The station was opened in 1848 as part of the Belfast & Ballymena Railway, which would ultimately become part of the Northern Counties Committee group of lines owned by the LMS. Following the nationalisation of the railways, traffic on the line was reduced until eventually the route between Belfast and Derry~Londonderry was diverted via the Lisburn-Antrim railway line, with the stations on the old route, including Templepatrick, closed. Templepatrick was closed in 1981.[1]
In 1994, Northern Ireland Railways gained funding approval for the restoration of the Bleach Green section of the Derry line, which would allow more direct services into the centre of Belfast. As part of this project, NIR planned to recommission two new stations, Mossley West and Templepatrick.[2] Mossley West opened in 2001, but there was no movement for a station at Templepatrick. However, Translink, the public company responsible for public transport in Northern Ireland, proposed to build a major transport interchange, featuring both a bus and railway station beside the M2 at Templepatrick.[citation needed] As of 2006 it was reported that this could potentially serve as a park and ride for towns and villages in the area of South Antrim.[3][needs update]
^"Ford welcomes rail progress at Templepatrick". Alliance Party. 14 April 2006. Archived from the original on 4 May 2010. Translink expects to submit a planning application for the proposed Templepatrick park and ride scheme before the end of this year [2006]
