Iarnród Éireann

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Iarnród Éireann^[1] (IÉ; in English Irish Rail), is the national railway system of the Republic of Ireland. Established on 1 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIE). It operates all internal intercity, suburban and commuter railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. See also rail transport in Ireland.

1 Organisation
2 Services
3 Network Catering
4 Footnote
5 References
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Organisation

At the time of its establishment IÉ referred to itself as Irish Rail, and introduced the four rails IR logo; however, the initials IR were often defaced as IRA on signage. In 1994, the company brought the Irish form of its name and related initials to the fore, and these remain the corporate branding today. The Irish word iarnród (alternately rendered "bóthar iarainn") translates into English as iron road, or railway. While the name "Irish Rail" was dropped from the logo, it remains part of the official company name ("Iarnrod Éireann - Irish Rail") and was revived as the name of the company's online booking service, irishrail.ie, in 2006.

IÉ services are divided across several separate operating areas.

[edit] Services

Advertising for IÉ Intercity in Galway, 2005

An IÉ commuter train at Tara Street Station, Dublin, 2006

IÉ's services are branded under three main names; InterCity, Commuter and DART. InterCity services are long-distance routes radial from Dublin. The Belfast–Dublin service, run in conjunction with Northern Ireland Railways, is branded separately as Enterprise. Diesel multiple unit (DMU) services out of major cities are branded Commuter. The DART brand is used for a north-south high-frequency electric multiple unit (EMU) service on the eastern side of Dublin. Formerly a separate timetable was published for each the two sectors (InterCity and DART /Commuter) annually, but in 2006 these were amalgamated into a single national timetable. Regional services (e.g. Limerick-Rosslare Europort) are sometimes regarded as Commuter services, with fairly new Commuter DMUs being used on the service, although they are listed as InterCity services in the timetable.

IÉ no. 215 at Grand Canal Dock DART station, 2001

Dublin is the hub of Ireland's railway system. The two main Intercity stations are Connolly and Heuston; Intercity services radiate to/from Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Galway, Waterford, Rosslare Europort, Sligo, Westport and Ballina.

The majority of commuter services are based in Dublin, which in 2006 has four commuter routes. These are: Northern (Dundalk), Western (Maynooth/Longford), South Western (Newbridge/Kildare/Portlaoise) and South Eastern (Arklow). Additional commuter services include the Cork Suburban Rail, which runs on two lines from Cork (to Mallow and Cóbh) and from Limerick (to Ennis and Limerick Junction). As the Commuter livery is used on all DMUs, a number of other services also run under the name. These include Mallow–Tralee, Manulla Junction–Ballina and Limerick–Rosslare Europort, as well as the Dublin–Sligo and Dublin–Rosslare "InterCity".

The north-south route along Dublin's eastern coastal side is also host to DART, Ireland's only electrified heavy rail service.

Quality of service varies from route to route. The Enterprise is well regarded, despite problems with punctuality. There have been ongoing problems with excess power drain on the locomotives, with one or two locomotives overheating and bursting into flames while in service. Breakdowns are a regular occurrence as a result. (This is part of an on-going problem with IÉ adopting full-time locomotive-driven head-end power, or HEP: traditionally, generator vans for electric supply had been used.) The Cork - Dublin route, also quite well regarded, was the "premier line" of the Great Southern and Western Railway, one of the biggest pre-CIE operators. Journey time and rolling stock are quite good on this route, with new Mark 4 rolling stock due to enter service on 2006-05-15, but this was delayed by a week by an unofficial strike by train drivers.

See also: Rail transport in Ireland

[edit] Network Catering

IÉ's Network Catering unit provides a trolley service of food and drink, a snack car and (on some routes) a restaurant service. It also operates a restaurant at Dún Laoghaire. According to Irish Rail's annual report, the unit lost €270 000 in 2004.

Early in 2006, IÉ advertised for private catering contractors to take over the operation of its catering services, but at present IÉ still operates the services directly.

[edit] Footnote

↑ Iarnród Éireann is pronounced "EERN-rode AIR-in".

[edit] References

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