Multiple units of Ireland

Last updated

A wide variety of diesel and electric multiple units have been used on Ireland's railways. This page lists all those that have been used. Except with the NIR Class 3000, the numbers given by each class in the lists below are those allocated to the coaches that make up the units in that class, otherwise, unit numbers are not used in Ireland.

Contents

Republic of Ireland

Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ), which controlled the Republic's railways between 1945 and 1987, mainly used locomotives and hauled stock for its passenger trains. What diesel multiple unit cars it did have were numbered in the 26xx series. Since 1987, Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) has been increasing the use of this type of train, to replace older locomotives and carriages. The only electrified railway network in Ireland is the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) system, in addition to the Luas which runs on a separate network. Its fleet of electric multiple units are numbered in the 8xxx series.

Despite appearing to be a DMU (especially the Driving Van-Trailer end), the Dublin Cork service Mark 4 is an 8-car Push–pull train.

Diesel multiple units

ClassManufacturerDate BuiltNumber BuiltWithdrawnImageScrapped
AEC Class Initial Order AEC 1951–1956661987 Push-pull train at Howth Junction station.jpg 65
GNR Order1951–1956101975 Lambeg station (1971) - geograph.org.uk - 991887.jpg All
Bulleid Order Inchicore Works 19561975
BUT Class BUT 1956–1957121972–1975 BUT railcar, Lisburn - geograph.org.uk - 1442604.jpg
80 Class BREL 1974 (Hired from NIR)31990 IE80Class.jpg
2600 Class (II) Tokyu Car Corporation 199317still in use Fota 1.jpg 0
2700 Class GEC Alsthom 1997–1998122012 Dublin 5.jpg
2750 Class 2 Dublin 6.jpg
2800 Class Tokyu Car Corporation200010still in use Limerick 1.jpg 2
29000 Class CAF 2002–200529 Dublin 1.jpg 0
22000 Class Hyundai Rotem 2007–2011

2019–

63 Drogheda 1.jpg

Electric multiple units

ClassManufacturerYear BuiltNumber BuiltWithdrawnImageScrapped
Drumm Battery Trains Inchicore Works1931
1938
41949 Drumm battery train D.jpg All
8100 Class Linke-Hofmann-Busch 1983–198440still in use Dart-8306-00.jpg 2
8200 Class Alstom1999–200052007–2008 DART Unit 8203.jpg 1
8500 Class Tokyu Car Corporation20004still in use Howth Junction railway station in 2007.jpg 0
8510 Class 20013 8700 EMU - 8614.jpg
8520 Class 2003–200410 DART Connolly.jpg

Northern Ireland

The majority of passenger services in Northern Ireland have been operated by diesel multiple units since the mid-1950s (the major exception being the locomotive-hauled Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin), under the tenure of both the Ulster Transport Authority (1948–1966) and Northern Ireland Railways (since 1967). From 2001, all items of rolling stock in use on NIR had 8000 added to their number so as to be part of the Translink number series, which incorporates their road vehicles. The 3000 Class stock are the first multiple units to be numbered from new in the Translink series. NIR purchased an additional 20 Class 4000 DMUs which entered service in 2011 and 2012.

NIR purchased a Windhoff Multi-Purpose Vehicle for use as the Rail Head Treatment Train, equipped to lay sandite and high-pressure water. The MPV was procured to replace a converted Class 80 unit.

ClassManufacturerNumber BuiltIn ServiceWithdrawnImage
AEC Class GNR Sets GNR Works,

Dundalk

20 Power Cars

(10 After 1958)

1950–19721972 Lambeg station (1971) - geograph.org.uk - 991887.jpg
UTA 6 & 7 UTA Works 2 Power Cars1951–1972
BUT Class GNR Works,

Dundalk

24 Cars1957–19801980 BUT railcar, Lisburn - geograph.org.uk - 1442604.jpg
MED Class NIR Works14 x 3-car sets1952–19781978 Delayed train, Lisburn - geograph.org.uk - 1087236.jpg
MPD Class NIR Works2 x 5-car sets
10 × 3 car sets
1958–19811981 Lisburn railway station (4) - geograph.org.uk - 511723.jpg
70 Class NIR Works8 x 3-car sets1966–19861986 Permanent way train, Larne - geograph.org.uk - 1088463.jpg
Class 80 BREL2, 3, 4 or 6 cars per set1975-20172011 (passenger use)
2017 (departmental use)
69, North Junction.jpg
RB3 BREL/Leyland 1 x single car1981–19901990 NIR RB3 Ballymena Geograph-2091774.jpg
Class 450 BREL9 x 3-car sets1985–20122012 Downshire railway station in 2008.jpg
Class 3000 CAF23 x 3-car sets2005-presentstill in use Seahill (1) (cropped).jpg
Class 4000 CAF13 x 3-car sets
7 x 4-car sets
2011-presentstill in use Coleraine railway station 3.jpg

Great Northern Railway (Ireland)

The Great Northern Railway (Ireland) straddled the border between the Republic and Northern Ireland, and so was not incorporated in either the CIE or UTA. However, mounting losses saw the network purchased jointly by the Irish and British governments on Tuesday 1 September 1953. It was run as a joint board, independent of the CIE and UTA, until Tuesday 30 September 1958 when it was dissolved and the remaining stock split equally between the 2 railways.

