IARNRÓD ÉIREANN / IRISH RAIL
■ RAILTOURS: The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) ‘Marble City’ railtour on August 21 was booked to be worked by a steam locomotive, but none were available. IR GM No. 087 worked the tour train of six Cravens coaches and BR van No. 3173 from Dublin Connolly to Kilkenny. A planned loco change was then carried out.
No. 074, which had run light from Waterford to Kilkenny, replaced No. 087 for the return trip to Connolly. No. 087 ran light to Waterford. Also on the 21st, the Branch Line Society (BLS) ‘Emerald Isle Explorer’ railtour featured three-car ICR DMU No. 22x07. The tour started at Connolly, to where it returned, and locations visited included Dundalk, Killucan loop, Mullingar, Dromod, Grand Canal Dock, Heuston and Adamstown bay platform.
■ TRAFFIC AND TRACTION: Belmondliveried GM No. 216 was in charge of a Belview to Portlaoise PW yard train of new imported rail on August 20. Locomotives noted on IWT container trains between Dublin Port and Ballina during the period under review included Nos. 074, 086, 087, 217, 219 and 226. No. 074 replaced No. 219 on a Ballinabound IWT service on August 27, after No. 219 had been failed at North Wall. Locomotives used on Ballina/Westport to Waterford timber traffic included Nos. 074, 079, 087 and 088.
Those used on XPO container trains between Ballina and Belview included Nos. 075, 079, 086 and 087. The load on the Belview to Ballina XPO train on September 26, worked by No. 087, was six tanks and nine boxes. This represented a marked improvement in the number of containers being conveyed compared with recent XPO workings, which have been lightly loaded. Locomotives employed on Tara Mines bulk ore traffic between Navan and Dublin Alexandra Road included
Nos. 071, 077, 081, 085 and 086.
Garth Brooks concerts at Croke Park, Dublin, on September 9/10/11/16/17 (total attendance 400,000) saw numerous extras operated to facilitate concertgoers. They included a 00.40 Heuston-Cork, with a connection for Limerick at Limerick Junction, a 23.10 Drumcondra-Longford on selected dates, plus extra DART, Maynooth, Dundalk/Drogheda services as required.
An operational ‘BR’ van was required to work on the Sperry train on a planned tour of the system. An exchange was carried out at Inchicore on September 12, when GM No. 083 hauled No. 3187 from Portlaoise PW yard, to where the loco returned with the RPSI’s No 3173. Three flat wagons were included in each consist for brake force purposes.
No. 3173 and the Sperry container wagon, plus a wagon containing a spoil container and a tank, were tested and equipment calibrated at the PW yard on the 14th. Two days later, No. 083 was noted working the Sperry train in the Mallow area, but planned visits to the Cobh and Midleton lines were cancelled.
No. 083 returned the train to Portlaoise PW yard from Mallow on the 17th.
No. 081 hauled the Sperry train from Dublin North Wall to Dundalk on the 26th.
■ CORK: As part of a scheme to increase commuter rail travel in the greater
Cork area, Irish Rail plans to increase the number of platforms at Cork (Kent) station to facilitate through services. Included in the plans is the construction of a 220-metre-long extension of platform 5 to form a new platform 6 which, when completed, will see two extra platform faces. A new canopy will also be provided. The project will, however, require the removal of the large signal cabin situated on the up side at the Cobh/Midleton end of the station.
Also, in connection with improving flexibility and capacity on the Glounthaune (Cobh Junction) to Midleton line, Irish Rail proposes to dual the single-track line which has a loop in the Carrigtwohill station area and a short section of double line immediately after the junction with the Cobh line.
■ DART: A new DART maintenance depot is planned to be built in the Kilcock area of the Dublin-Sligo line, with construction due to start in 2024. The project is part of the DART + West scheme. According to official sources, there were 36 occasions during the three month period June-August when a DART service was terminated en route because the EMU was failed. Connolly was usually where each service was terminated.
On September 17 it was reported that Irish Rail was considering retaining the fleet of 8100/8300 Class two-car EMUs beyond their normal life span.
The original fleet of 40 units was built by Linke Hofmann Busch (now Alstom) in Germany in 1983 and 38 received a mid-life refurbishment between 2006 and 2008, which was carried out by Siemens and Irish Rail.
■ INCIDENTS: Bridge strikes that were reported systemwide during the period June to August amounted to 13, with the Grand Canal Dock and Portlaoise areas particularly prone to disruption of the rail service.
Damage by road vehicles to level crossings systemwide was reported on five occasions – an improvement, as 54 incidents had been noted in the period January to June 2022, an increase of 74% on the same period in 2021.
■ INFRASTRUCTURE: On September 1, Irish Rail announced that a sevenyear plan to safeguard the Dublin to Rosslare Europort line would cost €230 million. This would include protective measures in respect of coastal erosion in the exposed Greystones to Wicklow section.
The final phase of track renewal on the Nenagh branch (Killonan Junction to Ballybrophy) began in the Birdhill to Nenagh section on September 26. Bus substitution between Limerick and Ballybrophy was to be used on selected days, with the work planned to be completed by November 20.