Maybe it's time to take the posters down. They could take down the seat reservation posters while they're at it.

Word was floating around that there might have been an attempt to get the magic interim certificate over the weekend.

Mark, What is this?

Every train type must have a safety certificate before it can carry passenger much like the way aircraft are certified

Irish Rail currently hold a test cert, they need to get the interim certificate to get limited service running

If there is a problem with the train IE don't get a cert and it is there problem along with the builders to get the issues sorted

have 2 test these new trains out, hopefully they will be good and that intercity feeling

From the Indo - page 17 (tabloid)
 

Apparently they go public on Wednesday 19 December 2007. 1105 departure Connolly - Sligo. :)

IÉ spending €400m for rolling stocking on that line alone. :rolleyes:

Intercity Railcars Will Enter Service 19/12/2007
 

Happy to now confirm IE have officially signed over the first two intercity railcars into service

They now carry numbers on the front which is the typical indication of IE taking ownership

Should be platform 3 11:05 today

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/...ew&news_id=314

Some would say that Autumn came late for customers.

I am going to say something controversial but for all the criticism for not being suited for long-haul journeys the 29ks did do a good job performance-wise on the Sligo line. It will be good to see them return though to where they belong and are needed.... Commuter services! :)

Hopefully the 22k will match them on reliability!

some points to note:

Autumn ended late.

The 11.05 which is running at the moment is a six car set. This is mrely a show for the press, it is well known that once the top brass have all gone home it will be a three car. Not quite planting trees whilst Mary Harney opens a centre and then pulling them up afterwards but its the same thing.

As the Sligo passengers will know to their cost new dosnt equate to suitable. There is no good reason why vast amounts of Mark3 carriges, which dont forget are newer than the LHB Darts currently being refurbished, are being consigned to the scrapheap.

The 8% increase in seats will be swamped by the 10% year on year increase IE are expecting.

Yes, and we know that they werent suited - a fact we told you here before they were intoduced and whihc IE only admitted this year.

Dont forget that the "Dublin Sligo line" includes services to Maynooth/Longford.......

For what it's worth, the new railcars look the business. Lets hope they dont become the Vomit Comet Mk2. That said, there is a fairly large contingent from the far east in Connolly today.

Fingers crossed, and all that.

live update
 

ride quality is very good.

pa and ac working well

at top speed (60mph at the moment) it is running nice and quiet.

the RSC have done a big job on it.

so far so positive.

Thomas I have to ask you this, What is the PA announcements like are they the same as the Cork or different? Are the seats comforable.

P.S - Will this train be operating on Monday as the 11:05?

They sound really nice, Will the Rosslare Line really be next I cant see that happening. I hope Irish Rail tell how much they spend on Rosslare upgrading as like the Sligo. Besides all this I welcome the new trains:D

sounds exactly the same and seats are comfy apparently.

yes, every 11.05 as far as we know and the return leg.

It'll be very much like the CDE, as soon as each interm cert if issued one will appear on the line. What we can tell you is that as todays train in made up of two sets it either means that they will alternate on the 11.05 for a while or that fairly soon we may see two departures a day.

Well, 21st January is when we should see the Sligo sets fully in service.

After that, as more sets get certified they could end up anywhere. Rosslare should get them, if only becuase both lines operate ex-connolly both lines were mark2 replaced by commuter railcars. There is a certain logic to it.

What could happen is that they do start turning up in Limerick and Mayo on light demand services. There are no real six-car sets herer yet, remember.

Its Next December for Rosslare to get the new trains. Maybe the new trains will come on some sevices during the year other than that its December'08. It requires a timetable change (Example) No more operating to Maynooth/Drogheda which would be a gift......:D

Re Post #6: Top speed 60mph? Why? lack of familiarisation with braking characteristics? I presume this is just for the first week or so.

why? what impact is trains going to/from maynooth/drogheda having on gorey/rosslare services? and who would benefit from having intercity trains sitting on platform 5 for ages again?

speed they were doing at that time. notch five, apparently..........

