Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national
railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of
Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
,
Commuter,
DART
Dart or DART may refer to:
* Dart, the equipment in the game of darts
Arts, entertainment and media
* Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero
* Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe''
* Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character
* Da ...
and
freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with
Northern Ireland Railways, the
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterprise ...
service between
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
and
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
. In 2019, IÉ carried 50 million passengers, up from 48 million in 2018, and a record peak.
Until 2013 Ireland was the only
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
state that had not implemented
EU Directive 91/440
The Single European Railway Directive 2012''2012/34/EUis an EU Directive that regulates railway networks in European Union law. This recast the "First Railway Directive" or "Package" from 1991, and allows open access operations on railway lines by ...
and related legislation, having
derogated
Derogation, in civil law and common law, is the partial suppression of a law. In contrast, annulment is the total abolition of a law by explicit repeal, and obrogation is the partial or total modification or repeal of a law by the imposition of a ...
its obligation to split train operations and infrastructure businesses, and allow
open access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
by private companies to the rail network. A consultation on the restructuring of Iarnród Éireann took place in 2012. The derogation ended on 14 March 2013 when the company was split in 2 sectors: Railway Undertaking and Infrastructure Manager.
Organisation
At the time of its establishment, the company referred to itself as Irish Rail and adopted the four rails ''IR'' logo. In 1994, the company brought the Irish form of its name to the fore, introducing a logo and
corporate branding
Corporate branding refers to the practice of promoting the brand name of a corporate entity, as opposed to specific products or services. The activities and thinking that go into corporate branding are different from product and service branding ...
based on the letters ''IÉ'' (Iarnród Éireann) branding and logo. Both languages remained part of the official company name ("Iarnród Éireann – Irish Rail"). In January 2013, a new logo was introduced with a new
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all ...
branding; it made its first appearance in early January on online timetables, before officially launching on the 21st.
In late 2013 the logo was updated again with a new font.
Operationally, services are divided across four regional areas:
* ''Northern'' and ''Eastern'' services are managed from
Connolly (including
Sligo
Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban ce ...
in the North-West)
* ''Southern'' and ''Western'' services are managed from
Heuston
Services
Passenger services
IÉ's passenger services are branded under three main names; ''
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
'', ''
Commuter'' and ''
DART
Dart or DART may refer to:
* Dart, the equipment in the game of darts
Arts, entertainment and media
* Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero
* Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe''
* Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character
* Da ...
''.
InterCity
''InterCity'' services are long-distance routes radiating mainly from Dublin. The Belfast – Dublin service, jointly operated with
Northern Ireland Railways, is branded separately as ''
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterprise ...
''. Dublin's two main InterCity stations are Connolly and Heuston. Intercity services run to/from
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
,
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...
,
Tralee,
Ennis,
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
,
Waterford
"Waterford remains the untaken city"
, mapsize = 220px
, pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe
, pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe
, pushpin_relief = 1
, coordinates ...
,
Rosslare Europort,
Sligo
Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the largest urban ce ...
,
Westport,
Wexford
Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...
and
Ballina. Dublin's third major station,
Pearse, is the terminus for much of the
suburban network in the Greater Dublin area. An additional InterCity service runs from Limerick to Waterford. This service formerly operated through to Rosslare Europort but services between Waterford and Rosslare Europort ceased after the last train on 18 September 2010. Bus Éireann now operates route 370 through the affected towns as replacement transport.
A new service began on 29 March 2010 from
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2 ...
to
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
, as part of the Western Rail Corridor, reopening the long-closed line.
A January 2012 national newspaper article suggested that Iarnród Éireann was expected to seek permission in the near future from the
National Transport Authority to close the
Limerick–Ballybrophy railway line
The Limerick–Ballybrophy line is a railway line connecting the city of Limerick with in County Laois. The line diverges from the Limerick to Limerick Junction railway line at Killonan Junction and continues in a north east direction with fi ...
and the
Limerick–Waterford line.
Commuter
The majority of ''Commuter'' services are based in Dublin, which has four commuter routes: Northern (to
Drogheda MacBride), Western (Connolly Station or
Docklands to
Kilcock
Kilcock () is a town and townland in the north of County Kildare, Ireland, on the border with County Meath. Its population of 6,093 makes it the ninth largest town in Kildare and 76th largest in Ireland. The town is located 35 km (22  ...
/
M3 Parkway), South-Western (to
Sallins and Naas Railway Station
Sallins and Naas railway station is located in the centre of the village of Sallins, County Kildare and also serves Naas, 3 km (2 miles) away. The station is in Dublin Short Hop Zone and as a result is the busiest station on the Kildar ...
) and South-Eastern (to
Kilcoole
Kilcoole () is a village in County Wicklow, Ireland. It is three kilometres (2 miles) south of Greystones, 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of Wicklow, and about 28 kilometres (17 miles) south of Dublin. It was used as the set for the Irish tel ...
