NI Railways

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Franchise(s):	Government-owned subsidiary Not subject to franchising
Main Region(s):	Northern Ireland
Other Region(s):	None
Fleet size:	35
Stations called at:	58
National Rail abbreviation:	N/A: Not part of National Rail
Parent company:	NITHCo (Translink)
Web site:	www.nirailways.co.uk

NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways and for a brief period of time, Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company (NITHCo), and is thus the only remaining state owned train operator in the United Kingdom. It has a common Board of Management with the other two companies in the group, Ulsterbus and Metro (formerly Citybus). The rail network in Northern Ireland is not part of the National Rail network of Great Britain and because of this separation, NIR is the only passenger operator in the United Kingdom to operate a vertical integration model, with responsibility of all aspects of the network including running trains, maintaining rolling stock and infrastructure, pricing etc.

[edit] History

NIR was formed in 1968 when it took over from the Ulster Transport Authority (UTA), which had operated the province's railways since 1948. Much of the railway network closed during the 1950s and 1960s, declining from 900 miles (1,500 km) to 206.61  miles (330.58 km) at present.

Suffering frequent disruption and damage to infrastructure caused by the Troubles, and starved of investment by successive political administrations, the NIR network had became badly run down by the 1960s, with old rolling stock and poorly maintained track. NIR's last steam locomotives were withdrawn in 1970.

In 1970, NIR used three new locomotives to re-launch the once popular Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. Despite frequent interruptions due to bomb scares, the service has remained a more or less constant feature of the NIR network.

As older trains became obsolete in the 1970s, a new type of diesel-electric multiple unit was introduced to the network, called the 80 class. BREL built these units between 1974 and 1977 to British Rail's MK 2B design with some trailer cars rebuilt from hauled stock. The power cars are powered by an English Electric 4SRKT engine, nicknamed 'Thumpers' due to their characteristic sound, and are equipped with two English Electric 538 traction motors. These entered service on the suburban lines around Belfast, becoming a stalwart on the whole network. Now a rare sight, a few of these slam-door trains remain in service. In the early 1980s, NIR also purchased one of the prototype single car LEV Railbuses built to test the railbus concept on the British network. This was intended for use on the Coleraine-Portrush branch, but was withdrawn due to the capacity constraints of operating a single car on the route. A plan was also mooted to utilise the vehicle on the Lisburn-Antrim line to prevent it from being closed. This proposal failed again because of the limited capacity provided by the vehicle.^[1]

A former logo of the company

NIR have three EMD 111 class (111–113) for freight and passenger use and were built in 1980 (111–112) and 1984 (113).

During the eighties it was apparent that additional trains would be needed. BREL built nine 450 Class sets on former MK 1 underframes between 1985-1987. The power cars are powered by an English Electric 4SRKT engine recovered from former 70 Class units (except 457 which uses the engine recovered from 80 Class power car 88) and are equipped with two English Electric 538 traction motors and is a three car diesel-electric multiple unit, based on a more modern British design, with air operated sliding doors. Now in the process of a mid-life refurbishment, these trains continue in service.

In 1994, NIR bought two EMD 208 Class locomotives, identical to Iarnród Éireann's 201 Class. These haul the cross-border Enterprise, dedicated sets of modern carriages.

In 2004/2005, NIR received delivery of twenty-three 3000 class diesel multiple units from CAF of Spain, in an order which totalled £80m.^[2] The final unit, 3023, arrived in Belfast Harbour on 18 July 2005.^[3] All units had entered service by 24 September 2005. They operate principally between Bangor, Portadown and Derry and Belfast.

[edit] Rolling stock

[edit] Current fleet

Since the 1950s, services in Northern Ireland have been mainly operated by diesel-electric multiple units rather than locomotive hauled stock. Today, NIR operates three distinct types of DEMU. These are supplemented by a single rake of locomotive hauled stock, which is pulled by one of NIR's three diesel locomotives.

Class	Image	Type	Top speed		Number	Routes operated	Built
			mph	km/h
80 Class		diesel multiple unit	70	112	4	Various Routes Sandite duties	1974 - 1978
111 Class		Diesel locomotive	90	145	3	Belfast - Portadown Infrastructure duties	1980 - 1981
450 Class		diesel multiple unit	70	112	9	Belfast - Larne Portrush Branch	1985 - 1987
3000 Class		diesel multiple unit	90	145	23	Belfast - Derry Belfast - Newry Belfast - Bangor	2002 - 2004
"Gatwick" Stock		Converted Mark 2 Coaches	100	160	8 Carriages	Belfast-Portadown	1983 - 1984
DBSO		Control Car (rail)	100	160	1	Belfast-Portadown	1979