Why - You cant have Rosslare InterCity trains travelling to Maynooth/Drogheda, Its not there intended destination Connolly is.
I'm not saying "Having InterCity trains sitting on platform 5 for ages again", Just 20mins at the max. When its cold/raining you can sit on the train instead of standing hence why does it state Connolly as its terminating destination. it starts at Connolly therefore should be at the station within good time of its departure time. 20mins is all I'm saying........

20 mins is not much but how many peak hour DARTs/Commuters are you inconviniencing by sitting there for twenty minutes. Maybe Pearse is worth looking at?

Quick question for you ,How long have Rosslare Europort trains being running to or from Maynooth? [clue both as intercity trains and railcars]

My point is it doesn't matter where the destination is along as the rosslare side not inconvinienced

The evening rosslare bound train is rarely significantly delayed.

I don't understand the problem either. If termination is not possible for operational/rest/crew change reasons that's one thing but if not send them on and clear the platforms.

Guys, Maybe if you used the Rosslare service then you'll understand what I'm saying. Anyway this thread is for the 22000 end of......

Very quiet railcars.
 

I was in town today and I figured I'd get a video of them going through Longford on their return journey. At least that was the idea.

There I was on an overbridge, when I turned my back for about 10 seconds, next thing I heard a rattling over the points leading into the station loop ...

The 071s can be heard sometimes miles away, while the 29k noisebucket can normally be heard at least 5 seconds before you see it.

I gotta try these out over the next few days.

We where expecting you onboard Sean

It went well nothing really bad to report

Its nice and smooth a lot better than a 29k, didn't feel really like the speed daemon it was meant to be

PA volume was a little low and the heating could do with being turned up a notch or two

What really spoiled it was the general sloppiness we left Connolly and Sligo 2 minutes late, not big but shows a lack of care for a press trip

Was it as you've expected to be or better. Does the new train have that InterCity feeling to it as like the Mark III carriages?........

Its a fine comfortable train, I survived over 6 hours on it today, that is something I wouldn't say about a Mk3 or Mk4 after that length of travel

We also now know what the RSC caught IE out on and surprise surprise its something I noted while down in Waterford all those months ago

Sorry to disappoint, but given IEs record as of late I wasn't 100% expecting to happen :p

That perchance being the grey (and thus not sufficiently contrasted) grab rails? Surprised they didn't fix that before now.

http://www.railusers.ie/forum/showth...ight=Waterford

For those of us with shorter memories.

I'II take your word on it, Going as far as Longford on Monday or just to Maynooth just to experenice it for myself..The announcements are like the Cork Mark IV which is cool:cool: ..........

Indeed
Before
Attachment 672
Now
Attachment 673

There's very little to complain about with these trains. The seats are comfortable, the tables are a good size, and there's a decent amount of leg room between them. And they line up neatly with the windows. The interior is bright and airy, and well lit. There are interior doors seperating the passenger cabin from the extrior doors.

The toilets are compact, but well laid out, and everything in them works well. The catering service was a trolley service, and they were giving out free tea and coffee with mince pies.

There was a little noise in the carriage from the engine and air conditioning, but it was a fraction of that on a 29k. The suspension was pretty good, not too far off the Mk3 experience, and apart from the odd bump and one or two hairy bends the ride was smooth and comfortable.

As Mark said, the timekeeping was sloppy, but we still arived in Sligo a few minutes. It was probably politicians wanting their photo taken, but if they can't get the press train to leave on time, can we expect anything to?

After Mark's complaits in Waterford, the handrails and grab handles had changed from grey to orange, and the doors are now green. There were also safety notices, though these need to be in the carriage as well as at the doors.

They definitely feel like proper Intercity trains, and I think Sligo passengers should be well satisfied with them. given the 7% increase in passengers with the wrong stock, expect a big increase in numbers when these bad boys come online.

Hopefully they will be fully certified and running a full service in the next few weeks.

One more thing.

On the new schedule (which has an interim schedule through the ~20th of January) none of the trains listed have 1st class.

That means one of 3 things:

1: Sligo ain't getting any of the 6 coach trains
2: The 6 coach trains won't come into operation during 2008
3: Trains will run with full catering and 1st class seats as Standard (a.la. Westport) during the upcoming year. That would kick ass.

