[PR] DART Battery Train Tender Issued

[Jamie2k9]

Originally Posted by Mark Gleeson

The spec which isn't publicly available

Mix of fixed 4 and 8 coach sets of 20-21m coaches
1 toilet per 4 coaches
Battery is expected to weigh in at 3.5-4 tons per coach, life span of 10-15 years for battery
100kph on battery, 140kph+ on overhead
Range of 50km on battery
Immediate need for 500, provision for 100 more in agreement
Maynooth line is first in the queue for the trains


New depot most likely to go in near Maynooth, this will in time replace Fairview

I hope RUI will suggest selective door opening should be a spec requirement. It may not end up been widely used however given the ICR spec and subsequent attempts to fit it failing it should be standard.

[ACustomer]

Earlier I referred to the UK electrification fiasco. There is a really good article in Rail Engineer ("Getting Electrification Right") which should be compulsory reading for anyone looking at the future of rail development in Irland: See https://www.railengineer.co.uk/2018/...ication-right/

Earlier I also said go to the Continent rather than the UK for advice. Correction I should have said anywhere but England. From the Rail Engineer article it would seem that the Scots have done things properly, with huge cost savings.

[Mark Gleeson]

Originally Posted by Jamie2k9

I hope RUI will suggest selective door opening should be a spec requirement. It may not end up been widely used however given the ICR spec and subsequent attempts to fit it failing it should be standard.

There will be no selective door opening, it is not needed

[James Shields]

The feature I would like to see in the spec is automatic wheelchair ramps. I think it's unacceptable that wheelchair users have to phone ahead to arrange to use local transport (and even when they do, there's a good chance the ramp won't appear).

There must be a system that can deploy a ramp at the push of a button?

[Mark Gleeson]

This is something being sought

Probably at the first door and the very last door on the train, be a ramp which bridges the gap between the train and the platform edge,

[James Shields]

I'm guessing that if there isn't a diesel engine under the floor, the floor can be closer to the platform level, so the wheelchair ramp can be less substantial.

Another factor that is important for wheelchair users to use the train without assistance - the location of the wheelchair ramps needs to be predictable (and preferably a wheelchair symbol painted in the right place on the platform). If the wheelchair doors are always the first and last doors, then there's no chance of them getting caught out if the train ends up the wrong way around (though if they don't have the range to get to Wexford, I'm not sure if that can happen).

However, if there's one toilet per 4-cars, will it be within reach of the wheelchair ramp doors?

Eventually, all trains should be accessible without assistance, but until they are there needs to be some way users can identify which services are from the timetable and website.

[Mark Gleeson]

The first coach of each 4 coach set and either the first and 5 or last of a fixed 8 piece will have a toilet.

We cannot show the mock up drawings we have seen in public due copyright, but accessibility regs require the wheelchair space to be in the same coach as the wheelchair toilet and thats what the mock up shows

The trains will always be the same way around (at least until DART underground is built)

Intercity trains are currently undergoing a refurb where the wheelchair accessible coach now gets different coloured external doors

[James Shields]

Has there been any suggestion of open gangways between coaches? I came across them in Helsinki, and they make for a fair bit of extra space when the train is busy, as well as making coaches feel a little less isolated when it's quiet.