). See
Dublin Suburban Rail for more details.
The
Cork Suburban Rail currently has three Commuter services: to
Mallow and
Cobh
Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. With a population of around 13,000 inhabitants, Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour and home to Ireland's ...
, and a third service to
Midleton which became operational on a part of the disused
Youghal
Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...
branch line on 30 July 2009.
Limerick Suburban Rail
Limerick Suburban Rail ( ga, Iarnród Fo-uirbeach Luimnigh) are a group of Iarnród Éireann commuter train services from Limerick Colbert to various other destinations on three different lines.
* Limerick – Ennis, calling at Sixmilebridge
* L ...
currently consists of two lines to
Ennis and
Nenagh, with shuttle services to
Limerick Junction. A Commuter service operates between Galway to
Oranmore and
Athenry.
Commuter trains also operate on shuttle duty for branches from the main InterCity services from Mallow to Tralee (off the Dublin – Cork route) and from
Manulla Junction to Ballina (off the Dublin – Westport route), as well as acting as InterCity trains for Dublin – Rosslare and some Dublin – Sligo services, and as the aforementioned Limerick – Limerick Junction – Waterford service.
DART
The north–south route along Dublin's eastern coastal side is also host to DART, Ireland's only electrified heavy-rail service. The DART consists of many types of trains, the oldest and most famous one being the
8100 Class which still operates, now extensively refurbished.
Services Table
The following is a simplified table of Monday - Friday off-peak services, various irregular calling patterns have been omitted for clarity.
Freight services
Iarnród Éireann also has responsibility for running freight services on the Irish network through its Freight Division – which recorded a tonnage decrease of 19.2% in 2019,
and as of 2020, there are 3 freight flows running throughout the country. This operates both Railfreight trains and a network of road haulage through various distribution nodes throughout the country. Iarnród Éireann Freight is subdivided into three sections:
*Bulk Freight – specialises in operating full trainloads of freight, usually bulk movements of single products such as cement, mineral ore or timber.
*Intermodal – container trains, currently operated between Waterford Port and Ballina and Dublin Port and Ballina.
*Navigator – the freight forwarding division, particularly associated with the transport of automotive stock parts.
Operational details
The Enterprise route (Dublin to Belfast) is well regarded. However, it is only double track and serves both local and intermediate Commuter as well as InterCity traffic. Hence any delay has knock-on effects. Also, there is limited platform availability at Connolly Station in Dublin. There was also a persistent problem with engine overloading, as Enterprise locomotives also supplied coach power. However, since September 2012, additional power is provided by separate Mark 3 generator vans.
The Cork-Dublin route was formerly the "premier line" of the ''
Great Southern and Western Railway
The Great Southern and Western Railway (GS&WR) was an Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland from 1844 until 1924. The GS&WR grew by building lines and making a series of takeovers, until in the late 19th and early 20th centuries it was the ...
'', one of the biggest pre-CIÉ operators. Rolling stock on this route consists of
Mark 4 trains, which were built in Spain, complete with DVTs for faster turn-around.
22000 Class DMUs built in South Korea came into service from early 2007 replacing older coaching stock on most other InterCity routes. These 183 carriages are described by the company as the "Greenest diesel trains in Europe".
The former Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey TD had announced that an additional 51 railcars had been ordered for the company for a planned introduction on services between Dublin, Louth, and Meath. They were placed into service in 2011/2012 but this plan was badly affected by the recession with 21 surpluses to requirements at the end of 2012.
The maximum speed of InterCity trains on the IÉ rail network is 160 km/h (100 mph).
Since 2019, Irish Rail has been trying to recruit more female drivers.
1916 station renaming
Although the majority of Iarnród Éireann's stations are simply named after the towns they serve, a number of stations in major towns and cities were renamed after leaders of the 1916
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with t ...
, on its 50th Anniversary in 1966:
*
Dublin Connolly (formerly Amiens Street)
*
Dublin Heuston (formerly Kingsbridge)
*
Dublin Pearse (formerly Westland Row)
*
Dún Laoghaire Mallin
*
Bray Daly
*
Cork Kent (formerly Glanmire Road)
*
Kilkenny MacDonagh
*
Limerick Colbert
*
Tralee Casement
*
Dundalk Clarke
*
Drogheda MacBride
*
Sligo Mac Diarmada
*
Galway Ceannt
*
Waterford Plunkett
*
Wexford O'Hanrahan
Network Catering
IÉ's Network Catering unit used to provide a trolley service of food and drink, a snack car and (on some routes) a restaurant service. It also operated a restaurant at
Dún Laoghaire. According to Iarnród Éireann's annual report, the unit lost €297,000 in 2004. In 2006, Iarnród Éireann outsourced the catering on the Dublin-Belfast service to Corporate Catering Ltd, and all InterCity services were taken over by
Rail Gourmet in March 2007. Rail Gourmet later withdrew from the contract and no longer provides catering for any Irish Rail services.
