A proposal for a second, north-south Glider route has been welcomed by the Department for Infrastructure and Translink.
It is hoped that the new extension would serve North Belfast, South Belfast, Queen's University and Belfast City Hospital, adding to the current East and West Belfast services.
The Department says it is currently preparing an interim Outline Business Case which will provide an assessment of how the proposal would deliver on the objectives of the City Deal - which is due to be submitted by the end of May 2020.
A Department for Infrastructure spokesperson said: “The Belfast Region City Deal includes a proposal for a second, north-south Glider route building on the success of the east-west route.
"It is envisaged that a proposed extension to Glider services would serve North Belfast, South Belfast, Queens University and the City Hospital. The Department is working closely with the relevant councils, partners and key stakeholders to take forward a feasibility and options appraisal which will help to identify the most viable north-south route options.
"A number of routes will be assessed and following public consultation a preferred option will be published by the Department. This will form the basis of a full business case.”
A Translink spokesperson said: “Following the success of the new Belfast Glider service in East and West Belfast and Titanic Quarter, Translink is working with the Department for Infrastructure to develop proposals to introduce a second, north-south Glider route as part of the Belfast Region City Deal.
“The iconic Glider service has been a big success in Belfast with over 45k additional passenger journeys made every week compared to pre-launch. We look forward to working with the DfI to deliver the new proposals in due course”.
