Irish Railway Record Society

Operations

FREIGHT

Future of Rail Freight   Following the withdrawal from hauling containers in July, IÉ continued to further reduce rail freight carryings. Keg beer traffic was withdrawn completely from Waterford at the end of October. The three times weekly Waterford liner was altered to run between Dublin and Kilkenny only. Waterford had also once been the source of keg cider traffic, which was road hauled from the Bulmer’s factory in Clonmel.

In November, the Minister for Transport told the Dáil ‘The rail freight market is to be opened to competition from 1 January 2006, in the case of international freight, and from 1 January 2007 for domestic freight operations. Liberalisation is in accordance with the terms of Directive 2004/51/EC on the development of the Community’s railways. Significant progress has been made on the transposition of this directive and I will be finalising the matter in the coming weeks’.

‘My Department has already transposed a number of EU directives as preliminary steps for the liberalisation of the rail freight market. These include mechanisms for the licensing of rail operators and the allocation and charging for track access. While no formal applications have yet been received for a railway undertaking licence or track access, my Department has received a communication from an operator stating its intention to establish itself as a freight operator in Ireland. I welcome this development’.

‘In respect of the subsidisation of rail freight, my policy priority remains that additional Exchequer funding should be focused on the expansion of passenger services. For example, a significant additional subvention will be required to expand bus services in Dublin and provincial cities under Transport 21. Expanding public transport passenger services to address increasing travel times and relieving road congestion provides better value for Exchequer funds. However, I am open to considering proposals for interested parties on any innovative or new approaches to rail freight which offers value for money, where a real and tangible return on Exchequer investment can be demonstrated and which compares favourably with investment in passenger services’.

On 26 September a company with a UK operating licence and safety case wrote to the Department of Transport advising its intention to operate international freight services in accordance with EU Directive 2004/51/EC and domestic freight services from 1 January 2007.

The Minister told the Dáil ‘My Department has been in touch with the operator and a formal application is expected in the New Year. I welcome the development of a liberalised rail freight market, as the emergence of alternative freight providers has the potential to increase capacity and choice for freight users. It will also increase choice for Irish exporters moving goods by rail within the rest of the European Union’.

He also said ‘The licensing and allocation of track access for rail operations are governed by two EU directives which have been transposed into Irish law: SI 537 of 2003, the European Communities (Licensing of Railway Undertakings) Regulations 2003 which transpose into Irish law EU Directive 2001/13 establishing a mechanism whereby an operator can apply for a licence to operate as a railway undertaking; and SI 643 of 2004, the European Communities (Allocation of Railway Infrastructure Capacity and the Levying of Charges for the use of Railway Infrastructure and Safety Certification) Regulations 2004 which transpose into Irish law EU Directive 2001/14 providing for the allocation and charges for track access’.

‘These regulations establish a fair and transparent system for granting licences and allocating track capacity and set out the criteria to be considered in awarding a licence and in granting track access. These regulations are to be used where member states decide to open their market. However, they do not create an obligation on member states to liberalise services by having more than one railway operator’.

‘As Minister, I am the regulator and I am responsible for granting licences, while Iarnród Éireann, as the operator of the railway infrastructure, is the infrastructure manager and is responsible for the allocation of track capacity. The provisions of the directive will guide me in considering applications for licences. An intending freight operator dissat-isfied with the terms and conditions offered by Iarnród Éireann for access to the rail network has a right of appeal to me as the regulator’.

The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) had criticised what they maintained was a policy by IÉ to disengage from parts of the rail freight business and urged the Government to introduce measures to encourage private sector interest in the rail freight business. The IEA said ‘We are extremely concerned at the fact that, contrary to EU policy, the Department of Transport, is now actively overseeing the transfer of container traffic from rail to road. IEA made a formal submission to the Department following a series of meetings earlier this year, which appears to have fallen on deaf ears. ... IEA would welcome the entry of new operators as recommended by EU policy. Unlike other countries in Europe, Ireland offered no incentives to industry to use rail or to operators to enter the market, which the current proposals to provide free access for trucks to the new €714m Dublin port tunnel represents a massive subsidy to road freight'.

IÉ said the company was committed to the rail freight business where this could generate a commercial return and had expanded its sugar beet business and would continue to expand its pulp wood operations. The Minister for Transport told the Dáil that bulk cement carried by rail increased from 425,656 tonnes in 2002 to 450,000 tonnes in 2004, but was expected to be lower in 2005.

