New 22K trains
 

Just spotted brand spanking new 3x3 car sets at Heuston this morning in the sidings with temp numbers on them. Any idea when these will be tested and rolled out for general use? Will this mean another revised timetable or will they just solve all the 3 car overcrowding which is all over the place?

Just means longer trains.

It will be some months before they are fully tested

The number is actually the short version of the official european/uic number/evn

So you end up with some guff like this 55 60 89 89605-5 which was formerly just 7605

A little of topic but where have IE moved the 3 sets of Mark3 from Heuston. They gone with a while. 2200 are generally down beside plt 10 where they used to be. Have they sold them?

From the Irish Rail Facebook page:

No, they were just moved to North Wall to make room.

But none of the 51 new units are fitted for cross border service and none have first class. Only 6 3 car sets are fitted for NIR use, none have first

Translink turned down the 4 million cost of 50% of the Mk3 fleet option, so very much doubt cross border will happen. The problem is the ongoing cost which neither side are willing to bear. Irish Rail talk a lot with Translink, Translink listen a lot but rarely say anything.

Rosslare will get extra services, extra capacity on Galway/Westport/Waterford and long distance commuter will be ICR as well

Will they take the commuter carriages off the Wexford service.

Dun Laoghaire-Wexford seemed an awful long way on a commuter railcar.

Are we saying all incremental services must have 1st? I wouldn't. Keep the existing DD rotations, add four sets from 22001-06 as 2 consists of all econ extras.

However, I would not commit that without NI committing to stamping on the security messing and bringing forward spending on the track currently deferred.

The only difference between first class and standard class on 2200 is the tables and chairs are different colour and there is a shop at the end of the car. Take away the shop and the carriages are the same.

Exactly, from what I've seen of the "Premier" seats when those sets come on the Sligo line, the service is a joke, it's clearly "Premier" in name only.

Incidentally, I saw a 22k set going down the Midland line heading for the M3 Parkway, while when I had to take the Sligo train to Longford on Sunday it was a 29k ...

Quite a lot of Sligo services are still operated by 29k. The 0905 down train is always a 29k and when I have had occasion to take the 1505 down a couple of times recently, it was a 29k as well.

Yet on a regular basis, the 0545 up train crosses with a 22k heading for Clonsilla around Broombridge. The 29K is perfectly adequate for a trip as far as Mullingar and reasonable for Longford, but it is a bit out of order to be using them for Sligo.

Irish Rail's recent attitude to facilities on trains has always struck me as a bit odd. They removed first class from Sligo somewhere between 10 and 15 years ago and I can understand why because almost nobody paid for it and if you did pay for it you had to find a staff member to shift some smelly student out of your seat (the smelly student usually being me at the time). In fairness, the standard of accommodation on the 22k is good enough that first class would only really be for snob value. It isn't necessary for any practical purpose.

But the bar car used to do a roaring trade on the old trains and the omission of some sort of shop from a 3 hour journey is a bit odd. I guess Irish Rail worked out that they can make more money from the combination of a trolley and another 20 seats than they can from the shop - particularly when the catering is outsourced. It just seems to me that the ability to purchase some sort of a hot meal - even if it were just a toastie - would give people more reason to travel by rail at a time when road journey times are as good if not better.

That ICR set is meant to be on the 5:55 Gorey Dublin service but due a rostering change due engineering works it finds itself in the wrong place. Some of the first of the new ICR's are destined for Sligo and Rosslare

The ICR catering offering is not great but equally demand is not great either the current trolley offering does offer full bar service as well which previously was not the case. Even on trains with full catering take up is low.

For the record I have been served hot food on a Sligo standard class 3 coach ICR, so it is possible.

And the price of hot food goes down on the train tomorrow :) two weeks late but any reduction is welcome

Irish Rail need to seriously improve their longer distance commuter offering on the northern line. Improving Enterprise frequency and fast commuter services would be a very positive move in the right direction. Given the avalanche of new ICRs (and some spare capacity on the NIR side), I would be surprised if some progress is not made in this direction. ICRs would supplement, not replace De-Dietrich stock.

Reference in other posts to the condition of NIR track is a little misplaced given the litany of track/bridge related speed restrictions currently in place on Irish Rail - Connolly/East Wall, Clongriffin, Malahide, Laytown, Drogheda and Dundalk.

The majority of delays are on the NIR side and have been for some time

And as Translink admit
This is due mainly as a result of speed restrictions over long sections in Northern Ireland which were not relaid during the upgrade program

There are several bad sections on both sides of Lisburn

The only "long section" of line subject to speed restriction in Northern Ireland is the 7 mile stretch between Moira and Lisburn which is currently restricted to 60 mph. In my experience by far the greatest source of delay to cross border services arises from poor scheduling and poor traffic management, most of it south of Drogheda. For example it is absolutely routine for out of course DART trains to wander onto the Belfast line just north of Connolly immediately ahead of an Enterprise departure. The same practice is routine southbound at Howth Junction and Malahide. This nonsense alone can result in a delay of 10 to 15 minutes.

The most disruptive speed restriction of late was the 10 mph at Laytown due to the seriously sub-standard condition of Bridge No 72 over the River Nanny. The delays associated with this restriction were the reason for the NIR advisory you quote. As I said in my previous post the line south of Drogheda is riddled with speed restrictions although there has been some improvement in recent months.

