Enterprise fleet refurbishment
 

Any comments?

Am I right that the existing carriages don't have wheelchair accessible toilets?

Current toilet is accessible but does not meet current regs

I know I'm not sticking to the topic, but do Translink not realise that the Enterprise serves other stations besides Dublin? Twice in their statement they seem to be ignoring this fact:

"The Enterprise service has long been considered a relaxing way to go to Dublin whether you’re travelling on business or for leisure".

"last year (2013 – 2014) almost 840,000 people choose to travel to Dublin on the Enterprise".

The on-board magazine would also give you the impression that this train does not serve anywhere between Dublin and Belfast. It often features articles on events and attractions in the two cities, but I've never seen anything in it about Drogheda, Dundalk, Newry, Portadown or Lisburn.

Is there really much point in forward facing CCTV when the 201 won't have it.

Will the Mark IV's be the only rolling stock without some form of external CCTV after this?

There seems to be a lot of "repainting" rather that refurbishing of certain aspects. Something which may cost more long term.

Whats a Train Management System?

Mk4 DVT has a camera

At the moment Enterprise is old fashioned, so to change the AC settings or check a toilet you have to check each coach control panel. Train management system would show you the status of all systems across the train in one place.

Mk4 and 22k have this as standard

In theory it would allow maintenance to monitor the train in the field and react to issues.

Carriage down
 

For several days this week the enterprise seems to be one carriage down.
When it reaches Drogheda it's full with people standing between carriages.
Does anyone know if this has to do with the refurbishment?
As a result many of the commuters have needed to get the 8:35.

Missing a first class coach, one of the new sets will likely be back soon enough

A first class coach is missing. That said this should have no impact on crowding as you can only stand in first if you have a first class ticket.

Expect to see a C3K train on the 06:50 ex Belfast from late May

What happened to doing it one by one?

They have one full set out and around 5 coaches from a spare set, surly they can't have them all completed already?

6 x C3k on 0650, 1235 and 1805 from Belfast and 0935, 1520 and 2050 from Dublin commencing May 25th.

1900 will operate to an accelerated schedule from 1st of June arriving in Belfast from June 1st. From the same date the 2135 from Belfast is being advanced to 2115, will no longer serve Lisburn and is due to arrive in Dublin at 2312.

Inniskeen (and others):. I can see that Translink are showing restrictions or non-availability of First class accommodation in June. However Irish Rail's travel plannre is showing unchanged schedules and First class on all trains. So is this the usual Irish Rail dopey website performance?

Also why is there such a large disruption to what is the only reliable First class service left? Do they want it to go the way of the Cork line? I would have thought that a properly planned refurbishment would have provided a less disruptive and more even progression of the work.

I don't think the removal of the first class coach is a major issue but suspect that it may be down to increasing number commuting from Dundalk/Drogheda.

As for the website, the majority of passengers affected by CK3 change will be NI based bookings so either so either they have not informed IE yet or IE hasn't updated the information.

it looks like two Enterprise sets will be unavailable from June so the service will consist of one Belfast based Enterprise set; an IE 22000 with First (its actually ok) and an NIR C3 set with a trolley. We need more information as the service now lacks consistency. How long, for example? If another Enterprise set is unavailable why not roster another 22000 set even if it has to overnight in Belfast? I think NIR and IE need to give passengers a better explanation of the necessity for the downgrade of a consistent Enterprise offering.

IE cannot roster another set because they simply do not have the capacity combined with the fact NI based crew would require training. The 6 coach C3 will match the DD stock capacity better than IEs 5 coach 22s 402 over 304 seats.

I really cannot understand why they will take 2 full sets out and their own spare set at the same time. Are they trying to speed up the refurbishment process.

One would assume that the set being removed from service will be the set which is down a coach and the full DD set will move from the 06.50 to the 08.00 roster.

Well they actually do given the underutilisation of the Mark IV fleet where at least two sets languish out of use!

Won't make difference now that 5 Mark IV are back in use. 3/4 coach sets work a few others which wouldn't be enough for Belfast service. 5 at a minimum is required and IE really can't afford to let 2 (3 coach sets) go. Then Fridays/Saturdays/Sundays would be completely ruled out. Then there is the training, by the time it would be completed the first DD set will be back.

I believe that the refurbishment programme is running behind schedule.

To qualify for the EU grant, the project has to be completed by a certain date. What that date is I am not sure, but it's later this year.

In order to meet that date, the programme has to be accelerated and as a result more coaches than originally planned will have to be removed from service at the one time.

There is no way that IE 22k sets are going to be left overnight in Belfast.

NIR crews are not trained up on them, and it simply isn't practical to train them in the timeframe involved, so they have to return with their crew to Dublin, and also there are no spare sets.

By 31 December 2015 will mean they had 18 months approval by the EU yet it was at least 4 months before the first full DD was withdrawn...

While I agree it is unlikely that ICRs will overnight in Belfast in the short term, it is hard to believe that NIR drivers would face too steep a learning curve to become competent in the units. The current situation in relation to driver competence creates inflexibilities which have the potential to cause major operational difficulties should a driver be unable to continue driving mid-trip for one reason or another.

