Real Irish Railcars

Real Irish Railcars

A wide variety of diesel multiple units have been used on Ireland's railways. This site lists all those that are currently in use in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. 

Republic Of Ireland

The current fleet of DMU's on Iarnród Éireann (IE) date back to 1993 when the 2600 class were introduced.These units were designed for short distance suburban work in the Dublin and Cork area. In 1998 the 2700 class were introduced into service in the Dublin suburban area. 2000 saw the 2800 class introduced into service on the Maynooth/Longford line. 2002 saw the introduction of the 29000 class fleet. These units were designed for the ever expanding Dublin suburban network which led to the withdrawal of locomotive hauled trains on Dublins suburban network. A further batch of 29000 class units entered service in 2005/06.

December 2007 saw the first of the new 3 car 22000 class units enter service. These units are designed for Intercity services and will phase out traditional locomotive hauled trains currently on these services. The 22000 class come in 3 variations. (1) 3 car all standard class layout. (2) 6 car with first class buffet car and standard class layout. (3) 6 car in all standard class layout.

Tenders are currently out for additional commuter DMU trains for the suburban network. 

 

 Northern Ireland

The majority of passenger services in Northern Ireland have been operated by diesel multiple units since the mid-1950s. The current fleet of units on Northern Ireland Railways (or NI Railways) date back to the 1970's when the 80 class now known as the 8080 class entered service in 2 batches (1974 and 1978). The majority of these units were withdrawn following the introduction of the 3000 class units. A small batch of 8080 class are currently being refurbished and fitted with central door locking to enable them to remain in service until new railcars, due to enter service in 2010-12. The 450 class now known as the 8450 class were intoduced into service in 1985. They were built by BREL and use the power units and traction motors from the withdrawn 70 Class units and one 80 class unit. They currently operate services on the Larne line. The 3000 class units were introduced into service in 2004. They can be found in service on the Belfast-Londonderry line and on Belfast suburban services. 

NIR are currently looking to purchase new rolling stock to allow the complete replacement of the remaining 8450 Class and 8080 Class units.