‘Q’ 131 AWAITS CLEARANCE TO RUN SOUTH OF THE BORDER
Wait continues for RPSI 4-4-0 to use Belfast-Dublin main line as commission work continues.
Two years on from the return to traffic of the RPSI’s ‘Q’ class No. 131, the 1901-built 4-4-0 is still awaiting clearance to operate south of the border.
While the locomotive has been accepted by Translink NI Railways for operation in Northern Ireland – hauling passenger services regularly since Easter 2018 – the metals of Irish Rail are still out of bounds. There is still no sign that approval is in the offing for the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) ‘Q’ class to make its return to Dublin, where it was based until being withdrawn in 1963.
Caitríona Keenahan, head of Governance and Regulation at the Commission for Railway Regulation in Dublin, told Steam Railway that its work in connection with No. 131 was “still ongoing”.
She added: “This locomotive, which is not new rolling stock, has had a substantial overhaul and we are checking the RPSI’s management of maintenance and change in accordance with its Safety Management System.
“To that end, we have engaged a suitably qualified heritage rolling stock expert to provide us with support. In terms of granting access to the Iarnród Éireann network, the Network Statement requirements must be met.”
So far, No. 131 has ventured as far as Portadown and Coleraine but has still not been able to travel the length of the line for which it was built – the Belfast-Dublin main line. The RPSI declined to make any official comment but it is known that the society is disappointed by the slow progress.
Meanwhile, the CRR has renewed for five years the RPSI’s licence to operate as a railway undertaking in the Republic. Joe McKeown, the Dublin Area operations manager, said: “This gives the society continued status until 2024 as a railway undertaking under Irish and EU law, meaning we can plan for the future with confidence.”