Commuter (Iarnród Éireann)

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Commuter is the brand name given to the suburban rail services operated by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland. These operate in and around the suburban rail networks of Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, in contrast to the majority of services which are classed as InterCity. In recent years, Iarnród Éireann has put a significant amount of effort into upgrading its network, with new tracks, signalling, station upgrades and trains. The majority of Commuter services are operated by diesel multiple unit train sets. An exception to this is the DART service - this shares the line with several other services. It is the only electrified heavy rail service in Ireland.

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[edit] History

Prior to 1994, suburban rolling stock on the Íarnrod Éireann network had no special branding. The Dublin rail system was known as "DART Suburban Rail"; however this logo was used solely in print and for a small amount of signage (it can still be seen on tickets issued in the Dublin area). In 1994, the company introduced the first specific branding for diesel suburban services, with the launch of the Arrow brand on the newly-opened Kildare line. This brand was applied to stations on the line, as well as the IE 2600 Class railcars. It was also applied to the IE 2700 Class and IE 2800 Class railcars upon their introduction (however in the case of the latter, it was removed shortly after their introduction into service and replaced with the National Development Plan logo). Thus the Arrow brand became the first major branding for suburban railway services in Dublin (officially, its use remained limited to the Kildare line, but Arrow branded or liveried trains were used on most suburban services).

The Commuter brand was created in 2003 upon the introduction of the IE 2900 Class railcars and has since been extended to the entire suburban railcar fleet. It is also used in some signage and advertising, giving the diesel commuter network a consistent look for the first time. The Dublin railway system is now called "DART/Commuter" in line with the new brand, with the former Arrow brand now having been almost completely phased out.

[edit] Services

Map of the Dublin Suburban network
Map of the Dublin Suburban network

Leinster: The majority of Commuter services operate on the Dublin suburban network. This has four major routes:

  • Northern - this route operates from Dublin to Dundalk, with its central terminus at Dublin Pearse. The route is shared as far as Malahide with the DART service. The route lies on the Dublin-Belfast railway line.
  • South Eastern - this route operates from Dublin to Gorey, with its terminus at Dublin Connolly, and is shared with the DART as far as Greystones. This route is shared with trains to Rosslare.
  • Western - this route has two branches in the city centre; one starts at the new Docklands railway station, while the other starts from Dublin Pearse. The two converge at Broombridge, with the line going as far as Longford. A new service pattern has seen the introduction of services from Docklands to Clonsilla on this line.
  • South Western - this route operates from Dublin to Kildare, with its central terminus at Dublin Heuston.

Other services operate between Mallow and Tralee, and Manulla Junction and Ballina. In addition, some InterCity services operate using Commuter branded DMUs - these include the Dublin-Sligo, Dublin-Rosslare Europort and Limerick-Rosslare Europort services.

Munster: From 2009 on, there will be 3 suburban rail lines servicing the Greater Cork area, which comprise the Cork suburban network.

The Limerick commuter rail network consists of 3 suburban rail lines which comprise the Limerick suburban network.

There are currently no commuter rail services in Waterford.

Connacht: The Greater Galway area is serviced by Galway Suburban Rail.

[edit] Rolling Stock

2700 Class single car (bi-cab)
2700 Class single car (bi-cab)
2900 Class DMU
2900 Class DMU

Commuter services are operated primarily using DMU "railcars", with four separate classes operating on most routes:

  • 2600 Class - eight 2-car 2600 Class sets operate primarily on the South Western Commuter route from Dublin to Kildare, and were delivered in 1994 from the Tokyu Car Corporation.
  • 2700 Class - twelve 2-car and two 1-car (bi-cab) 2700 Class sets provide services on routes in Cork, Clare, Limerick and Kerry, and were delivered between 1997 and 1998 from GEC Alstom.
  • 2800 Class - ten 2-car 2800 Class sets replaced the 2600 Class on the Western Commuter route in 2000. Today, the 2800 Class is utilised on a number of routes, including some InterCity services. These units were built by Tokyu Car Corporation.
  • 2900 Class - twenty-nine 4-car 2900 Class sets are the most recent Commuter DMUs to enter service, between 2002 and 2005. These operate mainly on the Northern Commuter and Western Commuter, and (until the introduction of the 22000 Class) on the InterCity service between Dublin and Sligo. These trains were delivered from CAF.

All of the DMU types can operate either independently, or can be attached to another set of their own class or of another class to form trains of up to ten cars.

In addition to the DMUs, services are supplemented by locomotive hauled coaches. The introduction of the new 22000 Class units on InterCity services will allow the 2800 Class and 2900 Class units currently used to be cascaded to Commuter services, which will then allow the locomotive hauled stock to be phased out.

[edit] Future

Iarnród Éireann is currently undertaking a major expansion of its commuter services as part of the Transport 21 initiative. Under this plan, several commuter lines will be refurbished and re-opened - plans include:

  • Reinstating a rail service to Navan which will connect with the Western Commuter Line into Dublin.
  • Expanding the Cork suburban network with new stations between Cork and Mallow, and a branch to Midleton
  • Reopening the Western Rail Corridor between Limerick and Sligo in stages, starting with the section between Ennis and Athenry
  • Enhance Commuter services into Galway

In March 2007, IE placed an order for eleven additional 3-car 22000 Class DMU sets, totalling €79 million, to be added to its initial order of 150 cars. These additional trains will be used on the outer Dublin suburban network to destinations including Portlaoise, Carlow and Athlone.

Feasibility studies have also been made into the possibility of creating airport links to several airports; a link to Knock Airport is a long term aim of the Western Rail Corridor project while a feasibility study into a link to Shannon Airport from Limerick was commissioned by Iarnród Éireann in 2006.[1][2]

[edit] Broadstone Station

In June 2007, Iarnród Éireann announced plans to reopen the old Dublin Broadstone station to serve as a new terminal station. It was planned to use this as the terminus for the planned line to Navan and, with certain realignment of the lines to the west of Dublin, as an alternate terminus for other services from Maynooth and the reopened Athlone-Mullingar line, relieving the congestion into Connolly and Heuston stations. Under IÉ's plans, Broadstone was to be reopened by 2010. However the Railway Procurement Agency also intended to use the lands at Broadstone for part of its Luas project. On 5 February 2008 Noel Dempsey, the Minister for Transport, indicated his preference for the Luas project over the re-opening of Broadstone for heavy rail. To compensate for the loss of this potential terminus, which Iarnród Éireann maintained was needed to reduce the congestion on Connolly and Heuston, the Government has stated it will allow a new application for planning permission to keep Docklands open permanently.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Iarnród Éireann initiate study on Shannon rail link
  2. ^ IRRS 164
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Current rail operators in Ireland
1: Operated jointly by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways