Enterprise Train Service - Future Developments

Future Developments

Recent press reports have stated that NIR & IE plan to introduce a new hourly service. This was reiterated in a statement by Conor Murphy, the Northern Ireland Minister for Regional Development, who stated that the two companies had made a presentation to the North/South Ministerial Council in October 2007 putting forward the case for improvements in the frequency and speed of the service. Any improvements to the service would require significant investment in track and signalling, as well as new rolling stock. In April 2008, the Minister for Regional Development stated that the major improvements to the infrastructure and rolling stock required by Enterprise would total in the region of £500 million. However, the introduction of an hourly timetable remains an ambition for NIR and IÉ; the surplus of rolling stock held by IÉ following the introduction of the 22000 Class DMUs could potentially be used to enhance the frequency of Enterprise's service. The line south of the border was upgraded to continuous welded rail in the 1990s, while NIR are in the process of making track improvements to allow for an increase in speed. Enterprise would require a minimum of seven complete trains to operate an hourly service - IÉ has a significant number of stored Mark 3 rolling stock available, of which five sets are push-pull capable, while NIR has its own "Gatwick" set that has also recently been converted to push-pull operation. In addition, the introduction of the 22000 Class has led to a surplus of locomotives that could also be utilised to meet this requirement. However, the major issue remains the capacity at Dublin Connolly, which remains stretched. The transfer of Commuter services to Docklands, together with the opening of the Interconnector, should go some way to alleviating the capacity issues. Plans have also been mooted to transfer Enterprise's northern terminus from Belfast Central to Belfast Great Victoria Street, which is more centrally located and is co-located with Europa Buscentre, thus providing an integrated rail/bus journey to all parts of the island.

Currently, the Enterprise is undergoing a face-lift with the carriages being resprayed in silver with green colours, some of which can be seen at Translink's York Rd. Maintenance Depot.