In December, the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) commented on transport services and published a transport user's survey. ‘We certainly believe the State should hold on to the infrastructure to guarantee quality levels. With IÉ running the rail network, more private operators could enter the market, offering more services, and so the Government should implement a licensing scheme to allow other operators to use the national rail network as a matter of urgency’. The CCI said ‘there is a strong case for moving more freight to the rail network’. The survey found 52% of respondents to be dissatisfied about the level of government investment in rail freight, as against 18% that were satisfied. ‘Rail freight services are very important, particularly near ports, and could significantly reduce road congestion. We would certainly like to see greater consideration being given to rail freight, particularly as it wasn't mentioned in Transport 21’.

Beet   
The extended beet season or ‘campaign’, which started on 21 September, was one of the busiest in recent years. With the closure of Carlow sugar factory, all beet was processed in the remaining factory at Mallow with increased rail haulage from Wellington-bridge. It was anticipated that up to 350,000 tonnes of beet would be carried by rail during the season compared with 150,000 tonnes in recent years.

Nine sets of wagons were available. Six sets of 25 four-wheel wagons plus three new sets of 13 open-topped 40’ containers on bogie wagons. Laden bogie and four-wheel wagons were not normally mixed and both types were randomly used on all departures. The new containers have a single door on one side at one end and have proved very successful. The beet was unloaded from both types in the traditional way by washing it out the side doors. Prototype four-wheel wagon No. 27504 used during last year’s campaign was also used this year.

Despite a 13-bogie set weighing 832 tonnes (520 tonnes beet) compared with 775 tonnes (500 tonnes beet) in 25 four-wheel wagons, the heavier trains did not present any major problems.

Seven paths for laden trains were available Monday-Saturday from Wellingtonbridge at 09:10, 10:45, 12:25, 14:00, 15:35, 18:09 and 19:38. The general pattern was that when a laden train arrived in Waterford an empty immediately departed for Wellingtonbridge. This combined with passenger trains meant that the Wellingtonbridge-Waterford section was effectively occupied continuously from 06:50 to 20:25.

Monday-Saturday laden departures from Waterford to Mallow were at 10:54, 12:20, 15:23, 16:55, 19:35, 20:45 and 22:30 with some variations at weekends. On most days six laden trains operated. This year two laden trains ran on Sundays at 20:45 and 22:30 from Waterford to Mallow.

Limited capacity in the Waterford-Limerick Junction line and the need to fit in with the passenger train service resulted in some trains having extended crossing times. The 12:20 from Waterford was scheduled to sit in Clonmel from 13:26 to 14:25 to cross the 12:45 Limerick Junction-Waterford railcar and the 12:30 light engine from Mallow to Waterford.

Some laden trains ran directly through Mallow to the beet factory sidings while others were stored in Mallow station. Unloading trains commenced at 18:30 and continued through the evening. Empty trains departed Mallow at 23:20, 01:20, 03:50, 05:40 and 07:40 (sometimes a light engine), with some variations at weekends. The imbalance between laden and empty trains was because empty trains of 4-wheel wagons could be up to 36 wagons long, while laden trains were 25 wagons long. Locomotives worked light into Cork from Mallow for servicing, while a single locomotive generally shuttled laden and empty trains between Mallow station and the beet factory. Light engines ran to balance motive power as required.

Modifications to facilities at Wellingtonbridge included a small extension to the concrete apron used by front-end loaders to load wagons. However nearly all loading was done by the conveyor system as in previous years. At Mallow station, an additional siding was installed on the down side and two sidings were available in the former container gantry area. It was common that laden trains were held for more than a day in these sidings waiting to be unloaded at the factory. On several Saturday nights, eight trains were unloaded. This year laden beet wagons were often stored in the sidings to the east of Waterford station with the out-of-use 4-wheel timber wagons pushed further down the sidings beyond Abbey junction to the Frank Cassin Wharf (former Bell sidings).

Motive power was the usual mixture of 071 and pairs of 141/181-class, with 124 and 134 also featuring.

On Saturday 1 October, 072 + 25 four-wheel wagons worked the 09.10 Wellingtonbridge-Waterford, 073 + 13 bogies worked the 07.40 Mallow-Waterford empty, 160+163 + 25 four-wheel wagons worked the 10.45 Wellingtonbridge-Waterford, NIR 112 + 6 empty four-wheel wagons departed Waterford for Wellingtonbridge at 11:30, 073 + 13 laden bogies worked the 12.25 Wellingtonbridge-Waterford, NIR 112 + 25 laden four-wheel wagons arrived back in Waterford at 15.50 from Wellingtonbridge. Meanwhile, 141+169 were in Waterford Yard with a timber train.

On Monday 3 October, seven trains ran from Wellingtonbridge and were hauled (in order) from Wellingtonbridge to Waterford by: 072, 124+147, 073, NIR 112, 141+169, 160+163, and NIR 112. This was the first occasion that seven trains ran. All were 25 four-wheel wagons except 141+169, which had 13 bogie wagons. There were 6 laden and 1 empty four-wheel wagons left in Wellingtonbridge after the departure of the last laden train, immediately after the arrival of the 18:57 railcar from Waterford.