Rolling stock
The company has a fleet size consisting of 547 carriages (excluding the Enterprise service):
*
InterCity
InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...
services have a fleet of 265 carriages.
*
Commuter services have a fleet of 148 carriages.
*
DART
Dart or DART may refer to:
* Dart, the equipment in the game of darts
Arts, entertainment and media
* Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero
* Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe''
* Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character
* Da ...
services have a fleet of 134 carriages.
*Dublin-Belfast
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterprise ...
has a fleet of 28 carriages.
InterCity and Enterprise fleet
*
IE 201 Class Locomotive
*
IE 22000 Class DMU
*
Mark 4
*
De Dietrich Rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles ca ...
Locomotive fleet
Current
*
CIE 071 Class locomotive
*
IE 201 Class locomotive
Former
*
CIE 001 Class locomotive
*
CIE 201 Class locomotive
*
CIE 121 Class
The Córas Iompair Éireann 121 Class was a railway locomotive which was manufactured by General Motors Electro-Motive Division. These locomotives were in regular service on the Irish railway network until 2002, with the last two remaining in ser ...
locomotive
*
CIE 141 Class locomotive
*
CIE 181 Class locomotive
Commuter fleet
Current
*
IE 2600 Class
The 2600 Class is a type of Diesel Multiple Unit operated on the Irish railway network by Iarnród Éireann, used mainly for short-haul Commuter services. They sometimes operate Cork to Dublin services in case an InterCity unit is not availabl ...
DMU
*
IE 2800 Class
The 2800 Class is a type of Diesel Multiple Unit operated on the Irish railway network by Iarnród Éireann, used mainly for short-haul InterCity and Commuter services.
Description
The 2800 Class were built in Japan by Tokyu Car Corporation. ...
DMU
*
IE 29000 Class DMU
*
IE 22000 Class DMU
Former
*
IE 2700 Class
The 2700 and 2750 Classes (nicknamed "Sparrows" panish Arrows were two related types of diesel multiple unit operated by Iarnród Éireann. The 2700 Class units were 2-car sets; 25 cars were built by GEC Alsthom in 1997 and 1998, and began ente ...
DMU
*
IE 2750 Class DMU
*IE 8200 Class EMU
DART fleet
Current
*
CIÉ 8100 Class EMU
*
IE 8500 Class EMU
*
IE 8510 Class EMU
*
IE 8520 Class EMU
Former
*
IE 8200 Class
The Iarnród Éireann 8200 Class electric multiple units were built for the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART). The units were two-car sets, of which there were five. They were numbered in the sequence 820X+840X. 820X units are power cars while 8 ...
EMU
Future fleet
IÉ's increasing fleet usage has led to requirements being made for the procurement of additional vehicles. DART services are running with all trains formed of 4–8 cars, while 54 sets of 63 fleet of ICRs are committed to services with 56 required on Friday. To this end, IÉ plans to purchase a significant number of new ICR vehicles – an initial purchase of 41 will be made for delivery in 2021, comprising three new trains, with the remainder planned as intermediate vehicles to lengthen existing units. The deal for the new vehicles is intended to include options for up to 40 further vehicles.
There are also plans for a total replacement of the existing DART fleet, which will be combined with extensions to the DART network. The framework for the DART fleet is planned for up to 600 vehicles formed into four-car and eight-car sets, split into both pure EMU and
BEMU trains.
For immediate fleet capacity increases, IÉ planned refurbishment of its 2700 Class DMUs, which was subsequently cancelled. Instead, IÉ is discussing the possibility of sourcing surplus DMUs from the
British network, with s and s available.
See also
*
List of Irish companies
This is a list of notable companies based in Ireland, or subsidiaries according to their sector. It includes companies from the entire island. The state of the Republic of Ireland covers five-sixths of the island, with Northern Ireland, part of ...
*
List of railway stations in Ireland
*
History of rail transport in Ireland
The history of rail transport in Ireland began only a decade later than that of Great Britain. By its peak in 1920, Ireland had 3,500 route miles (5,630 km). The current status is less than half that amount, with a large unserviced area arou ...
*
Transport in Ireland
Most of the transport system in Ireland is in public hands, either side of the Irish border. The Irish road network has evolved separately in the two jurisdictions into which Ireland is divided, while the Irish rail network was mostly create ...
*
Diesel Locomotives of Ireland
*
Multiple Units of Ireland
*
Coaching Stock of Ireland
References
External links
Irish Rail Official Site – Timetables, bookings, operations, and corporate siteIrish Railway Record SocietyEiretrains – Irish Railways Past & Present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iarnrod Eireann
CIÉ
1987 establishments in Ireland
Irish brands
Rail transport in the Republic of Ireland
Rail transport in Northern Ireland
Passenger rail transport in Northern Ireland
Railway companies of the Republic of Ireland
Railway companies of the United Kingdom
Department of Transport (Ireland)