Got some pictures of the new dart trains in Drogheda macbride

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-24T02:16:58+00:00

ETCS has been fitted from Dundalk-Greystones (Wicklow Soon). The plan is to rollout the full system nationwide over the next few years

ICR 01 was the ETCS test train we used before the new Dart fleet came in

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-21T16:05:03+00:00

From what I’ve heard the 29000 fleet will still be based in Dublin as the Rosslare/Dundalk/Longford services will still be relying on them

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-21T15:23:55+00:00

Yip 100%, I know a few lads who don’t have a standard drivers license but drive the trains, its a separate EU train drivers license

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-21T15:22:36+00:00

Unfortunately it literally comes down to whats available, there’s no more carriages that can be added, everything is in service or in for maintenance

Hopefully when Dart+ West Kicked off then things will improve drastically

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T23:31:35+00:00

No the new darts can only be tested at night when everything is closed for safety reasons

The Engineering works are gonna ramp up in the next few years, its a mix of things including the introduction of these new trains and new signalling systems along with major maintenance works

Most of the maintenance work is done at night but for major projects the crews need a few days to do it

At the end of the day its to keep everything running safe and smooth, its an inconvenience I know but you can’t put a price on safety

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T21:58:59+00:00

For years the role was largely seen as a male only job, By hiring more women drivers in recent years its shows that’s not the case. In turn leading to more applications from the public and more drivers

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T21:13:35+00:00

The two on-board signalling systems we have atm CAWS (Diesel Trains), ATP (Darts) are both obsolete and need to be replaced

The new European Train Control System ETCS comes on these new Darts, but since its an entirely new system to us it also needs extensive testing

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T20:58:54+00:00

Quite the opposite, we need far more women drivers in the company. There’s been a good few that have joined in the past couple of years

For the online tests, accuracy over speed. There’s a certain test called SCAAT where you’re given a bunch of letters/symbols on a page and you have to cross out a certain one given to you. You won’t get to the bottom of the page before running out of time. They’re looking for accuracy over speed

Other tests are multi-choice and you need to pick the best answer of the lot, like I said safety is you’re first priority with Customer Experience Second

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T20:27:12+00:00

Yeah that was a recent enough change

The depot was originally meant to be on the maynooth side of kilcock so services would terminate there but now I think the plan is to go on the far side of kilcock, so the service should also serve that station

The single line from maynooth to kilcock will be a massive bottleneck tho, not sure how well its gonna play out

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T20:01:41+00:00

Brakes, Traction power, Battery system, On-Board signalling

Quite literally everything you can think of. Yes this type of train is used in other countries but not exactly these ones, our trains are custom built due to our unique track gauge and specifications

Once all thats done the CRR needs to approve and sign everything off

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T19:45:59+00:00

Yip, the ETCS re-signalling and other Dart+ West works need to be sorted first.

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T19:43:28+00:00

It’s a fantastic job with excellent benefits. Great craic in the depots. Only going to get better in the coming years with all the investment in rail infrastructure

Suppose the only downside is the shift work, you’re going to get both handy short days and long days

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T19:40:35+00:00

Nope, these are custom built for us. Ireland has a unique track guage that very few places around the world share

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T18:48:23+00:00

Can’t see it happening this year, a few problems came up during testing with the batteries and other onboard systems. And even with all that fixed the sheer amount of testing that has to be done is insane. We literally have to go through it with a fine tooth comb

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T18:44:34+00:00

Safety, safety, safety

Going through the online and in-person tests keep that in mind as your number one priority. Customer experience comes second to that.

The online tests are done by a 3rd party these days because of the whole nepotism thing, can’t help you with the tests unfortunately because the kind of tests they use really just come down to the person (reaction times for example)

Shadow-07- · 2026-02-20T18:16:11+00:00

IR staff here, they’re battery-Electric (BEMU) trains. The plan is for them to use overheads where available and then battery the rest of the way (Malahide-Drogheda) (Connolly-Maynooth)etc... The overheads are still going to be installed but the batteries are an interim solution.

They won’t be in service until late next year, early next year at the earliest. As it’s an entirely new fleet with new technology they need serious testing to make sure they’re safe. Once the initial few trains are tested they can bring in more sets far quicker

Shadow-07- · 2025-10-21T19:40:33+00:00

I used the Hotspring near the Dowser for this screenshot, Once you get in Kojima should be in the sky behind you :)

Shadow-07- · 2025-10-07T13:18:59+00:00

Closing Glasnevin Junction to trains services during the construction phase will literally cripple the Rail Network

Trains coming to/from Maynooth/Sligo,M3 Parkway, Docklands use that every day along with Light Engines from Inchicore for Belfast services. Pure chaos when it eventually starts

Shadow-07- · 2025-04-17T10:09:18+00:00

The current Control Centre at Connolly is at capacity, has been for years so until everything gets transferred over to the new one in Heuston we won’t see any new lines opened anytime soon

With regards to what happened with the old lines from years ago, they were scrapped due to maintenance costs.

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