Irish Railways (Iarnród Éireann) operated a 440m-long container freight train between Dublin North Wall and Claremorris as part of trials to introduce longer freight trains later this year.
The maximum length of freight trains in the trails will increase from 18 wagons with 36 TEUs to 27 wagons carrying 54 TEUs.
In addition to increasing the capacity and competitiveness of rail freight services, Irish Railways says the environmental benefits of rail freight will also be enhanced: “Currently moving freight by rail instead of road reduces emissions by up to 75% per unit, and longer trains could see emissions reduced to as little as one-tenth of the road equivalent.”
Irish Railways freight traffic reached 96.4 million tonne-km in 2015. Subject to successful trials, IE plans to start operating longer freight trains in the fourth quarter of 2016.
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