Opened in 1859, it was absorbed into the Great Northern Railway of Ireland in 1887.

[3][4] The initial shareholders of the company included several local mill owners and linen producers, such as Thomas Ferguson, John Smyth, Robert McClelland and William Waugh.

[5] Development of the line took place in the mid- to late-1850s, and railway engineers associated with the survey, design and construction work included James Price[6][7] and William Dargan.

[1] It served several mills, which were involved in producing Irish linen, along the River Bann near Banbridge.

[10][11] The BJR was absorbed into the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) (GNRI) in 1877.