IE 22000 Class

Iarnród Éireann 22000 Class
InterCity Railcar

22054 at Drogheda MacBride in August 2015
In service 19 December 2007 - present
Manufacturer Hyundai Rotem (Trainsets)
Tokyu Car Corporation (Bogies)
Family name InterCity Railcar (ICR)
Constructed 2007 - 2012
Number built 63 trainsets
Formation 3, 4 and 5 car trainsets
Fleet numbers 22001 - 22063
Capacity 190 seated (3-car)
262 seated (4-car)
304 seated (5-car)
Operator(s) InterCity
Commuter
Specifications
Train length 70 m (230 ft) (3-car set)
93 m (305 ft) (4-car set)
117 m (384 ft) (5-car set)
Width 2.84 m (9.3 ft)
Height 4 m (13 ft)
Maximum speed 160 km/h (99 mph)
Weight 63 tonne per car
Prime mover(s) MTU 6H 1800 R83
Transmission Voith T 312 R [1]
Track gauge 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in)
See Rail gauge in Ireland

The 22000 Class "InterCity Railcar" is a diesel multiple unit in service with Iarnród Éireann in Ireland.

They are the first IÉ DMUs built specifically for InterCity routes. They are designed to operate at a maximum speed of 160 km/h (100 mph), and they have been recorded at higher speeds.

History

In 2005, the Irish Government announced the €34 billion Transport 21 proposal for significant improvements to transport infrastructure, with major emphasis on the railway network. As part of this, large-scale replacement of rolling stock was planned, then made up entirely of locomotive-hauled coaching stock, the most based on the British Rail Mark 2 and British Rail Mark 3. IÉ ordered 120 replacement vehicles: in a major departure, the new trains would be 3 and 6 car DMUs rather than locomotive-hauled carriages. This order was extended to 150 vehicles in 2005, to 183 vehicles in 2007 and to 234 vehicles in December 2008.[2]

Deliveries

Supplied by Mitsui of Japan for initially approximately €400 million, the fleet was built by a partnership between Rotem of South Korea and Tokyu Car Corporation of Japan, who supplied the bogies. The first sets were delivered in March 2007, while the final sets were delivered in April 2012.

In March 2007, a €79 million order was placed for a further 33 vehicles to be used primarily on the outer Dublin commuter network. This was added to with an additional 51 Commuter vehicles in December 2008. As of 2015, there are 63 sets: 28 3-car sets, 25 4-car sets and 10 5-car sets, in three different layouts.

Two of the 3-car sets, 22010 and 22011, were delivered in July 2007 with corrosion damage received in transit from South Korea. IÉ did not accept delivery and stored the sets until October 2008 when they were returned to Rotem for repair, with a revised delivery date of early 2009.[3] It was later determined that it was uneconomic to repair them, so two additional units added to the latest order at no additional cost to IÉ.[4]

Operations

22013 in Wexford on a Rosslare Europort to Dublin Connolly service.

The 22000 class was primarily ordered for InterCity routes except the Dublin-Belfast services operated by Enterprise and the Dublin-Cork service, for which IÉ purchased 67 locomotive-hauled coaches in 2006, but they have also been used on off-peak Dublin-Cork services since November 2009. 22000 units have now replaced coaching stock on services from Dublin to Galway, Westport, Limerick, Waterford and Tralee, and 2800 Class and 29000 Class DMUs to Sligo and Rosslare Europort.

The expansion of the Dublin commuter belt has led to IÉ needing for dedicated long distance Commuter trains, and so purchasing additional units for use on services to destinations such as Portlaoise, Carlow, Athlone, Dundalk, Kildare, Longford and Mallow (in the Cork commuter belt).[2]

Plans by Enterprise to improve its services included the potential of purchasing DMUs to replace its locomotive-hauled coaching stock. Among the options under consideration was the purchase of further 22000 Class units.[5]

NI Railways was offered a variant of the 22000 Class to meet its "New Trains Two" requirement, before ultimately choosing a design similar to its existing Class 3000 unit.[6] The train is sometimes seen on the Dublin to Belfast railway line, on out-of-service transfer to Drogheda train service depot.

Unit types

As delivered, the first 30 units were of three cars, for use on InterCity routes, as were ten of the 15 6-car units. The remaining five 6-car sets and the 17 3-car sets ordered in 2008 were configured for long-distance Commuter services from Dublin. Combinations of two 3-car sets, three 3-car sets, two 4-car sets, a 3-car set + a 4-car set and two 5-car sets are possible. In case of emergency, they can operate in formations of up to 18 cars.

22022 passes through Adamstown
A 22000 at Limerick station

In 2013, IÉ announced plans to reform the 22000 class units from 3 and 6-car sets into 3 and 4-car units, to obtain better flexibility from them in regards to passenger numbers per train. However, it soon became apparent that replacing 6-car units with 4-car ones would lead to overcrowding, which caused IÉ to subsequently alter the proposal into sets of 3, 4 and 5-car lengths.[7]

Fleet details

Class Number Year
Built		 Cars
per Set		 Unit
Numbers		 Routes
Operated		 Notes
22000 10 2007-2009
2011-2012		 3 22001–22006 InterCity & Commuter Fitted with TPWS and AWS for use on NIR. 22001 fitted with in-cab signalling.
22007–22010 22010 returned to manufacturer and replaced with identically numbered unit
18 2011-2012 22046–22063
20 2007-2009 4 22011-22030 22011 returned to manufacturer and replaced with identically numbered unit
22000 (HC) 5 2007-2009 22041–22045 InterCity & Commuter High Capacity
22000 (P) 10 2008 5 22031–22040 InterCity Premier Class
22036 - 22039 fitted with TPWS and AWS for use on NIR to operate Enterprise services

Features

Routes

InterCity services

22020 stands at Dublin Connolly forming a service to Sligo

Commuter services

Wikimedia Commons has media related to IE 22000 Class.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Irish Railway Record Society
  2. 1 2 http://www.irishrail.ie/about-us/fleet-investment
  3. ↑ IRRS News 167
  4. ↑ 22000 Class - IRRS 170
  5. ↑ NIR News 157 - IRRS
  6. ↑ Flanagan, Colm (2010). "Optimism in Northern Ireland". Modern Railways. 67 (737): 60–64.
  7. ↑ "Diesel Railcars". IRRS. Irish Railway Record Society. February 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2014.
  8. ↑ MTU engine spec.
  9. 1 2 IRRS Article
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