Iarnród Éireann, the national rail operator, plans to spend as much as €800 million on a new fleet of carriages for its suburban commuter and Dart services.
The CIÉ company has initiated a tendering process for the procurement of 400 carriages, by far its largest order for rolling stock.
The completion of such an order would more than double the company's enlarged commuter fleet, which now has 154 Dart carriages and 180 diesel carriages and had a combined total of 124 carriages in 2000.
Iarnród Éireann said that the expansion was designed to facilitate an increase in the number of annual commuter journeys in the greater Dublin area to 100 million by 2015 from 33 million last year.
Led by CIÉ executive chairman Dr John Lynch, the organisation will order the bulk of the units this year, with a further order to follow in 2011. A number of international rolling stock manufacturers are expected to tender for the contract. Given that carriages cost some €2 million each, the entire contract is likely to have a valuation in the region of €800 million. The project will be funded by the Government under the Transport 21 scheme.
A tender notice in the EU Journalsays that Iarnród Éireann wants to buy 250 carriages for the electrified Dart service, which is to be expanded into new areas.
The service will be introduced on the lines linking Dublin with Maynooth on the Sligo line, Hazelhatch on the Kildare line and Balbriggan on the northern line. In addition, Iarnród Éireann is examining the possibility of expanding the northern line Dart service to Drogheda.
The company also wants to buy an additional 150 diesel units for use on commuter services into Dublin from Leinster and on the expansion of its services in Cork and Limerick.
The notice is for a contract for the design, manufacture, delivery and commissioning of "energy-efficient" multiple-unit trains.
"Iarnród Éireann may also consider vehicles which optimise environmental performance by utilising alternative technologies such as hybrid technologies permitting recovery and reuse of energy," the notice says.
The company believes that it may be able to use hybrid technology which would store energy and improve fuel efficiency, acceleration and deceleration.
Separately, CIÉ said that it had initiated trials to introduce bio-diesel on its rail and bus networks.
The group has agreed a three-year contract with Tedcastle Oil for the supply of more than 84,000 tonnes of ultra-low sulphur diesel for its locomotive, diesel railcar and bus fleets.
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