dublinman1990 wrote: » The 41 additional intercity railcars earmarked for the Intercity network has been covered in Budget 2021.
sdanseo wrote: » Why on earth is the IÉ spec non articulated? Walkthrough design greatly increases capacity and capacity is a key problem. Any source or details?
will operate in both full length and half-length formations (i.e. where a full length formation will be between 160m and 168m in length) and will be required to meet other gauging requirements of the Irish Rail network.
bk wrote: » Ah right, I totally forgot about that!! I did read that the Aventra can take the same battery packs as the Talent 3, modular design, so perhaps shorter BEMU Aventra's for the regional services like Cork would make more sense. Would help that 15 years from now, we would have lots of experience with the Aventra and it's batteries if they were too win the Dart+ contract. Of course, by then hopefully lots similar options from other manufacturers too like Mireo as you say.
goingnowhere wrote: » Irish Rail spec is 4 car + 8 car, 20m train, non articulated There are 6 qualified bidders, the usual suspects of Rotem and Mitsui are NOT on the shortlist... Bombardier Aventra is the closest to spec from current production trains and has the advantage of UK approvals which helps as IE standards are similar. However the Aventra is far from reliable
IE 222 wrote: » I'm not sure the Talent 3 can operate high floor. I believe the new design of wider bodies is based on low floor design. The Talent is also restricted to 6 car lengths. Any brochure trains will need to be adapted for Irish rails either way so maybe design enhancements are possible.
Markcheese wrote: » Is the battery power idea really only for when trains are in station ? ,And diesel electric most of the rest of the time ?
tabbey wrote: » Will talent fit the Irish loading gauge?
bk wrote: » Oh absolutely. All just interesting speculation on my part. I've been following the development of battery and hydrogen tech closely over the last few years. I'd assume that Battery trains will also be a strong contender too. With the news of Bombardier competing for the Dart+ project, their TALENT 3 regional train with batteries could be an interesting future option too. It currently has 100km range, but 15 years from now, given the rate of improvement in battery capacity, you'd be looking at 210 to 270km range. Plus the ability to topup from overhead cables. Could be quiet an attractive option for the commuter lines into the other cities. Of course all far off in the future. Will be more interesting to see what they decide to go for for Dart+ in the short term.
IE 222 wrote: » I completely understand but I think your delving too deeply into this idea. It's not about where it is now but where it will be in 10-15 years time. Hydrogen rail has realistically only come to fruition in the last 5 years. Trials are only beginning and if early trials show positives more advanced trials will be experimented. It'll be at least another 5-10 years before anyone really knows its full potential which lines up perfectly with our next fleet and network renewal time scale.
bk wrote: » The issue you have, prices will only drop if it scales up, but it will only scale up if the demand is there. And increasingly it is looking like widespread, large scale demand for Hydrogen simply isn't going to develop. Cars, vans, city buses, etc. all look to be going battery, not hydrogen. Even heavier vehicles like intercity coaches * and trucks look borderline to be going battery too. * South Korea already has a very nice looking, double decker intercity battery EV coach! It looks like batteries are getting the scale, not hydrogen. If all those go battery, they were does the scale for hydrogen come from? You aren't going to get the scale if you are producing hydrogen just for a small number of trains and a few other odds and ends. This is why the Japanese government had been pushing Toyota so hard to go Hydrogen over battery. They knew they needed the scale that comes with cars. But it looks to have failed and even Toyota are getting ready to go battery now too. I will say however, there is one possibility for scale. In the UK, they are thinking about converting the natural gas network for home heating to Hydrogen! That would give you scale in terms of hydrogen production obviously. But a word of warning, this idea in the UK is highly controversial with lots of major question marks, massive disruption and cost. And we don't seem to be going down that route here in Ireland. So I'd be cautious on relying on this. Oh Airbus seem to be thinking of going Hydrogen too for aircraft, it that happens, it would help trains too. Again, not saying it can't be Hydrogen, just that it is complicated.
Jamie2k9 wrote: » Looking at Google maps would say the N67 bridge should just about accomidate doubling but they were not generous with space. When was it buit do you know? The big issues will be closing crossings, I cannot see any non CCTV controlled staying if its doubled. Ideally all would go but might not be possible. The speed limits on the section are terrible now, should be 80mph minimun but the aim should be 100mph.
IE 222 wrote: » I wouldn't be worried about costs right now. These things are all about economies of scale. It will likely cost the same to produce, transport and store small batches as it would large batches. If interest and demand grows manufacturers will increase production lines and productivity accordingly which will slash the costs. Same with the fuel itself. It's a very small and limited industry currently and I think it's a bit premature to compare the costs of both at this stage.
GerardKeating wrote: » They would need a railway order (railway equilivant of planning permission). There are a few bridges on the line which might need work, it's not as simple as clearing a few weeds away and laying down a few rails. Origionally the Athlone/Ballinasloe section was double track, and later singled. And the Galway-Athenry section was also double, and later singled, but the bit inbetween was always single track. Also a road bridge was built over the track, just after Oranmore, not sure if the left room for two tracks.
bk wrote: » BTW The NTA will also be trialling 3 Hydrogen Fuel Cell Double Decker buses with BE:https://www.dublininquirer.com/2020/06/17/hydrogen-buses-set-to-be-trialled-in-dublin-early-next-year-says-nta But this already shows some of the challenges. Each bus to cost 800k, versus 350k for Diesel and 450k for plugin hybrid. In another report I read it costs about 1 million euro of the fuel pumping station for each depot. And hydrogen fuel cost roughly 3 times Diesel. So it isn't so much that it doesn't work, but that currently at least, it massively increases costs all round. Of course well worth trialling and hopefully in time the costs would come down. But it also shows why people haven't rushed to it yet. Sorry I know this is the rail forum, but all the same cost challenges would be there for hydrail too.
Geuze wrote: » Do they need permission from central/local Govt, and NTA?
Jamie2k9 wrote: » NTA to carry out a feasiblity study to upgrade Galway-Athenry to double track. Study scheduled to commence in November and be complete by Q2 2021.https://www.kildarestreet.com/debates/?id=2020-09-23a.271
IE 222 wrote: » That's why it's been trialled first. Lets see how it all works out before denouncing it. They obviously have belief in its possibilities and success otherwise it ain't worth the investment.
dowlingm wrote: » So they dohttps://www.energia.ie/blog/future-of-energy They admit themselves it’s small scale but marrying it to a wind plant makes some sense. The thing about producing for a large scale system with 7x52 demand is that you have to be able to either have steady production or a lot of storage to cover lulls or you end up buying market rate power (or reformed H2 from a chemical vendor) to cover your contract, no? Translink could sit three buses out at weekends and the like. Harder when it’s 33, or 133.
