From, the line crosses the River Lagan on the Lagan Viaduct, branches from the Bangor line, recrosses the Lagan parallel to the M3 motorway on the Dargan Bridge and reaches its first stop, Yorkgate, which replaced the former York Road terminus in 1992. Parallel to the dual five-lane M2 motorway, the line now heads northeast, past the main Northern Ireland Railways engineering depot and engine sheds, along the coast towards Whitehouse, a former halt. The M2 branches north becoming the A2, whilst the efficient railway runs alongside the shore of Belfast Lough generally and skirting the shore in sections.
At Whiteabbey, the line enters a cutting and climbs towards Bleach Green Junction. The station is long gone here too, but the lines diverge here, with the Londonderry line continuing to Mossley West and Antrim. The next stops – Jordanstown, Greenisland and Trooperslane – are still a few hundred yards inland, and Belfast Lough can be seen from time to time where development is sparse. After Trooperslane, the line passes through a former halt at Mount. This station was closed in the early 1970s.
town still has three stations, Clipperstown, Carrickfergus and Downshire. The former halt at Barn has been closed since 1977. At Downshire bridge the line crosses the A2 road once more and from here north, it follows the coastline at low level, offering views over the lough towards County Down and the Copeland Islands.
Downshire
From Downshire, the line runs through a former halt at Eden. The station here was closed back in 1977. Erosion has effected maintenance along this section, and the line singles now at Kilroot where previously it carried on as double track to Whitehead. The outer up track has been removed for safety reasons. At Whitehead Station, there is a passing loop and a spur to the former Excursion Station which is the headquarters of the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.
On weekdays, trains run half-hourly from, with the outbound terminus alternating every half an hour between and. Extra services operate at peak times to and from. Evening services are reduced to hourly operation after 8pm between Larne Harbour and Great Victoria Street and the last trains of the day in each direction typically at around 11:20pm only operate to or from Lanyon Place. The last train arrives into Larne Harbour at 12:20am. On Saturdays, there are no extra peak time services, but the service pattern is similar to the weekday operation. On Sundays, the line reduces to hourly operation from Great Victoria Street, with the outbound terminus alternating every hour between Whitehead and Larne Harbour. First services on Sunday are later and Last services are earlier.
