The Translink Goldliner 212 is a daily intercity bus service running between the cities of Belfast and Derry – Northern Ireland’s two biggest cities. With a scheduled journey time of 2 hours, the Goldliner 212 provides travellers with a fast and comfortable alternative to the more well-known train ride between both cities.

I visited Derry in the summer of 2024 and caught myself in the city as the rain began to pour – I certainly wasn’t keen on walking across the River Foyle to the train station in the rain. As luck would have it, there was a Goldliner 212 departure coming up at that time. I had taken the Belfast – Derry train countless times before, so I figured it was time to give the Goldliner a try within NI.

Buying my tickets

Paying for your ride on Goldliner buses is extremely straightforward – you can either buy tickets on Translink’s website or you can buy them onboard. The iLink travel card is also accepted for travel on Goldliner services within Northern Ireland – simply tap on the card reader. I was already holding a valid iLink card for my travels, so I did not have to join the queue of ticket-buyers.

Just remember that Goldliner services are technically Ulsterbus services, and so seating onboard is on a first-come-first-serve basis!

Departure from Foyle Street Bus Station

The Goldliner 212 departs at timetabled intervals of between 30 minutes to an hour from the Foyle Street Bus Station, which is Derry’s main bus station. It is a very simple structure with around 11 bus stands, a small waiting room equipped with a snacks kiosk, and waiting benches alongside the bus stands.

The bus station is located right outside the Guildhall and is quite well connected on the northern side of the River Foyle. It is a shorter walk from the city centre as compared to the train station, and still a manageable walk from the Bogside. If coming from further out, the Foyle Metro provides easy access. In fact, Foyle Street is the focal point of the Foyle Metro services, and the bright red buses are simply unmissable.

With only a short time to go until departure, I opted to join the short queue for the bus straight away. Verifying my iLink card took seconds, and once onboard I had no issues picking a seat thanks to the light load. Departure was, likewise, on time.

Oddly enough for a city that sees a lot of rain, the bus stands at Foyle Street are uncovered and exposed to the elements, meaning passengers have to queue for the bus in the rain.

Goldliner 212 service routing

The Goldliner 212 serves the inland communities of Toomebridge, Castledawson, Maghera, Dungiven, Claudy, Drumahoe, and Altnaglevin, complementing the coastal train route. A big portion of the journey is via the A6 road, which cuts through the northern end of the Sperrin Mountains (Sliabh Speirín). A bus isn’t exactly the best viewpoint, but you can still get a decent view of the mountain range to the south. It doesn’t beat the view of the sea from the trains, but it’ll do.

The Sperrins are designated an Area Of Natural Beauty. For more information, please visit here.

Onboard the Goldliner 212

This service was operated by a 3 year old single deck Volvo Sunsundegui SC5 with 60 seats onboard in a typical 2-2 configuration, and the last row having 5 seats across. The seats themselves are in a leather-like material and are standardised across the Goldliner fleet.

Note that Translink also operates double-decked buses on this route. These naturally have different seating arrangements onboard.

It was a reasonably comfortable experience onboard, and I was pleased to see that the legrooms have improved after the extremely tight legroom on my X1 bus in 2017.

Arrival at Belfast

The ride takes around 2 hours, and before long we pulled into the familiar northern outskirts of Belfast before winding through the city to the Europa Bus Station for a rainy on time arrival.

Note that at the time of this journey, the Goldliner 212 terminated at the Europa Bus Station, which was the bus terminus for Belfast. It has since been replaced by the new Belfast Grand Central, and the Goldliner 212 now runs to and from Grand Central. This was to be the last time I would take a bus into the Europa Bus Station, and seeing the 33 year old facility in the evening light really exposed how tired it was.

Final Thoughts

The Goldliner 212 is an excellent way of travelling between Belfast and Derry, but it doesn’t provide the same spectacular views that the train route is known for. Nevertheless, there are still some time savings courtesy of the conveniently located Foyle Street Bus Station, and also the fact that there are more bus services between Derry and Belfast than there are train services.