Railcars in preservation

NumberOriginal companyIn servicePreserved byLocation
B Sligo, Leitrim and Northern Counties Railway 1947–1971 Downpatrick & Co. Down Railway Downpatrick
6111 CIÉ 1952–1987
450 Class 458 Northern Ireland Railways 1987–2012
798
788
Two–car

80 Class

691978–2017
749
Two–car

80 Class

90
7521979–2017
RB002 British Rail 1984–1990Riverstown Old MillRiverstown, Louth
Railcar 1 Northern Counties Committee (LMS)1933–1965 Railway Preservation Society of Ireland Whitehead
Railbus E Great Northern Railway 1921–1965 Ulster Folk and Transport Museum Cultra
1 County Donegal Railways 1906–1956
101932–1959
121934–1959 Foyle Valley Railway Derry
151936–1959 Donegal Railway Heritage Centre Donegal
181940–1959 Fintown Railway Fintown
191951–1959 Isle of Man Railway Isle of Man
20
712CIÉ1962–2005 Irish Traction Group Downpatrick
713Downpatrick & Co. Down Railway
1498 76773British Rail1970–1993Quirky Glamping Enniscrone
62411
76844

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NI Railways</span> Parastatal rail transport organisation of Northern Ireland (NIR)

NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways, 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 one of eight publicly owned train operators in the United Kingdom, the others being Direct Rail Services, Northern Trains, Transport for Wales Rail, Southeastern, LNER, ScotRail, and TransPennine Express. It has a common Board of Management with the other two companies in the group, Ulsterbus and Metro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rail transport in Ireland</span>

Rail transport in Ireland is provided by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland and by Northern Ireland Railways in Northern Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iarnród Éireann</span> Irelands national railway operator

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 freight railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. In 2019, IÉ carried a record peak of 50 million passengers, up from 48 million in 2018.

Although prototype diesel locomotives ran in Britain before World War II, the railways of both the Republic and Northern Ireland changed over much more rapidly from steam to diesel traction than those in Britain, due to the island's limited coal reserves and an ageing steam locomotive fleet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 201 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann 201 Class was a class of 34 diesel electric locomotives manufactured by Metropolitan-Vickers at their Dukinfield Works in Manchester. They were a smaller, lighter and less powerful version of the 001 Class and were originally intended for branch line passenger and freight duties. They were introduced in 1956 and, although their duties changed over the years, were in regular service on the Irish railway network until the mid-1980s. Six were sold to Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NIR 101 Class</span>

The NIR 101 Class is a class of diesel-electric locomotive formerly operated by Northern Ireland Railways (NIR). With the return to the working of the Enterprise service from Belfast to Dublin with coaching stock instead of augmented diesel railcar sets, NIR found itself with no suitable main line diesel locomotives. The 101 Class (DL) became the answer to the immediate problem working in conjunction with the newly acquired British Rail Mark 2 coaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IÉ 201 Class</span>

The Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) / Northern Ireland Railways 201 Class locomotives are the newest and most powerful diesel locomotives operating in Ireland and were built between 1994 and 1995 by General Motors Diesel. They are model type JT42HCW, fitted with an EMD 12-710G3B engine of 3,200 hp (2,400 kW), weigh 108.862 tonnes and have a maximum speed of 164 km/h (102 mph).

A wide variety of hauled coaches have been used on the railways of Ireland. This page lists all those since 1945.

<i>Enterprise</i> (train service) Train service between Dublin, Ireland, and Belfast, Northern Ireland

Enterprise is the cross-border inter-city train service between Dublin Connolly in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast Grand Central in Northern Ireland, jointly operated by Iarnród Éireann (IE) and NI Railways (NIR). It operates on the Belfast–Dublin railway line.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NIR 80 Class</span>

The 80 Class is a type of diesel electric multiple unit formerly used by Northern Ireland Railways. They were affectionately nicknamed 'Thumpers' by rail enthusiasts due to the thumping noise their engines produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">InterCity (Iarnród Éireann)</span> Rail services in the Republic of Ireland

InterCity is the brand name given to rail services operated by Iarnród Éireann that run between Dublin and other major cities in Ireland. InterCity branding is also used in other European countries by unaffiliated organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commuter (Iarnród Éireann)</span> Rail service in Ireland

Commuter is a brand of suburban rail services operated by Iarnród Éireann in the Republic of Ireland, serving the cities of Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway. This brand is distinct from the longer distance InterCity brand, and Dublin's higher frequency DART brand. Most Commuter services share a track with InterCity services. During the first decade of the new millennium, Iarnród Éireann put a significant amount of effort into upgrading its network, with new tracks, signalling, station upgrades and trains. Commuter services are operated by diesel multiple unit train sets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IÉ 22000 Class</span> Class of an Irish rail trainset

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IÉ 2600 Class</span>

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 available. At present the entire class is based in Cork, and is used on local services to Mallow, Midleton, Cobh and on token services to Tralee. A hybrid unit was based in Limerick until it was withdrawn in 2012 and is now stored in Cork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NIR 450 Class</span> Northern Irish diesel multiple unit

The 450 Class is a type of diesel multiple unit (DMU) passenger train formerly used by Northern Ireland Railways. They were affectionately nicknamed 'Thumpers' and 'Castles' by rail enthusiasts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NIR Class 4000</span>

The Class 4000 is a type of diesel multiple unit (DMU) in service with Northern Ireland Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 2600 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) 2600 Class were Associated Equipment Company (AEC)–engined diesel multiple units that operated InterCity and suburban services on the CIÉ system between 1952 and 1975. Many were later converted for push–pull operation with diesel locomotives, finally being withdrawn when displaced by the electric Dublin Area Rapid Transit service in the mid-1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CIÉ 071 Class</span>

The Córas Iompair Éireann/Iarnród Éireann 071 Class or Northern Ireland Railways 110 Class or Serbian Railways JŽ series 666 is a General Motors Electro-Motive Division EMD JT22CW series diesel-electric locomotive used in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Serbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GNRI BUT Class</span>

The GNRI BUT Class was a fleet of diesel-powered railcars operated by the Great Northern Railway Board and its successors between 1957 and 1980. They were an evolution of the earlier AEC railcars, which had entered service in 1951.