NIR is in the process of withdrawing the 80 Class DMUs, which have been replaced by the C3K units. A limited number of these units have been refurbished to operate the Coleraine-Portrush shuttle, freeing the C3K trains from this task for longer routes, as well as filling other gaps in the timetable.^[4] A further two car 80 Class unit is utilsed as NIR's sandite train. The nine 450 Class units exclusively operate the service to Larne. The 111 Class locomotives operate some passenger services with a rake of eight modified Class 488 coaches that were formerly used by Gatwick Express. In NIR service these are known as "Gatwick" stock. A DBSO has been purchased to add to the rake of coaches, with the locomotives in the process of being converted to push-pull operation.^[4]

NIR also owns two 201 Class locomotives and 14 De Dietrich Stock coaches which are shared with a similar number owned by Iarnród Éireann and used by Enterprise.

In 2005, NIR investigated the possibility of obtaining seven Class 222 DEMUs built for the British network. In the event, these entered service with their intended operator Midland Mainline. The trains would have required significant modification to enable NIR to use them, not least of which would have been their conversion from standard gauge to Irish gauge.^[5]

[edit] Past fleet

Class	Image	Type	Built	Withdrawn	Notes
MED		Diesel Multiple Unit	1952-1954	1973-1978	Intended for local services around Belfast
MPD		Diesel Multiple Unit	1957-1962	1981-1984	Intended for longer distance former NCC routes and Enterprise
70 Class	[1]	Diesel Multiple Unit	1966-1968	1985-1986
101 Class		Diesel locomotive	1970	1989	Intended for loco hauled Enterprise services
104 Class		Diesel locomotive	1956-1957	1993	Originally built for CIÉ; six transferred to NIR in 1986
RB3	[2]	Diesel Multiple Unit	1981	1989	Prototype built for British network; transferred to NIR in 1983

[edit] Future fleet

NIR announced plans to purchase up to 20 new trains under its "New Trains 2010" proposal following the confirmation of its expected budget. It is planned that this fleet will replace the remaining 80 Class and 450 Class trains from 2011. This project went out to tender in late 2007, with the company due to be appointed in early 2009. Work on the new trains would begin shortly thereafter with the units entering service from 2011 onwards.^[6]

[edit] Routes

NIR currently maintains the following railway lines

• Belfast-Dublin railway line (from Belfast to the border)
• Belfast-Bangor railway line - the northern route of the former Belfast and County Down Railway
• Belfast-Larne railway line
• Belfast-Derry railway line
• Coleraine-Portrush railway line
• Belfast-Newry railway line
• Lisburn-Antrim railway line

NIR operates regular passenger services along the following major routes (not all intermediate stops are listed):

• Portadown, Lisburn, Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central and Bangor
• Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central and Larne
• Belfast Great Victoria Street, Belfast Central, Antrim, Ballymena, Coleraine and Derry
• Coleraine and Portrush

On the cross-border route between Belfast and Dublin, NIR operates a joint service of fast trains under the name Enterprise in conjunction with the national railway company of the Republic of Ireland, Iarnród Éireann.

[edit] Suspended routes

Following the re-opening of the 15-mile Antrim - Bleach Green line in June 2001^[7], which had been closed since 1978, NIR ceased passenger operations between Lisburn and Antrim on 29th June 2003. Combined with the newly built Cross-Harbour Rail Link across the River Lagan in Belfast, the Bleach Green route offered faster journey times between Derry, Coleraine, Ballymena, Antrim and Belfast.

The infrastructure of the Lisburn-Antrim railway line is still maintained, and occasional crew training operations are performed on the line. While it is also available as a diversionary route, Ballinderry, Glenavy and Crumlin stations have closed.

[edit] Future

This article or section contains information about planned or expected public transportation in the United Kingdom. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change significantly as more information becomes available.

The development of the railways in Northern Ireland has been linked to the future economic growth of the region. One of the major challenges which NI Railways has faced is the limited number of trains available for service at peak times. The limited fleet size has led to services being cancelled due to failures or delays. This can lead to widespread disruption across the network and potentially a huge loss in revenue to Translink. Upon its establishment in 1998, the Northern Ireland Assembly put in place an investment programme costing £100 million to bring about major improvements to the railways. This programme saw various projects inlcuding the purchase of the new 3000 Class trains, the complete relaying of track on the Belfast-Larne line and the construction of a new maintenance depot.^[8] Following the completion of this, Translink, as part of its long-term investment programme for NIR, conducted what it termed the "Strategic Rail Review" in 2004, an independent review of rail services to determine its funding request under the Comprehensive Spending Review. This report determined that so-called "lesser used lines" were an important and economically viable part of the total network, and that investment should be consistent rather than in the "stop-go" manner of previous years.^[9]