I think the green doors go well with the front of the train now. Sounds like IE made a very good move with these 22000 trains.
R.E James Shields
"About the 7% increase in passengers expect a big increase in numbers when these bad boys come online" - When these new 22000 trains are introduced on Rosslare maybe we to will have an increase in passenger numbers.

Sean, all the sets in the country so are are 3-car sets, so it will probably be some months before 1st class/dining car are even physically possible. Expect another few months to get them certified when they do arrive. Apparently at least one 6-car set is ear marked for the Sligo line, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's 2009 before it enters service.

Keith, the road journey to Sligo is still not great, and you have to contend with the Lucan N4/M50 madness at the Dublin end, so the train still has an advantage. That's why numbers are up despite the poor rolling stock.

On the Roslare line, the M11 has been getting better and better. Combine that with the poor train service, and it's not surprising people have been turning away from the train. Will the 22K be enough to attract them back? Tricky question. Perhaps the current upgrades with the new stock and more frequent services will make it more attractive, but it's going to be a harder battle for the train.

Looking at the good passenger crowds on the Gorey sorry Enniscorthy 17:25 & the 18:35 Rosslare, I think the line is doing okay despite the N11 down to Gorey/Enniscorthy/Wexford... As I've mentioned before on another thread the Rosslare Line has had the Commuter Railcars for the past 4 almost 5 years Trust me We've had enough of these trains... Now we have to wait for December of next year were not happy...

I think the 22000 trains will attract the customers on Rosslare if what this thread is saying given its good record so far on the 22000 trains. Although today was the first day but I'II say these trains will make it with good regards from the public.

Well I will continue using the Rosslare train service.It does need help doh....espically with the times and indeed more services from Wexford. Driving is quicker but petrol money,well petrol is'nt exactly going down so the train for me. Not the bus Good God no {haha}

Delighted to hear this. I will be going to Longford some time on Friday to visit so cant wait to use the 11:05 service. Its handy when I have 30mins when the Wexford train gets into Connollys platform5 at 10:36. I hope its everything I expect it to be as I'm sure it will.

I'm impressed by what's been reported on these new train sets and look forward to them (eventually!) making their way to the South-west. It seems a Citygold Mark 3 set has, in the last few weeks, replaced one of the tin-can sets on the Tralee to Mallow run (I had the absolute joy of it on the 15:15 ex-Tralee last Friday and the 13:15 two weeks previously). Curious as to where it's been pulled from, I wonder if this is related to the new trains coming on stream or purely coincidental??

Proper review is in order

1. Unusually a 6 coach set was used, normally the 11:05 is just a 4 coach 29k
2. Train departed Connolly over 3 minutes late and was 2 minutes late out of Sligo for no given reason, thats sloppy and for a public launch is not on
3. Again unusually 2 catering trolleys where used, one in each 3 coach set. Following a discussion with the Rail Gourmet manager onboard, there will be only 1 trolley per service
4. Not one single senior IE member of staff travelled on the train, no one from corporate communications, no chief exec, general manager, no head of CIE or minister
5. We got held outside Connolly for about 3 minutes due to a signaling failure on the way back

On board

No real surprise here, the train had been on public display several times. The interior is generally seats with full sized tables which lineup with windows. The tables are huge compared to the Mk3 and Mk4 coaches.

Ride comfort was very good and none of the usual swaying or vibration was felt apart from a trip through the bump stops outside Enfield which was a little shaky

You know there is an engine under the floor but its in the background and doesn't generate any noticeable vibration under power

The PIS/CIS system is setup like the Cork train with the Iarnród Éireann welcomes you on board this is the ..... As usual the punctuation is poor. The volume level was a little low. It forgot about 2 stops on the way back from Sligo.

Heating and air conditioning work but could do with being turned up a little.

Yes the bike cupboard exists we found it and the catering trolley has a home in the centre coach


Accessibility changes

The RSC do an accessibility audit and found problems, most of which we spotted

1. All the door open buttons are now green, they where yellow/orange and now carry a braille word on the top surround
2. All the door close buttons are now red, they where yellow/orange and now carry a braille word on the top surround
3. External doors are now in green they where grey
4. All handrails and grabs are now yellow they where grey