early amid rumours of lunchtime protests.
At around 12.30pm, people in Belfast city centre were shocked to find buses displaying “not in service” signs while bus stops showed a “service temporarily suspended” message instead of a timetable of arriving routes.
The public transport firm didn’t announce the widespread cancellations had happened until well after they were under way; for example, the shutdown wasn’t mentioned on its frequently updated X/Twitter account until after 1pm.
Several schools around the province announced they were closing early, though the Education Authority said would not be “practical or proportionate” to order all schools to shut on the back of what it described as “unverified social media claims about further planned protests today”.
The provincewide body did, however, instruct individual school leaders to “closely monitor the situation in their local area, and the commuting pathway for staff and pupils, and react as necessary and appropriate”.
A host of businesses closed early in the heart of Belfast. Although some shut their doors well before noon, the closures didn’t begin in earnest until close to lunchtime.
It proved difficult to verify the provenance of a message circulating online that claimed more anti-immigration protests were going to happen across the province at 1pm today.
Several community groups connected to working class unionist and loyalist areas attempted to refute it, however; the East Belfast Memorial Committee, for example, issued an initial statement declaring there are “no planned shop closures or protests planned today for 1pm” but followed that a short while later with another arguing that if they did happen they would be counterproductive.