[Derek Wheeler]

From the boys in Connolly.

First Trains of 183-Carriage InterCity Order Arrive by Corporate Communications



FIRST TRAINS OF €400 MILLION 183-CARRIAGE INTERCITY ORDER ARRIVE

New Intercity trains for every route on network

LARGEST EVER ORDER OF TRAINS FOR IRELAND

Greenest diesel fleet in Europe

Commuter routes also benefit from new trains

The first 12 carriages of a record 183-carriage order of new Intercity railcar trains for Iarnród Éireann have arrived at Dublin Port today.

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen TD and CIÉ Chairman Dr John Lynch were amongst the first to see the new €400 million fleet of trains, as they arrived from Rotem’s factory in Changwon, Korea.

Together with a previous order of 67 carriages now operating hourly services on the Cork-Dublin route, the new fleet will transform Ireland’s Intercity rail fleet from the oldest in the European Union to the newest by the end of next year. The Intercity railcar order is funded by the Irish Government under the Transport 21 investment programme.


Following a period of testing and commissioning, they will begin the process of transforming fleet across the network from this autumn, when they will begin entering service on the Sligo-Dublin route. The entire fleet will be delivered and phased into service through 2007 and 2008.

Quality, comfort and frequency are set to improve on every single route on the radial Intercity network, courtesy of the 183-carriage fleet, namely:

- Sligo/Dublin - Rosslare/Dublin

- Waterford/Dublin - Westport/Dublin

- Tralee/Dublin - Tralee/Cork

- Galway/Dublin - Limerick/Dublin

The 183 carriage Intercity railcar order will lead to frequency improvements across the rest of the network as follows, when all trains are in service in late 2008:

ROUTE
FREQUENCY

Dublin – Cork
Hourly all day (in operation Jan 07))

Dublin – Limerick
Hourly peak, every two hours off-peak – mix of direct and shuttle services to/ from Cork service

Dublin – Galway
Hourly peak, every two hours off-peak

Dublin – Waterford
Every two hours all day

Dublin – Sligo
Every two hours all day

Dublin – Westport
5 services per day - mix of direct trains and shuttle services Athlone-Westport, connecting to Galway service

Dublin – Tralee
Mix of through services and shuttle service Mallow-Tralee connecting to / from Cork service giving an overall 2 hourly service. (in operation Jan 07)

Dublin-Rosslare
Additional services to Arklow/Gorey/Wexford

Branch lines
Additional services



Commuter services will also benefit

In addition, the arrival of the trains will provide a boost to capacity for the wider Commuter area.

They will provide additional capacity and comfort for longer-distance commuter services from Carlow, Athlone and Portlaoise, and they will also allow existing modern carriages in use on the Sligo and Rosslare lines to be redeployed on routes such as the Drogheda and Maynooth commuter lines, where demand is growing at record levels.

The fleet was ordered from Mitsui of Japan, in partnership with Rotem of the Republic of Korea and Tokyu Car Corporation of Japan.


Features of new fleet

Benefits to customers will include:

- Significantly higher frequency and capacity on all InterCity routes

- Modern on-board comfort standards

- The replacement of outdated fleet across the network

- Improved accessibility for mobility-impaired customers

- Better reliability and performance, with integral engines in each carriage


Features of the Intercity railcar fleet will include:

- Automatic PA and information display systems

- Fully air-conditioned

- Internal CCTV system for improved security

- Modern catering facilities

- Individual base seating

- Sleek carriage design

- Advanced safety features throughout

In a new departure for Iarnród Éireann’s Intercity fleet, the new trains are railcars, with integral engines in each carriage – this delivers greater reliability and performance, as well as operational flexibility. Trains are in 3-car and 6-car sets, with seating for 192 customers and 378 customers respectively.

Eco-friendly fleet

It has also been revealed that the new Intercity railcar fleet will be the greenest diesel train fleet in Europe.

The European Union are set to impose stringent new emission standards for rail vehicles, which are already the most environmentally sustainable form of travel.


Iarnród Éireann’s new fleet already meets the Stage 3B EU emission limits for nitrous oxides (2.0g/kWh), a limit which will not be enforced until 2012. They also meet the Stage 3A limit for soot particles, of 0.2g/kWh, which will be enforced from 2009. The new green engine technology has been developed by MTU of Friedrichshafen, Germany,

Iarnród Éireann’s fleet transformation comes at a time of record demand for rail services, with 43.1 million journeys made on the country’s rail network last year.

The figures confirm Iarnród Éireann’s status as the fastest growing railway in the European Union. The Cork-Dublin route has already benefited from a previous fleet order, with hourly services now operating on the route each way. These improvements, along with this brand new fleet order, and initatives such as the opening of Docklands and Adamstown Stations in the coming weeks, are set to see the record growth in passenger demand continue.

CIÉ Chairman Dr John Lynch said of the new trains “with this record order of new trains for our network, every single rail customer with Iarnród Éireann will be able to travel on modern, quality trains, designed with the latest customer needs in mind. The transformation of our rail service is extraordinary – we have totally rebuilt our network, we have dramatically expanded commuter capacity, and now we are completing the task of a total renewal of our Intercity fleet.

With record demand, and the best performance levels ever achieved on our network, we will continue to grow with the investment support from the Irish Government under Transport 21, to allow our rail services play the strongest possible role in meeting the transport needs of our customers and our communities.”

Long, isn't it?

Anyway, a P11 member hiding in a ditch, spotted a DB double decker (on charter) carrying all the honchos from IE hq down to the scene of the crime against gricers. Shortly afterwards as he left, he spotted a black merc pulling up. His automatic assumption was that the Minister had arrived on the scene. (couldn't possibly have him on an oul bus now could we?) But alas, it appears that once you reach the chair of CIE, a bus is not worthy of you either. Senor Lynch, YES, the chairman of CIE (who? what?) who stayed silent all those years and now never misses an opportunity to smile, say cheese and talk ****** apparently emanated from the said black merc.