A debate in the Northern Ireland Assembly on 14 May 2007^[10] raised several proposals as to how the railway network could be improved:

• Reopening of existing but closed infrastructure, most notably the Lisburn-Antrim line
• Improvement of the infrastructure on the Belfast-Derry line through, at the very least, the installation of passing loops to allow service frequency to be increased, while upgrading the track to allow trains at higher speed.
• Purchase of new rolling stock to allow the complete replacement of the remaining 450 Class and 80 Class units

Further proposals from external pressure groups have advocated the protection of former routes, where the track has been lifted but the trackbed remains intact, to enable these routes to be reinstated in the future in the event of the growth of commuter traffic as an alternative to increased road building.^[11]

In October 2007, following the CSR which provided funding allocation to the Northern Ireland Executive, the Department for Regional Development was able to announce its draft budget. Conor Murphy, the Regional Development Minister, stated that approximately £137 million could be allocated from this draft budget for investment in the railways.^[12]

[edit] Infrastructure

At present, the rail network in Northern Ireland is concentrated around the Greater Belfast area. Both the Bangor and Larne lines have been re-laid in recent years, enabling timetable improvements to be delivered.^[13] The only significant "inter-city" routes are the main line between Belfast and Dublin, which covers services to Newry, and the Belfast-Derry line. This line is single track north of Coleraine which causes the service to the second city to be limited, both in terms of service frequency and service speed; according to the current timetable, the train takes 2hr 20m^[14], while the bus takes an hour less ^[15]. Speculation remains that the Lisburn-Antrim route could one day re-open, potentially to offer an alternative Antrim - Lisburn - Belfast service. The line passes very close to the Belfast International Airport at Aldergrove. For a number of years there has been suggestions that a new station should be built on the line for trains to serve the airport.^[16] The Airport has marked the building of a new station in its list of future plans^[17], while Easyjet, which is the largest operator into Belfast International, have been strong in advocating an airport rail link.^[18] Additionally, the Belfast Metropolitan Area Plan 2015 identifies the need to improve transport links to Belfast City Airport from the city centre. The BMAP proposes a light rail system from the city centre that would interchange with a new railway station at Tillysburn, which could serve both the airport and the Holywood Exchange retail development.^[19]

On the 21st November 2007, the Regional Development Minister announced that the investment strategy being considered by the NI Executive included the relaying of the Belfast-Derry line north of Coleraine. This project is planned to include new signalling and a new passing loop, thereby allowing more trains on the route. The cost has been estimated at £64 million, and has been projected to begin in 2011, lasting two years. Prior to the major relaying of the Coleraine-Derry section, £12 million will be spent on improving the section between Ballymena and Coleraine,^[20] on which work has already begun. Once the project has been completed, there is a further proposal to add two additional trains per day to the route, enabling journey times between Belfast and Derry to be reduced by up to 30 minutes.^[21] In addition, there have been proposals to improveme the Belfast-Dublin line between Knockmore and Lurgan, enabling journey times to be reduced and frequency to be increased on this route.^[12] This will improve not only NIR's services, but also allow an hourly Enterprise service to Dublin.^[13]

[edit] Rolling stock

Although the introduction of the 3000 Class trains has been considered a success, this is tempered by fact that they were a like for like replacement for the 80 Class units, rather than an expansion of the fleet. Due to the limited number of new units in service, some of NIR's older rolling stock has had to be retained, most notably the entire 450 Class on the Belfast-Larne route. To enable NIR to maintain its levels of service, it has set about upgrading some of its older rolling stock. This will involve the refurbishment of up to three 4-car 80 Class units, and the conversion of the locomotives and coaches to push-pull operation with the addition of the DBSO obtained from 'one'. ^[4]

One of the major projects instigated by Translink is what it calls "New Trains 2010", which will see the purchase of a new batch of rolling stock. At minimum, this was to be a like for like replacement of the 450 Class trains, which are due to be withdrawn by 2012. However, it has been determined that in order to deliver improved frequency of service on the network the size of NIR's fleet must be increased, and with that must come associated infrastructure improvements.^[9] The announcement of the investment programme confirmed "New Trains 2010", which will procure at least 20 new trains to both replace the remaining 80 Class and 450 Class units and provide additional capacity.^[12] The specification given by the DRD also states that the new trains are to be used to provide both inner and outer suburban commuter services and express services between Belfast and Dublin.^[22] The new rolling stock is estimated to enter service by 2011.^[6]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Northern Ireland Railways Revitalisation - Railway Technology
• Irish Railway News - reporting on all aspects of irish railways
• IRTi - Irish Railways News and Operations Message Group & Forum
• Official site
• Collection of Google Earth locations of NI Railways stations (Requires Google Earth software) from the Google Earth Community forum.