Mark 4 (Iarnród Éireann)
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The CAF Mark 4 (or MK4 or MKIV) are railway carriages operated by
Iarnród Éireann 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, Commuter, DART and fr ...
in
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
on the
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 ...
service from Dublin to Cork. These carriages have no connection to the
British Rail Mark 4 The British Rail Mark 4 is a class of Passenger car (rail), passenger carriages built for use in InterCity 225 sets on the East Coast Main Line between London King's Cross railway station, King's Cross, Leeds railway station, Leeds and Edinburg ...
.


History

Along with the occasional Cravens stocked train, the Dublin to Cork express was operated only with outdated slam-door
British Rail Mark 2 The Mark 2 family of railway carriages are British Rail's second design of carriages. They were built by British Rail workshops (from 1969 British Rail Engineering Limited (BREL)) between 1964 and 1975. They were of steel construction. Introdu ...
s and electric-door Mark 3s. Since only a limited amount of Mark 3 DVTs were available most services required a
locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the Power (physics), motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, Motor coach (rail), motor ...
shunt at the end of each trip. This resulted in an infrequent service with most services bunched in the morning and evening rush hours. Iarnród Éireann opted to extend the service to an hourly clockface departure in order to increase growth on the line. Initially, to eliminate the Locomotive shunt, interest was expressed in a long range
diesel multiple unit A diesel multiple unit or DMU is a multiple-unit train powered by on-board diesel engines. A DMU requires no separate locomotive, as the engines are incorporated into one or more of the carriages. Diesel-powered single-unit railcars are also ...
however, since Iarnród Éireann had a large fleet of high-speed diesel locomotives which were less than ten years old, a
push–pull train Push–pull is a configuration for locomotive-hauled trains, allowing them to be driven from either end of the train, whether having a locomotive at each end or not. A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via ...
was chosen instead. Funding was procured from the
Irish Government The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
and an invitation to tender was put forward in 2001 and four companies qualified. In November 2002 the contract was awarded to
Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (Grupo CAF, literally "Construction and Other Railway Services") is a Spanish publicly listed company which manufactures railway vehicles and equipment and buses through its Solaris Bus & Coach subsidia ...
.


Description

67 Mark 4 coaches were manufactured in 2004-2005 by CAF and delivered in 2006. The designs for the interior of the carriages and the exterior styling of the
DVT Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enla ...
were produced for CAF by
Design Triangle Design Triangle is a transport design firm, based in Cambridge, UK. Founded in 1986, Design Triangle specializes in the design of the interiors and exteriors of vehicles (and vessels) for public transport, particularly rail passenger cars. Ra ...
. Capable of 10-car operation, each in-service set currently comprises 8 cars: *Generator Control Car - GC (or
DVT Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a type of venous thrombosis involving the formation of a blood clot in a deep vein, most commonly in the legs or pelvis. A minority of DVTs occur in the arms. Symptoms can include pain, swelling, redness, and enla ...
) *One First Class - FC *One Catering Car - CC *Four Standard Class - SC *One Standard End - SCE, with retractable buffers & drop-head buckeye coupling at locomotive end. Seating capacity is 422 (8-car set), the DVT (driving van trailer) is recognised as a carriage and the train is fully accessible to mobility-impaired customers. The DVT Features a Yellow front end to ensure visibility and has a compartment towards the rear to carry Mail and Luggage.


Main Features

The Standard Class carriages have improved passenger seating and leg room. They also have electronic visual and audible passenger information systems, electronic seat reservation displays, CCTV, air conditioning and additional space for luggage. Power sockets are supplied on all Standard and Citygold Class coaches. Citygold cars have ergonomic, electronically adjustable seats, multi-channel ear phone jack sockets and individual overhead lighting. Main features include: *Merak
HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. HV ...
*Power operated passenger doors *Fire resistance to BS 6553:1999 Cat 1B *
Public address A public address system (or PA system) is an electronic system comprising microphones, amplifiers, loudspeakers, and related equipment. It increases the apparent volume (loudness) of a human voice, musical instrument, or other acoustic sound sou ...
(PA) including automated announcements in Irish and English *
Closed-circuit television Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...
(CCTV) recording, including a forward-facing camera in the DVT *
LED A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor Electronics, device that Light#Light sources, emits light when Electric current, current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy i ...
Exterior & Interior Destination signs *Seat Reservation system with reserved seating LED displays above each passenger seat. System is updated via
Wireless LAN A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a wireless computer network A wireless network is a computer network that uses wireless data connections between network nodes. Wireless networking is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and bus ...
(W-LAN) *LED Route Maps *In-seat audio in First Class *Power operated seating in First Class *Suspension: **Primary coil springs & secondary air bags *Sanding on leading axle of GC & trailing axle of SCE cars *
Scharfenberg coupler The Scharfenberg coupler (german: Scharfenbergkupplung, abbreviated ''Schaku'') is a commonly used type of fully automatic railway coupling. Designed in 1903 by Karl Scharfenberg in Königsberg, Germany (today Kaliningrad, Russia), the coupler ...
between cars, drop-head buckeye couplers each end *Wheelchair area & accessible toilets to UK
Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations The Rail Vehicle Accessibility (Non-Interoperable Rail System) Regulations 2010 (commonly known as RVAR 2010) is a Statutory Instrument in the United Kingdom. It aims to set standards designed to improve accessibility for disabled people on lig ...
Key dimensions: *Length between couplers - *Height - *Width -


Mark 4 DVT

*Air-conditioned driver's cab *Fault Diagnostic system, displayed on driver's monitor *Luggage Compartment *Fire Suppression System **Generator engine compartment protected by
FM200 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-Heptafluoropropane, also called heptafluoropropane, HFC-227ea (ISO name), HFC-227 or FM-200, as well as apaflurane (INN), is a colourless, odourless gaseous halocarbon commonly used as a gaseous fire suppression agent. Chemistry It ...
extinguisher **Fuel tank protected by AFFF extinguisher *Generators: **Twin MAN 2846 LE 202 (320 kW) / Letag (330kVA) engine / generator sets, assembled by GESAN *Length between couplers -


Performance

Although capable of operation, this higher speed would require both track and signal system upgrades and the provision of a faster locomotive than the currently used 201 class. A possibility being considered is the replacement of the existing 201 with two
power cars In rail transport, the expression power car may refer to either of two distinct types of rail vehicle: *a vehicle that propels, and commonly also controls, a passenger train, multiple unit or tram, often as the lead vehicle; *a vehicle equipped ...
, one of which would be converted from the existing generator control car.


Replacement stock

Since January 2016, six sets operate the Dublin-Cork route on an enhanced hourly clockface timetable. ICR's are used at quieter times of the day. The Mark 3 carriages, withdrawn in 2009, replaced the older Mark 2 carriages that previously operated mid-day Limerick, Galway and Waterford routes. The Mark 3s were in turn superseded by a new batch of 183 22000 Class in 2009. The first batch of these was delivered in early March 2007, while the final deliveries took place in 2012.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark 4 carriages of Iarnród Éireann Railway coaches of Ireland