Clearly there were issues - what they were I don't know.

But I'm not really sure what your point is - problems can crop up with any project in any organisation - I would doubt Translink were just sitting around for four months doing nothing.

The problems are very similar to the DART refurbishment project, bad management and control. I doubt York Road has the space to take another set of coaches. As early as January the program was already a month behind.

The contract for the carpets was only signed in March, there were 15 odd contract lots and I know the names of only 5 companies awarded so odds are other bits are sitll in limbo

The first carriage entered the shed on November 12th, so 5 months to decide on carpet is a farce. There are also major compliance issues in terms of accessibility which could sink the whole project due people not reading up on the legal requirements.

There isn't really an issue with NIR staff driving an 22k, the train is compliant with UK reg. The train doesn't have guards panels and no provision for door release/close from the rear cab so it doesn't work with NIR's conductor operation with local door control, it could be done but in the 21st century it gets messed up with safety requirements and reviews for something IE have done for years. IE driving a C3K would be easier has its basically a pimped out 29k

http://www.irishrail.ie/news/enterpriseupgrade

I'm told that NI still don't an a date for when the first set will return to service, anyone in IE side know any more and what sort of progress have they made since May?

First Enterprise set was supposed to be put back into service on 28th Sept however I understand there is a delay with testing and while they hope to have it back in play on the 5th Oct it will most likely be the 12th Oct. It will be the 8am from Belfast - the other 2 sets will be well into next year, they are way behind schedule. Have a look at some of the pics of the refurbished Enterprise.

Edit... had issue uploading images, shared links instead.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x7d5qpukw6..._3605.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgzybguwts..._3606.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1di5qp7c8q..._3607.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/159cmd5fmn..._3608.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fbf2jg3lad..._3609.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xhfq22m95p..._3610.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7uydmvlrat..._3611.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v5akam8546..._3612.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eh1t4rj92g..._3613.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/027c529jat..._3614.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zgmv3xz0gf..._3615.PNG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7ysc788tly..._3616.PNG?dl=0

There were some photos posted on another site in the past 3 days showing two DD coaches at Connolly en route for Inchicore. So it seems that IE are having to help resolve what is a very bad performance by NIR.

I don't thing that Inchicore figured in the original plan. Maybe they should have!

Members section has more details as to the goings on

Inchicore did not feature in the plan, but was tabled 4 months ago to Translink

The dinning car is the unknown, as its getting seats fitted. Clearly the seats haven't arrived. The interior thankfully looks better than the photo mock ups we were shown nearly a year ago

Mark

There is one Dinning Car fitted with 22000 seating (purple of course). Its in same config as First (2:1) layout.

Planned or penny pinching??

Another thing I noticed is Open/Close door buttons are yellow, have not learned from when they decided orange on 22s. Will it be raised as its a stupid mistake to make again. Not even bothered to write open or closed on them either.

No table lamps in First also, suprised.

Lots of photos below:
https://chrisplayfair.smugmug.com/Tr...5372&k=8F8bb8d

some pics of the finished dining car

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7e18d7qss3..._3638.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xs10abhrv3..._3639.JPG?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/od8x8ke2ts..._3640.JPG?dl=0

The remaining enterprise set has gone out of service. Where NIR have found spare C3K sets for the displacement, I can only guess.

Good to see progress is finally being made. I was beginning to wonder if the sets would all go out of service, and mysteriously never be heard of again.

James

Been some significant service cuts in NI in a recent timetable change which helped. That said on some days its 3 cars only

NIR timetable changes are actually relatively modest and mainly affect off peak services, principally on the Larne line. Little impact on set requirements.

Any word on refurbished stock reentering service? I was on the 20:50 from Connolly last night, which was enterprise stock until a couple of weeks ago, but it's still NIR stock.

James

No word

As far as I know it hasn't crossed the border and it will require RSC sign off before carrying passengers.

There is a staff training issue also for the driver MMI and on train computer. That said its basically the same as used on the Mk4 sets

The three coaches sent to Inchicore are still there

Every week I hear next week..... But I am told to expect the 08:00 from Belfast next week to be the first new Enterprise. Believe it when I see it! I would say we are very close to the first set coming back, but the other 2 are about 20 billion years behind... well, way behind anyway, being told March next year earliest we will see one of the other two back in action.

Aren't there 4 sets?

Yes, there are four seven-piece sets (eight-piece including generator van, excluding loco) although until the collapse of Malahide viaduct, the fleet was typically formed into three sets of eight vehicles (excluding loco).

Current traffic levels frequently exceed the capacity available in the seven+generator formation although it appears there are no plans to restore capacity to pre Malahide collapse levels.

there is a pic of 206 and the refurbished test train on a closed facebook page at bradbury place, so i guess something is happening.

refurbished train was/is in connolly today. going down well it seems.

First visit to Dublin was today

Interior was not complete, still work needed in dining car.

Next Monday might be possible but who knows