Rail Transport in Ireland - Iarnród Éireann InterCity Railcars - C

Rail Transport in Ireland - C

Iarnród Éireann 22000 Class InterCity Railcars

There are 234 22000 Class carriages in total, being formed into the following sets:

• Ten 5-car sets - Each set includes a 1st Class Carriage and a Dining Carriage. They are used on key InterCity services between Dublin and Limerick, Galway, Waterford, Westport and Tralee.
• Twenty-five 4-car sets - These mostly operate on their own or with a 3-car unit. They serve lesser-used InterCity services and most Dublin to Sligo and Rosslare services.
• Twenty-eight 3-car sets - These mostly operate in pairs. They serve lesser-used InterCity services and many Dublin Commuter services.

Features of the InterCity Railcar fleet include:

• Automatic PA and information display systems.
• Electronic seat reservation displays for web bookings.
• Fully air-conditioned.
• Internal CCTV system.
• Sleek carriage design.
• Advanced safety features throughout.

Iarnród Éireann Commuter Railcars

IÉ introduced 17 new suburban railcars in 1994 as the 2600 Class (built by Tokyu Car, Japan) for the Kildare 'Arrow' suburban service. Further additions to the fleet were made in 1997 (twenty-seven 2700 Class, Alstom built, now withdrawn), 2000 (twenty 2800 Class, Tokyu Car built) and 2003 (eighty 29000 class, CAF built). When the 29000 Class was introduced all Irish railcars were re-branded from 'Arrow' to 'Commuter'. A further nine 4-car 29000 Class trainsets arrived in 2005.

NIR Railcars

NIR replaced their ageing DMUs with Class 3000 and Class 4000 regional railcars built by CAF, which arrived in 2005 and 2011, respectively.

Ireland Coaching Stock

• Mark 4 Carriages

Iarnród Éireann's flagship InterCity fleet are the Mark 4.

Built by CAF of Spain in 2004-2005 they are formed into 8-car push-pull sets. Each set contains (in order):

• GM 201 class locomotive.
• 5 Standard class carriages.
• 1 restaurant carriage.
• 1 'Citygold' (first class) carriage.
• Generator Control Car.

The Mark 4 trains have blue tinted windows, which help to create a cool journey for the passenger, electronic route maps showing train progress, electronic seat reservation displays and power points for laptops, or recharging tablets, MP3 players or mobile phones. Citygold customers on this fleet have the added features of adjustable seating, greater room and comfort and in-seat audio entertainment. They are used exclusively on the Dublin to Cork route, operating an hourly service each way.

The Mark 4 trains are capable of speeds of up to 125 mph (201 km/h), but are limited by the maximum line speed of 100 mph (160 km/h) and the locomotive.

Ireland Enterprise Services

The Dublin to Belfast 'Enterprise' service is operated jointly by IÉ and NIR with rolling stock from De Dietrich, commissioned in 1997. Four Mark 3 Generator vans were introduced in September 2012. Until then, 201 Class locomotives were required to supply head-end power (HEP) for heating and lighting.

Ireland Previous Stock

NIR also had a number of refurbished Class 488 carriages acquired from the Gatwick Express service and converted to run on the Irish 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge. These were generally referred to as 'the Gatwicks'. They were in use from 2001 until June 2009.

Rail Transport in Ireland Operation

Ireland Major Operators: Iarnród Éireann & NIR
Ireland Ridership: 50 million (Republic of Ireland, 2019)
15 million (Northern Ireland, 2017)
Ireland System Length:
Ireland Total: 2,733 km (1,698 mi)
Ireland Electrified: 53 km (33 mi)
Ireland Freight Only: 362 km (225 mi)
Ireland Track Gauge:
Ireland Main: 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
Ireland Electrification:
1500 V DC   DART in Dublin
Ireland No. Stations: 147