I took my first journey on the new railcars yesterday (the 20th). I took a short round trip from Longford to Boyle, in Co. Roscommon.
Very impressive I must say - they really are Intercity railcars.
On a scale of 1/10, with the 29ks being 0, a broken down boxcar being 1 and the German ICE being 10, I'd give these coaches a 9.
Noise and ride quality were both generally comparable to an Mk2d set. Major pluses there. Decor, much as I remember it, also very nice. No trouble getting my favourite seats either as there was a 2 car loading spread out over a 6 car set
both ways
To say that these railcars beat the nuts off a 29k under every imaginable metric would be the understatement of the decade.
TBH I didn't even notice all the colours that had been changed, with the exception of the doors, and the door control buttons which have been reset to match those of the rest of the fleet/rest of Europe.
My only complaints would be these:
1: They make a powerful racket when accelerating.
2: The suspension is a bit of a mixed bag.
This may well belong in the members section, but here goes.
When I went to the show in Sligo back whenever it was, I saw that the suspension was a combination of old school springs and some posh hydraulics or air suspension setup on top of that.
Experience has shown me that when it comes to suspensions on trains destined for Sligo and perhaps anywhere in Ireland, that the simpler and more old school the suspension, the better. The 2800s and Mk2ds (both good) vs the 29ks (crap) prove that you can get a better ride by not complicating things.
The conclusions I took from that were that these trains ride would be generally solid as the whole bodyshell rested on springs, but that the hydraulic thingy on top of it would have to be watched carefully.
My journey today more or less confirmed that, as the ride was generally good but there were times when the coaches swayed for no good reason except perhaps the curves. Now, it's nowhere near as bad as a 29k, thank f***, but it still could have been done without. Methinks they can make the ride better by tightening the suspension and further limiting the role of those hydraulic thingies.
But I'm not bashing the 22ks for this because even the Mk2ds I love so much would have had some issues with curves as well - try walking through a carraige at full speed anywhere in Co. Meath for example.