EU funds for refurbishment of Dublin-Belfast railway

D.L.R.

The European Union is to invest £17m in two cross-border railway projects.

The work includes refurbishment of rolling stock for the Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service and the Boyne viaduct in Drogheda, County Louth.

The projects are scheduled for completion in 2015.

The Department for Regional Development (DRD) in Northern Ireland and the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport (DTTAS) in the Republic are to match the EU funding.

Twelve million pounds has been allocated for an upgrade to the Enterprise service, including overhaul of the trains' mechanical systems, new interiors, new livery and a new electronic passenger reservation system.

The EU's INTERREG IVA programme is also providing funding for work on the viaduct, which carries the Belfast-Dublin railway line across the River Boyne.

Refurbishment of the viaduct, which was built in 1885, will include steel repairs, track renewal and a new drainage system.

Pat Colgan, chief executive with the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), said: "Both projects will enhance one of our main cross-border infrastructure links, thereby supporting trade and tourism development for a more prosperous and sustainable region".

DRD Minister Danny Kennedy welcomed the investment.

"I am confident that these very significant improvements will attract even greater numbers of passengers in the future and help raise awareness, in much wider terms, of the benefits of rail travel," he said.

Irish Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe said the investment was "a big win for everyone living along the Belfast-Dublin rail corridor".

Figures published in 2013 showed passenger numbers on the Enterprise had dropped by 22% over the previous 10 years.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-28787127

Judgement Day

Why are we not impressed - possibly because the service was faster 20 years ago and a 90 minute end to end journey time was promised back then too. Loads of dosh has been spent on the route and by their own admission there has been a serious fall-off in traffic.

Pete_Cavan

Irish Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe said the investment was "a big win for everyone living along the Belfast-Dublin rail corridor".

Yes, because the only people who would want to take the train between Dublin and Belfast are those living along the line. That highlights the narrow-minded attitude our politicians have towards public transport and explains why the service has been allowed to deteriorate over the years.

cgcsb

Any guesses as to what journey time savings can be delivered by improved rolling stock and improved Boyne viaduct? After all, on the Dublin Belfast corridor speed is everything. 90 mins should be the goal

1huge1

cgcsb wrote: »

Any guesses as to what journey time savings can be delivered by improved rolling stock and improved Boyne viaduct? After all, on the Dublin Belfast corridor speed is everything. 90 mins should be the goal

Just so I understood the article properly, they wont be purchasing new trains, just upgrading the current ones.

What kind of upgrading to the mechanics could they undertake that would make a notable difference?

cgcsb

1huge1 wrote: »

Just so I understood the article properly, they wont be purchasing new trains, just upgrading the current ones.

What kind of upgrading to the mechanics could they undertake that would make a notable difference?

That's a good question. I suspect that putting in a separate power car may improve the speed and reliability of the service. There may also be time saved from an improved boyne viaduct

Sam Russell

They will also paint new 'GoFaster' stripes on the train to cut down delays.

L1011

cgcsb wrote: »

That's a good question. I suspect that putting in a separate power car may improve the speed and reliability of the service. There may also be time saved from an improved boyne viaduct

I doubt there's a power car available that'd be suitable to work with a 201 in PP - so you're entering the realm of what'd be ideal for the Mark 4s where its conversion of the DVT to a power car and matching it with same at the other end. That's a fairly serious investment.

If the infrastructure work is done for 200km/h running I suspect the DeDietrichs will be going in the bin anyway.

donvito99

Ah yes, the old "lick of paint" + ribbon cutting ceremony by the Transport Min/Local TDs/Party Councillors is something I envisage in the near future at Connolly.

murphaph

Is there any memorandum of understanding between Translink and IE that any future electrification would be 1500Vdc, or could we end up with a messy situation of a different system being chosen north of the border, requiring dual system locos etc? That would be really silly and I'd hope someone has already thought about this.

L1011

murphaph wrote: »

Is there any memorandum of understanding between Translink and IE that any future electrification would be 1500Vdc, or could we end up with a messy situation of a different system being chosen north of the border, requiring dual system locos etc? That would be really silly and I'd hope someone has already thought about this.

Would we *want* mainline electrification to be 1500V DC though? Its a legacy or metro-only system by international standards.

murphaph

MYOB wrote: »

Would we *want* mainline electrification to be 1500V DC though? Its a legacy or metro-only system by international standards.

In an ideal world no, we'd choose 25kVac probably, even for DART, but the DART system exists and in reality, the runs in Ireland are short, even the IC ones and at present only Dublin - Belfast even remotely justifies electrification (because at the Belfast end you have fairly frequent commuter movements as well) and that might stay that way. Holland and Belgium have these "low voltage" DC systems and are similarly sized to us, so it's not an absolute no-go.

If 1500Vdc is a real hindrance (and I'm not sure it is in an Irish context) then there should be a memorandum of understanding that whatever system Translink may at some future date install, should be the one that will be installed south of the border as well. It would be theoretically possible to convert over a few decades to 25kVac, but equipment would have to be dual capable...which makes it more expensive obviously.

You'd have thought this would have been discussed...maybe someone here has some inside information and can confirm.

Subpopulus

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/3m-european-funding-for-hub-30613176.html

£3m in funding for a transport hub at the Europa centre. They're basically moving the Dublin-Belfast terminus from Belfast Central to the Europa. This funding is to move the planning ahead, not any construction work.

I'm not sure if this will bring about any dramatic improvement to the Dublin-Belfast line as Danny Kennedy claims, but this should at least improve the embarkation point.