Debate contribution: Belfast Rapid Transit Phase 2 — BRT2 — Project

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 25 February 2025.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

25 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statement

Heading

Belfast Rapid Transit Phase 2 — BRT2 — Project

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4815044

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I am disappointed that the Member feels that the announcement is underwhelming, because plenty of people in other parts of the North would be highly delighted to see such a scheme in their area. I appreciate the frustrations, and we can see the impact of underfunding on our public services across every Department. I have committed to doing what I can to secure the funding to ensure that the extension happens. The reality is that it is not viable at this point. We want to make sure that what we do is done right and that it causes the least disruption to residents and businesses.

It is very important to take all that into consideration.

Previous decisions on the route were made by my predecessor. However I am assured that all those decisions were taken after everything had been looked at in the round and were based on need. I do not agree with the Member's comments, but I am happy to work with him and address the issues that have been outlined. Hopefully, we can move this forward and, with Executive colleagues' support, secure the funding that is needed to do exactly what we have set out to do.

Delivery timescales for the full project are dependent on the availability of funding, as was outlined previously. It is possible that the north-south Glider service could become operational by 2030, but it is hoped that the initial phase could be delivered by 2027.

I thank the Member for that important question. As part of the overall commitment on active travel infrastructure, we are looking at all those things because it is important that, as we modernise our public transport, we consider our commitments to active travel. I think that those are key points. When we were out this morning on the Glider, one of the issues that was picked up concerned one of the cycle racks. We will be doing that on an ongoing basis across the piece as part of the active travel plan.

I thank the Member for his question and his kind comments. I am looking forward to engaging with the Committee, hopefully, as you said, sooner rather than later. As someone who is new in the role, I will be looking at fare evasion, but, at this time, I am not aware of any specific plans on that issue. I am happy to follow up in writing with the Member on that.

The Member made his feelings very clear through his constant tutting and sighing throughout the statement. With respect, it is my first statement, and I am willing to provide as much information as possible. I did not have the detail to hand and asked Miss McAllister whether I could follow up with it in writing. I am keen to do that with the Member too because I am working through this as best I can.

I expect nothing else from the Member, because I have heard little positivity. As I said, plenty of areas across the North would love to see that extension, and I will work with all other areas, because we have a commitment to update our public transport, and we will continue to do so. The scheme was in place before I was in post, and it has been delayed due to the Assembly's being down. I will take on board all the comments that have been made.

I thank the Member for her comments and her question. I said that we will look at priority routes for Metro buses to enhance the service that is there, because we recognise the need for additional services. The Member asked about reassuring people about developing the service. We want to do that, and there is a need for it, but it is about getting it right and about putting the funding in place to do it properly. I hope that that gives reassurance, but I am happy to pick up on that later. As part of the engagement with residents, stakeholders and elected reps, we can, hopefully, start to allay some of those fears and work together in the time ahead.

We will work closely with statutory partners over the life cycle of the construction phase of the project in order to minimise traffic disruption along those arterial routes. As I said, lessons were learned through phase 1 of BRT, and we will continue to have key stakeholder forums to allow information to be disseminated on the delivery stage of the project. As with phase 1, we will establish a joint utilities working group to allow potential issues to be raised, managed and, if necessary, escalated and resolved in a timely manner in order to minimise potential delays to the road network. At each stage of the project, we will undertake the necessary consultation as determined by the statutory processes, and we will endeavour to phase the construction works along the route to help minimise the impact on traffic, taking advantage of off-peak and seasonal reductions in traffic volumes where possible. The works will take time. Whilst they are challenging, we have a long-term vision for enhanced public transport services in Belfast, and the BRT2 project will help us to deliver that vision.

As part of the implementation phase of BRT2, a detailed stakeholder engagement plan and associated communication strategy will be developed through the identification, mapping and involvement of key stakeholders in the project and those who live along the route. Regular updates on scheme progress and milestones will be shared on the Department's website through the dedicated BRT2 web pages. Officials will start that process by briefing the business stakeholder reference group this afternoon, as I outlined, and they will schedule meetings with elected representatives in due course. Public information events will also be held as the project progresses through the detailed design stage and into construction.

I thank the Member for her question. I will come back to you in writing about the Lagan bridge, because I want to give you the most recent update on it. We will work with stakeholders at the earliest possible stage on the issues for businesses that you outlined on delivery and loading bays in order to find the most viable solution for dealing with them as the works commence. We can take that forward, and I will ask officials to actively consider it.

As an MLA for a constituency outside Belfast, I am very conscious that we need to update and upgrade our public transport network right across the North. A transport strategy and transport plans are being developed by my Department. Those take cognizance of all the issues that the Member has raised. This money is ring-fenced through the Belfast region city deal funding, and I have put in the additional funding to secure this particular project. However, that is not at the expense of any other project. I am keen to see greater progress on our public transport network right across the North.

The Member knows that the Department has a commitment to reduce emissions from all its vehicles. We are working to do that. We see hydrogen buses all over, and they have been working really well. Likewise, we are updating our vehicles for the Glider service to try to reduce emissions and introduce electric vehicles. We will continue to work to see from where we can secure that funding and whether it can be found within the Department. There is a wider responsibility in overall Executive funding and external funders as well. We continue to look at all options.

1,260 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:01 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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