Mark 4 (Iarnród Éireann)

CAF Mark 4 at Limerick Junction, 2006

The CAF Mark 4 (or MK4 or MKIV) are railway carriages operated by Iarnród Éireann in Ireland on the InterCity ^[1] service from Dublin to Cork. These carriages have no connection to the British Rail Mark 4.

Description

67 Mark 4 coaches were manufactured in 2004-2005^[2] by CAF and delivered in 2006. The designs for the interior of the carriages and the exterior styling of the DVT were produced for CAF by Design Triangle.^[3]

Capable of 10-car operation, each in-service set currently comprises 8 cars:

• Generator Control Car - GC (or DVT)
• One First Class - FC
• One Catering Car - CC
• Four Standard Class - SC
• One Standard End - SCE, with retractable buffers & drop-head buckeye coupling at locomotive end.

Seating capacity is 422 (8-car set), the DVT (driving van trailer) is recognised as a carriage and the train is fully accessible to mobility-impaired customers.

Main Features

The Standard Class carriages have improved passenger seating and leg room. They also have electronic visual and audible passenger information systems, electronic seat reservation displays, CCTV, air conditioning and additional space for luggage. Power points sockets are supplied on all Standard Class coaches. Citygold cars have ergonomic, electronically adjustable seats, adjacent power points, multi-channel ear phone jack sockets and individual overhead lighting.^[4]

Main features include:

• Merak HVAC
• Power operated passenger doors
• Fire resistance to BS 6553:1999 Cat 1B
• Public address (PA) including automated announcements in Irish and English
• Closed-circuit television (CCTV) recording, including a forward-facing camera in the DVT
• LED Exterior & Interior Destination signs
• Seat Reservation system with reserved seating LED displays above each passenger seat. System is updated via Wireless LAN (W-LAN)
• LED Route Maps
• In-seat audio in First Class
• Power operated seating in First Class
• Suspension:
  • Primary coil springs & secondary air bags
• Sanding on leading axle of GC & trailing axle of SCE cars
• Scharfenberg coupler between cars, drop-head buckeye couplers each end
• Wheelchair area & accessible toilets to UK Rail Vehicle Accessibility Regulations

Key dimensions:

• Length between couplers - 23.66 m (77 ft 7.5 in)
• Height - 3.85 m (12 ft 7.5 in)
• Width - 2.85 m (9 ft 4 in)

Mark 4 DVT

DVT at Templemore

• Air-conditioned driver's cab
• Fault Diagnostic system, displayed on driver's monitor
• Luggage Compartment
• Fire Suppression System
  • Generator engine compartment protected by FM200 extinguisher
  • Fuel tank protected by AFFF extinguisher
• Generators:
  • Twin MAN 2846 LE 202 (320 kW) / Letag (330kVA) engine / generator sets, assembled by GESAN
• Length between couplers - 23.81 m (78 ft)

Performance

Though capable of 200 km/h (125 mph) operation, this higher speed would require both track & signal system upgrade and the provision of a faster locomotive than the currently used 201 class. A possibility being considered is the replacement of the existing 201 with two power cars, one of which would be converted from the existing Generator Control Car.

Replacement stock

Since January 2007, five sets operate the Dublin-Cork route on an enhanced hourly clockface timetable. The Mark 3 carriages, withdrawn in 2009, replaced the older (and tired looking) Mark 2 carriages that previously operated mid-day Limerick, Galway and Waterford routes. The Mark 3s were in turn superseded by a new batch of 183 22000 Class in 2009. The first batch of these was delivered in early March 2007, while the final deliveries took place in 2012.

References