Commuter (Iarnród Éireann)

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, Limerick and Galway, 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.

History

Arrow

The brand was introduced in 1994 as 'Arrow', 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 2600 Class railcars. It was also applied to the 2700 Class and 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).

Commuter

In 2003, the Arrow brand was renamed 'Commuter', upon the introduction of the 2900 Class (now 29000) 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 networks 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 completely phased out.

IrishRail.ie

In 2010 the 2600 class and 2700 class began to be re livered from Commuter to a grey and green color scheme with no reference to the Commuter brand. Instead a irishrail.ie logo is displayed on the side of the trains.

Services

Leinster: Main article Dublin Suburban Rail

There are 4 commuter lines serving Dublin along with DART.

• 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 Arklow, 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: Main Article Cork Suburban Rail

There are three suburban rail lines servicing the Greater Cork area, which comprise the Cork suburban network.

• Cork Kent - Mallow line. New stations at Kilbarry, Monard and Blarney are excpected to open in 2010.
• Cork Kent - Cobh line calling at Little Island, Glounthaune, Fota Island, Carrigaloe and Rushbroke. New stations at Dunkettle and Ballynoe are excpected to open in 2010.
• Cork Kent - Midelton line calling at Carrigtwohill. It is hoped the line will eventually extend to Youghal with intermediate stops at Mogeely and Killeagh.

Main article Limerick Suburban Rail

The Limerick commuter rail network consists of three suburban rail lines which comprise the Limerick suburban network. Stations in italics are not yet open.

• Limerick Colbert - Ennis line calling at Sixmilebridge
• Limerick Colbert - Nenagh line calling at Castleconnell and Birdhill. (This is a skelelton service)
• Limerick Colbert - Limerick Junction (for Tipperary town)

Connacht: Main article Galway Suburban Rail

At present in Galway there is no commuter train service. Starting from late August 2009 there will be a commuter service from Athenry - Galway Ceannt calling at Oranmore. Although it is possible to travel from Athenry to Galway at present via the InterCity service to/from Dublin there are no exclusive commuter trains and InterCity services will not stop at the same stations as commuter trains will.

Rolling stock

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

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, locomotive hauled coaches supplement services. The introduction of the new 22000 Class units on InterCity services will allow the 2800 Class and 29000 Class units currently used to be cascaded to Commuter services, which will then allow the locomotive hauled stock to be phased out.

Eventually, when all 234 22000 Class railcars are delivered, they will operate all intercity services, excluding the Dublin-Cork route and the Dublin-Belfast route.

Future

Iarnród Éireann is currently undertaking a major expansion of its commuter services as part of the Transport 21 initiative.

Infrastructure

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

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]

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.

Other Proposals

There have been calls by outside groups for other railway refurbishments to enhance commuter services:

• Drogheda-Navan - The pressure group Rail Users Ireland have been critical of the plan to reinstate the line to Navan in two stages, which will leave the town without a direct rail service until 2015. They have called for the refurbishment of the line between Navan and Drogheda, currently used by freight trains, to be reopened for passenger services, which could provide an immediate commuter service to Dublin taking 65 minutes.^[3]
• Mullingar-Athlone - There have also been calls, most especially by the Midland Railway Action Group, for the reopening of the link line that connects the Dublin-Sligo main line at Mullingar (into Dublin Connolly) and the Dublin-Galway/Westport main line at Athlone (into Dublin Heuston), restoring the railway network to the town of Moate, which was recommended in the strategic review which led to the Transport 21 proposals, and which is seen as essential to ensuring the economic growth of the Midlands region.^[4]

Rolling stock

In March 2007, IÉ placed an order for five additional 6-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. A further order for an additional 51 cars, formed into 17 three-car units and totalling €140 million, was made in March 2009, for use to other suburban destinations, including Dundalk, Kildare, Longford and Navan.^[5]

In July 2007, IÉ announced that it was in the process of placing orders for a further 400 carriages. The bulk of these (up to 250 cars) are intended as EMUs for the expansion of the DART services following completion of the Interconnector. The remainder, totalling up to 150 cars, will be DMU sets for the expansion of Commuter services in Cork and Limerick, as well as the planned long-distance Commuter sets for services in Leinster.^[6]

See also

• Dublin Suburban Rail
• Cork Suburban Rail
• Galway Suburban Rail
• Limerick Suburban Rail

References