Your seat if further away from the table as well:rolleyes:

Thats a fair point and I dont understand why they use 22ks on m3 line services but if you saw the m3 train using the midland line it had to be during the week and during the week all sligo trains are 22k operated aren't they?

During the week not all Sligo line services are 22k. The 0905 from Connolly is always a 29k and the last two times I took the 1600 down, it was a 29k.

Presumably the reason a 22 set is used on some M3 services is that they are needed elsewhere before a set can go out to Sligo and back.

Yes, to give the impression of 'more space' at the seats ...

like I said, a joke.

first class on the 22k are a joke. what i would call first call would be the enterprise service even its standard class is comfortable,has that dark lightening effect rather than the bright display on the 22k trains.
IE should upgrade their 22k 1st sets to a more higher standard.

Either that or abandon the 1st class label and just make the seats available to everyone under all circumstances. (i.e. not just the trains that have the sets but are not timetabled for first class).

The few times I've been on Sligo trains (no first class timetabled) that had them, I would only ever take the "1st class" seats for one reason - noone else had bothered with them.

FWIW I think a proper 1st class carriage would have 2+1 seating with super-wide individual seats, this at an absolute minimum. At seat catering and free wifi would not go astray either, ideally.

How often do IE carry out maintence/service the 2200 trains. Would of thaught at least once a week, does anybody know.

Basic exam should be every 48 hours, but thats basic check of all main systems and top up for fluids

It can be done in siding if needs be, but if its not done, train is not allowed to move.

There is a cycle of maintenance. Certain things will be checked after X time and/or Y distance. Different things will be checked after every 3X or 3Y, 10X or 10Y and so on for higher order issues. Then there will be more serious depot level inspections in a monthly / quarterly / annual / 5-annual cycle. Incidents or particularly harsh operating conditions may see those time periods speeded up, e.g. the cold weather the last two years say toilet systems freezing. It would have been prudent to check those systems more regularly during and after that weather.0

I imagine drivers are meant to check certain basic things everytime the loco / train is started.

I imagine sets will get a walk through once a day, with fueling and possibly lubricant added, but they can generally survive a few days before gettting back to base before issues start happening.

Sunday 11 Sep - 18.05 Waterford - Heuston
Monday 12 Sep - 18.35 Heuston - Waterford
Wednesday 14 Sep - 6.00 Waterford - Heuston
Sunday 18 Sep - 18.05 Waterford - Heuston
Friday 23 Sep - 16.35 Heuston - Waterford
All were same done by the same train - 6 car first class set.

Engine in carriage F not working on above services, no air con/heat, power sockets, Wheelchair toilet out of order (door doesn't close all the way). People asked for air con to be put on but were told the train had slight mechanical problems. That was on Sun 11.

Would of though they would have had it fixed by now.

On Friday the train tried to move in Nass, Athy and Muine Beag and it couldn't move for a while, were told on arrival in Waterford that the delay was due to mechanical problems.

So that around 3 weeks and none of the problems have being addressed, should something of being done by now or not.

Do you know what set it was?

22037 (the one that derailed in Laois Train Depot) is out on test, no doubt as soon as it makes an appearance in service some items on the other 1st sets might be magically put on the to-fix list :D

There are 9 serviceable 6 coach with first sets, 5 others without first

Those issues are not sufficient to withdraw a set from service, 6 coach sets are allowed to travel with an engine out and there is little rush to fix

Now if its confirmed as being the same train there is no way it should be allowed to stay in service that long carrying all those issues

Not that set, It operated the 16.30 to Galway on Firday. Any reason why its still on test, its always being grand when I have being on it.

Have the number wrote down somewhere but its either 22035 ot 22036.

I don't think 22037 is back in traffic yet. It's still being tested. It would have been grand before it was derailed! Obviously it has to be put through said testing for various reasons

Set 37 is still on test, it needs to make a few round trips to Cork as part of the shakedown trials as a result of being in several pieces due to the accident and also to bed in the various modifications made.

It was number 35 but no need to worry about it now. Operated 19.05 Heuston - Tralee and failed at Cherryville last night. They got it pulled back to Kildare to clear the line and it was still there at Kildare at 20.10.

I very much doubt that as it managed to get to Mallow and beyond at that point 30 minutes late, so either there is something else going on or Irish Rail executed a tow and recover and passenger swap in the time it normally takes them to realise they need to do that

The 19:25 to Limerick ran on-time and did not overtake the 19:05 to Tralee

We were in Kildare just after 20.00. The tralee train was on the down platform with the driver in the cab facing for Dublin. Passengers were on the train at that point. The Limerick train passed use about 5 mins after we left. Nothing on IR twitter page about it.

There was two people walking around looking at the engines to.

Our driver said sorry about the delay, was due to Tralee train failing.

If all enignes on a 6 car 2200 shut down while passengers onboard do IE have a back up system for lights etc. Yesterday on the 18.05 Waterford - Heuston train completely shut down 3 times. 2 in Kilkenny and one in the middle of no where and its was pitch dark. This is the second week in a row it has happoned.

New Rolling Stock
 

Where is the new rolling stock that was due this year?

Arrived already, currently on test

Why can't they designate some of these for the Limerick Junction-Limerick line and either scrap/burn/sell/crush/bury/give-away them torturous 2700's :D

new trains
 

are these just the 22k intercity or are we talking new commuter trains? seems to be more and more 22k inter city cars doing commuter routes...