EUROPE: Funding is now in place for the procurement of electric-battery inter-city trains to increase frequencies and reduce journey times on the cross-border Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast which is operated jointly by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways.
An order for eight 1 600 mm gauge trainsets is expected to be placed this year for entry into service in 2029. The replacement of the current Enterprise fleet of four diesel loco-hauled rakes of coaches with twice the number of trainsets would pave the way for an hourly service and a reduction of the journey time from 2 h 7 min to around 1 h 55 min.
The trainsets would use the 1·5 kV DC overhead electrification in the Dublin area, and battery power elsewhere. If the route is eventually electrified to Belfast they would use electric power throughout.
The funding comprises €165m from the PEACEPLUS partnership between the European Union, the UK and Irish governments and the Northern Ireland Executive, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.
Funding is also coming from the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland and the Department of Transport in Ireland.
Under the Shared Island initiative, the Irish government is providing €12·5m to Iarnród Éireann and the same to Translink to support hourly services.
‘This is an exciting time for rail travel’, said Department for Infrastructure Minister John O’Dowd when the PEACEPLUS funding was announced on April 8. ‘The new fleet will pave the way for the Enterprise service to become the first electrified inter-city service on the island which will support our decarbonisation commitments.’
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan added that the Enterprise replacement programme is a key priority for both governments, and ’another indication of the ambition we have to put the island of Ireland on track for a new age of rail, connecting more cities and towns and opening up quality rail service to more people’.
