The Railway Magazine – July 2019

80 •The Railway Magazine• July 2019

FirstrefurbishedICrailcarset

brought into service by Irish Rail

ByTony Miles

THE first of Iarnród Éireann-Irish

Rail’s 22000 class InterCity Railcar

(ICR) DMUs returned to service on

April 24.

This follows an extensive interior

refurbishment aimed at improving

the customer experience, while

reducing maintenance and cleaning

costs.

The 234 vehicles were built by

Hyundai Rotem and delivered

between 2007 and 2011.They are

currently formed into 28 three-car,

25 four-car and 10 five-car sets,

and work on both InterCity and

Commuter services across the Irish

Rail network.

The refurbishment project involves

the replacement of 15,500 seat

covers along with new double and

single arm rests, replacement of

8,379m of catering and carriage area

lower panel material with a durable

hard plastic covering, and the fitting

of 7,750 USB power sockets, which

are being installed alongside AC

sockets.

Three-car unit No. 22046 is the first

of nine sets to be treated in the initial

phase of the programme, which is

expected to take until the autumn

of 2021 to complete. Of note is the

use of real leather to re-cover the

seats, with Iarnród Éireann having

been successful in locating a supplier

of a material that is fully compliant

with BS6853 CAT1B for fire safety:

Muirhead of Glasgow, Scotland.

Despite the initial higher cost

of the material the decision to

move to leather is expected to save

around €3.2million over 12 years,

compared with fabric coverings,

once additional cleaning costs and

the need for many fabric covers

to be replaced annually because

of damage has been taken into

account.

Externally, the doors for wheelchair

access and also for the cycle storage

area are being changed from dark

green to blue, with printed symbols

identifying which of the two they

lead to.

The work is being carried out in

house at IÉ’s ConnollyValeting Plant,

with the eight-strong refurbishment

team expecting to complete each

unit in two weeks.

Cavan & Leitrim steam

returns to Ballinamore

NARROW gauge steam returned

to the former Cavan & Leitrim

Railway (C&LR) station at

Ballinamore on June 2 when the

revived C&LR’s newly restored

Avonside 0-6-0TNancyattended

the BallinamoreVintage and

Family Festival.

The event was held on the

Ballinamore station site, which in

its heyday was the headquarters

of the original C&LR.

It was therefore fittingNancy

was displayed in front of the

former station building, the

first time a steam loco has been

present since 1959.

Avonside 0-6-0TNancysimmers within the former platform roads

at the old Cavan & Leitrim Railway headquarters at Ballinamore on

June 2.C&LR

Major project

to re-engine

‘201s’ cancelled

IARNRÓD Éireann-Irish Rail has

confirmed it will no longer be

proceeding with a planned major

project to re-power the Class 201

locomotives,writes Tony Miles.

The decision was made

following the receipt of bids which

were all non-compliant and, as the

company explained,“the quotes

that came in were almost the same

cost as a new locomotive”.

The project had asked bidders

to propose the use of two or more

smaller engines in order to reduce

fuel consumption where possible,

and was clearly considered to

be technically complex and

challenging by the companies

which submitted a price for the

contract.

IÉ is proposing instead to look

at an‘in-house’solution, which

will still involve the support of

suppliers.This is expected to see

the fitting of new engines and a

new control system which would

still deliver significant benefits.

As Class 201s are used on the

‘Enterprise’service between Dublin

and Belfast, the new project will

be carried out in conjunction with

Northern Ireland Railways.

IÉ opens up

tendering for

DART fleet

expansion

IARNRÓD Éireann and the

NationalTransport Authority

(NTA) has invited expressions

of interest from global rolling

stock manufacturers for up to

600 electric and battery-electric

carriages for the DART network.

The €2billion DART Expansion

will see the capacity of the

network increased, not only

through investment in new trains,

but also the electrification of

lines to Maynooth, M3 Parkway,

Hazelhatch and Drogheda.

Furthermore, the scheme

includes key infrastructure

upgrades to allow more trains to

operate in the Greater Dublin area.

The ambitious tender for up

to 600 carriages allows for the

planned fleet expansion, but

includes the replacement of the

original DART fleet, which will be

almost 45 years old at the end of

the current National Development

Plan in 2027.

While most of these will be

of the current overhead electric

type, the tender process is also

providing for a possible foray into

battery-electric hybrid trains.

“It was a privilege to be invited

by the South Leitrim &West Cavan

Vintage Club to Ballinamore, and

we had a very successful day,”

said Micheal Kennedy, of the

Dromod-based C&LR.

He added:“A lot of people saw

their very first steam engine that

day.”

Nancywill make further

visits across County Leitrim this

summer as part a series of events

commemorating the closure of

the C&LR on March 29, 1959.

It was expected to attend the

Tóstal Festival in Drumshanbo on

June 30.

DUBLIN Heustonstationcouldbe
redeveloped as a major transport
hub for the city, according to Córas
Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) chief Lorcan
O’Connor.
Speaking to theIrish Times,
Mr O’Connor outlined his vision
for the 173-year-old station and
the development of redundant
railway land as a mixed-use
development, including homes,
shops and offices.
He likened his ideas to the
redevelopment of London King’s
Cross, which has attracted major
businesses and revitalised that
part of the city.
From a transport perspective
Heuston would become the
western gateway to Dublin.The
station is already an interchange
for Irish Rail’s InterCity and
Commuter services and the
Luas tram network, and with
bus routes and cycle lanes also
converging, Mr O’Connor believes
a redeveloped facility could
help reduce the number of cars
clogging up Dublin’s roads.
He also said the development
could include the construction
of“an iconic building that is
significant in the overall context
of the city”, something to rival the
22-storey tower being built atTara
Street station across the city.
Mr O’Connor suggests there are
around 40 acres of land at Heuston
that could be redeveloped, half
of which are alongside the River
Liffey.
These would be the focus of
any initial work, but in time there
could be opportunities to develop
over the other 20 acres, including
building over the railway lines.

Heuston station

earmarked

for major

redevelopment

The new leather seat covers on board No. 22046.

Portrush station

completed early

WORK on Northern Ireland

Railways’new £5.6million

Portrush station has been

completed ahead of schedule,

well in advance of the 148th

Open golf championship,

which is being held at Royal

Portrush Golf Club in July.

The station is now

operationally active, with

all facilities available to

passengers.

An official opening

ceremony was due to take

place in June.

SIDELINES

Refurbished ICR No. 22046 waits to

form the 16.25 to Limerick Junction at

WaterfordonMay1.BOTH:TONY MILES

Irish News Track Record

COMPILED BY

GARY

BOYD-HOPE

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