Iarnród Éireann
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Iarnród Éireann (IÉ; in English Irish Rail), is the national railway system of the Republic of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIE). It operates all internal intercity, suburban and commuter railway services in the Republic of Ireland, and, jointly with Northern Ireland Railways, the Enterprise service between Dublin and Belfast. See also rail transport in Ireland.
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[edit] Organisation
At the time of its establishment IÉ referred to itself as Irish Rail, and introduced the four rails IR logo; however, the initials IR were often defaced as IRA on signage. The company gradually brought the Irish form of its name to the fore, ultimately introducing its current IE corporate branding and logo in 1994. The Irish word iarnród (alternately rendered "bóthar iarainn") translates into English as iron road, or railway. The logo was widely derided for its similarity to that of the Rexel pencil company. While the name "Irish Rail" was dropped from the logo, it remains part of the official company name ("Iarnrod Éireann - Irish Rail") and was revived as the name of the company's online booking service, irishrail.ie, in 2006.
IÉ services are divided across several separate operating areas.
[edit] Services
IÉ's services are branded under three main names; InterCity, Commuter and DART. InterCity services are long-distance routes radial from Dublin. The Belfast–Dublin service, run in conjunction with Northern Ireland Railways, is branded separately as Enterprise. Diesel multiple unit (DMU) services out of major cities are branded Commuter. The DART brand is used for a north-south high-frequency electric multiple unit (EMU) service on the eastern side of Dublin. Formerly a separate timetable was published for each the two sectors (InterCity and DART /Commuter) annually, but in 2006 these were amalgamated into a single national timetable. Regional services (e.g. Limerick-Rosslare Europort) are sometimes regarded as Commuter services, with fairly new Commuter DMUs being used on the service, although they are listed as InterCity services in the timetable.
Dublin is the hub of Ireland's railway system. The two main Intercity stations are Connolly and Heuston; Intercity services radiate to/from Cork, Limerick, Tralee, Galway, Waterford, Rosslare Europort, Sligo, Westport and Ballina. Dublin's third major station, Pearse is the terminus for much of the suburban network in the Greater Dublin area.
The majority of commuter services are based in Dublin, which in 2006 has four commuter routes. These are: Northern (Dundalk), Western (Maynooth/Longford), South Western (Newbridge/Kildare/Portlaoise) and South Eastern (Arklow). Many of the trains commencing on the South Eastern route provide a through service to the Western or Northern commuter line or vice-versa. Additional commuter services include the Cork Suburban Rail, which runs on two lines from Cork (to Mallow and Cóbh) and from Limerick (to Ennis and Limerick Junction). As the Commuter livery is used on all DMUs, a number of other services also run under the name. These include Mallow–Tralee, Manulla Junction–Ballina and Limerick–Rosslare Europort, as well as the Dublin–Sligo and Dublin–Rosslare "InterCity".
The north-south route along Dublin's eastern coastal side is also host to DART, Ireland's only electrified heavy rail service.
Quality of service is generally good. The Dublin to Belfast (the Enterprise route) is well regarded, despite occasional problems with punctuality. These are primarily capacity related. The route is only two track and serves both local and intermediate commuter as well as intercity traffic, hence any delay has knock on effects. This is combined with limited platform availability at Connolly station in Dublin. There is also the occasional problem with engine overloading, due to the fact that Enterprise locos must also supply coach power (unlike the southern and western routes, where power is provided by separate generator vans).
The Cork - Dublin route is also quite well regarded. It was the "premier line" of the Great Southern and Western Railway, one of the biggest pre-CIE operators. Journey time and rolling stock are quite good on this route, with new Mark 4 rolling stock complete with DVTs for faster turn around now in service.
- See also: Rail transport in Ireland
[edit] Network Catering
IÉ's Network Catering unit provides a trolley service of food and drink, a snack car and (on some routes) a restaurant service. It also operates a restaurant at Dún Laoghaire. According to Irish Rail's annual report, the unit lost €270 000 in 2004.
Early in 2006, IÉ advertised for private catering contractors to take over the operation of its catering services, but at present IÉ still operates the services directly.
[edit] Footnote
- ↑ Iarnród Éireann is pronounced "EERN-rode AIR-in".
[edit] References
[edit] See also
- List of Irish companies
- List of railway stations in Ireland
- History of rail transport in Ireland
- Transportation in Ireland
- Diesel Locomotives of Ireland
- Multiple Units of Ireland
- Coaching Stock of Ireland
[edit] External links
- Official site - Timetables, bookings and operations
- Official site - Corporate Site with real-time DART info
- Platform 11 - Ireland's National Rail Users Group
- Meath on Track - Navan railway campaign
| Rail transport in Ireland | |
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| Enterprise1 - Iarnród Éireann - Northern Ireland Railways | |
| Services: Commuter - Dublin Area Rapid Transit - InterCity | |
| 1 Operated jointly by Iarnród Éireann and Northern Ireland Railways | |
| Córas Iompair Éireann |  |
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Bus Éireann - Irish Bus | Dublin Bus - Bus Átha Cliath | Iarnród Éireann - Irish Rail |
