IE 22000 Class

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

They are the first IÉ DMUs built specifically for InterCity routes, They are capable of 160 km/h (100 mph), and they have been recorded at higher speeds.

History
In 2005, the Irish Government announced the €34 billion Transport 21 proposal for significant improvements to transport infrastructure, with major emphasis on the railway network. As part of this, large-scale replacement of rolling stock was planned, then made up entirely of locomotive-hauled coaching stock, the most based on the British Rail Mark 2 and British Rail Mark 3. IÉ ordered 120 replacement vehicles: in a major departure, the new trains would be 3 and 6 car DMUs rather than locomotive-hauled carriages. This order was extended to 150 vehicles in 2005, to 183 vehicles in 2007 and to 234 vehicles in December 2008.

Deliveries
Supplied by Mitsui of Japan for initially approximately €400 million, the fleet is being built by a partnership between Rotem of South Korea and Tokyu Car Corporation of Japan, who supplied the bogies. The first sets were delivered in March 2007.

In March 2007, a €79 million order was placed for a further 33 vehicles to be used primarily on the outer Dublin commuter network. This was added to with an additional 51 Commuter vehicles in December 2008. There are to be 63 sets: 48 3-car sets and 15 6-car sets, in two different layouts.

Two of the 3-car sets, 22010 and 22011, were delivered in July 2007 with corrosion damage received in transit from South Korea. IÉ did not accept delivery and stored the sets until October 2008 when they were returned to Rotem for repair, with a revised delivery date of early 2009. It was later determined that it was uneconomic to repair them, so two additional units added to the latest order at no cost to IÉ.

Operations
The 22000 class was primarily ordered for intercity routes except the Dublin-Belfast services operated by Enterprise and the Dublin-Cork service, for which IÉ purchased 67 locomotive-hauled coaches in 2006, but they will be used on off-peak Dublin-Cork services from November 2009. 22000 units have now replaced coaching stock on services from Dublin to Galway, Westport, Limerick and Tralee, and 2800 and 29000 DMUs to Sligo and Rosslare Europort.

The expansion of the Dublin commuter belt has led to IÉ needing for dedicated long distance Commuter trains, and so purchasing additional units for use on services to destinations such as Portlaoise, Carlow, Athlone, Dundalk, Kildare, Longford and Mallow (in the Cork commuter belt).

Plans by Enterprise to improve its services included the potential of purchasing DMUs to replace its locomotive-hauled coaching stock. Among the options under consideration was the purchase of further 22000 Class units.

NI Railways was offered a variant of the 22000 Class to meet its "New Trains Two" requirement, before ultimately choosing a design similar to its existing Class 3000 unit. The train is sometimes seen on the Dublin to Belfast railway line, on out-of-service transfer to Drogheda train service depot.

Unit types
The first 30 units are of three cars, for use on InterCity routes, as are ten of the 15 6-car units. The remaining five 6-car sets and the 17 3-car sets ordered in 2008 are configured for long-distance Commuter services from Dublin. Combinations of two 3-car sets, three 3-car sets, two 6-car sets and a 3-car set + a 6-car set are possible. In case of emergency, they can operate in formations of up to 18 cars.


 * A1: Driving car, catering, wheelchair accessible WC, one wheelchair space, 36 1st class seats
 * A2: Driving car, standard WC, 66 seats
 * A22: A2 car with NIR TPWS/AWS & radio system
 * A3: Driving car, wheelchair accessible WC, two wheelchair spaces, bicycle storage, 54 seats
 * A33: A3 car with NIR signal & radio system
 * B: Intermediate car, standard WC, 72 seats
 * B1: B car with sanding system
 * 3-car sets: A2/A22 - B - A3/A33
 * 6-car sets: A1 - B - B1 - B - B - A3 (10); A2 - B - B1 - B - B - A3 (5)

Features

 * Engine: MTU 6H 1800 R83, 12.8 L, 6 cylinder, 483 bhp gross, 386 bhp traction per car.
 * Transmission: Voith T 312 R
 * Top speed: 160 km/h (100 mph)
 * Body: high quality stainless steel with some corrosion-resistant carbon steel components
 * Automatic PA and information display systems (Supplier: SA Viewcom)
 * Fully air-conditioned (Supplier: Toshiba)
 * Saloon, external view of doors and front-facing CCTV camera and recording system (Supplier: Verint)
 * Catering facilities
 * Individual base seating
 * Fire safety to BS 6853 Cat 1B, automatic fire extinguishing system for engines & fuel tanks
 * All sets have Irish standard CAWS signaling systems and train radio.
 * The first six 3-car sets have TPWS/AWS for operation on Northern Ireland Railways.

Dimensions

 * Length: 3-car set, 70 m. 6-car set, 139 m
 * Width: 2.84 m
 * Height: 4 m
 * Weight: 63 tonne, each car

Intercity services

 * Dublin to Galway/Westport 6 car premier set, Two 3 car sets
 * Dublin to Sligo 6 car high capacity set & Two 3 car sets
 * Dublin to Rosslare Europort 3 car set
 * Dublin to Limerick 6 car premier set & Two 3 car sets
 * Dublin to Tralee 6 car premier set
 * Dublin to Cork (off-peak) Two 3 car sets
 * Dublin to Waterford 6 car premier set, 6 car high capacity set & Two 3 car sets
 * Cork/Mallow to Tralee 3 car set
 * Waterford-Clonmel-Limerick Junction 3 car set
 * Limerick to Limerick Junction 3 car set

Commuter services

 * Dublin to Newbridge/Kildare
 * Dublin to Portlaoise
 * Dublin to Maynooth / Longford
 * Dublin to Drogheda / Dundalk
 * Dublin to M3 Parkway
 * Dublin to Wicklow / Wexford