On Saturday 8 October, a programme of six trains ran. Laden departures from Wellingtonbridge were:

In late October variations in train working took place on a few occasions but these did not last. Bogie trains were reduced to three laden trains of 12 bogies and two empty trains of 18 bogies, with a light engine running from Cork to Waterford. This allowed extra time for locomotive servicing in Cork.

With the maximum number of empty four-wheel wagons limited to 36 per train three laden trains of 25 four-wheel wagons resulted in a small number of four-wheel wagons being left in Mallow. These were regularly worked back to Waterford by the 07:40 Mallow-Waterford. On Saturday 29 October, 6 four-wheel wagons were brought from Limerick Junction to Waterford by the 07:40 and were attached to a 13-bogie empty train from Waterford to Wellingtonbridge hauled by NIR 112.

On Saturday 12 November, NIR 112 + 25 laden four-wheel wagons worked the 09:10 Wellingtonbridge-Waterford and crossed the 07:40 Mallow-Waterford, 170+171 + 8 empty bogies, in Carrick-on-Suir. The latter locomo-tives then worked the 12:25 Waterford-Mallow with 25 laden four-wheel wagons and crossed light engines 134+177 in Clonmel at 13:45.

From November the number of trains was cut back as factory was unable to handle all the beet. There were only four laden beet trains on Saturdays with the depot in Wellingtonbridge closing by lunchtime. One train was also dropped on some weekdays.

The 07:40 Mallow-Waterford empty on Saturday 19 November was 160+144 + 36 wagons. It crossed the 10:45 Waterford-Mallow 185+175 + 13 laden bogies in Carrick-on-Suir. The second laden beet was NIR 112 + 25 laden four-wheel wagons.

The passing of the 15:00 Waterford-Mallow on Saturday 17 December, 085 + 25 four-wheel wagons, marked the 421^st laden train of the season. That afternoon there 4 laden trains at Mallow, 1 at Limerick Junction and 3 at Waterford.

On Sundays, laden trains are brought from Mallow station sidings to the factory for unloading and empty wagons are brought back to the station. On 15 January, 134+144 + 36 empty four-wheel wagons departed the beet factory sidings at 11:45 for the station. The driver then brought 185+124 + 13 laden bogies from the station direct to the unloading siding at the factory, arriving at 12:25.

Timber   
With North Wall yard closed on Sundays, the Sligo-Waterford laden timber 144+176 + 12 bogies arrived in the Boston Sidings (Pearse Yard) at 12:35 on Sunday 18 September, where it ran round and departed for Heuston at 12:50. It departed Heuston for Waterford next morning.

The Sligo-Waterford laden timber train departed Heuston Goods at 12:35 on Sunday 9 October with 153+145 + 12 bogies. On Sunday 11 December, it was 081 + 12 bogies and departed Heuston Goods at 13:40.

Liners  
 Guinness trains between Dublin and Cork are scheduled as follows Monday-Friday, although they have been known to operate in daytime paths:

A Limerick connection is made at Limerick Junction.

On Thursday 27 October, 223 + 20 laden bogies of keg beer (Guinness) departed North Wall at 12:23 for Cork and Limerick.

On Saturday 12 November, a down liner from Heuston 076 + 11 bogies of keg beer + 6 four-wheel fuel wagons, arrived in Limerick Junction at 15:50. On Monday 5 December, the 14:00 Dundalk-North Wall liner was 168 + 4 bogies of kegs and departed Drogheda at 14:25.

On Friday 16 December, a special keg liner operated to Kilkenny. It departed Heuston Goods at 10:25 with 083 + 5 laden bogies, with the locomotive returning light from Kilkenny at 12:45. On Saturday 17 December, a Dublin-Cork special 205 + 13 laden bogies of kegs, passed Sallins at 14:05.

Cement   
On Tuesday 20 September, 134+185 arrived in North Wall with 24 laden cement wagons and departed back to Drogheda with 26 empty wagons at 16:00. On Friday 7 October, a cement train hauled by 088 ran from Drogheda to Tullamore instead of Waterford as the latter silo was full and the Tullamore silo was low in cement. This was the first cement train to run to Tullamore for a considerable time.

On Saturday 22 October, Enterprise locomotive 8208 + 25 laden cement wagons departed Limerick Junction for Cork following the 07:10 Dublin-Cork passenger.

 The remainder of this article appears in IRRS Journal Number 159, published February 2006.

Copyright © 2006 by Irish Railway Record Society Limited
Revised: May 22, 2006 .