The Anonymous Widower

Iarnród Éireann Looks At Diesel Loco Replacement Options

The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on Railway Gazette.

These three paragraphs introduce the article.

The Stadler Class 99 electro-diesel locomotive for UK operator GB Railfreight was receiving close scrutiny from Iarnród Éireann at InnoTrans in Berlin, with the Irish national operator confirming to Railway Gazette International that it had discussed with the manufacturer how the type might be adapted for operation in Ireland.

Iarnród Éireann Chief Executive Jim Meade told Railway Gazette International ‘we will eventually need to replace our aging diesel fleet with dual-mode locomotives because our freight strategy will take us down that direction after we complete our electrification programme.

‘The replacement for the class 071s and 201s eventually will have to be a bi-mode electric with some form of HVO [renewable diesel fuel] traction in the long term; even the Class 201s are beyond mid-life already.

The Class 99 locomotive is a version of the Stadler Eurodual locomotive, which is described in this Stadler data sheet.

The Wikipedia entry for the Stadler Euro Dual is also informative and lists a dozen different versions of the locomotive, that have been sold to various countries and operators.

This paragraph summarises how the design can handle different gauges and electrical voltages.

The Euro Dual was designed from the onset as a highly modular platform, allowing it to be offered to customers in various different configurations, covering various gauges and voltage systems.

I doubt Stadler would have great difficulty producing an Irish gauge locomotive capable of running on whatever electrification, the Irish erect.

Will The Irish Class 99 Have Enough Power?

The power of the various diesel locomotives are as follows.

• Current Irish Class 071 – 1.68 MW
• Current Irish Class 201 – 2.4 MW
• UK Class 66 – 2.4 MW
• UK Class 99 – 1.79 MW

It would appear that the Class 99 is less powerful than the Irish Class 201 and the UK Class 66, but the Wikipedia entry for the Class 99 says this.

The chief executive of GBRf, John Smith, reports that the Class 99, despite having a less powerful diesel engine than the Class 66, will outperform the Class 66 at low speeds. The greater tractive effort means that the Class 99 on diesel power can deliver more power at the rail than the 66.

But as the Class 99 has 6.17 MW in electric mode, the solution must be to electrify the difficult sections.

I have just looked at the Felixstowe Branch Line, which will be very much Class 99 territory. I am fairly sure, that with some short lengths of electrification on the single-track sections, any performance problems with the Class 99 on the branch could be solved.

Could The Irish Class 99 Use Hydrogen As Secondary Power?

This OpenRailwayMap shows all the railways on the island of Ireland.

Note.

1. All railways on the island of Ireland have an Irish gauge of 1.6 m.
2. Only the DART in Dublin is electrified with 1,500 VDC overhead.
3. There are 2,733 km. of track.
4. New lines are still being added and old ones have been reopened in recent years.
5. There will surely be pressure for the Irish to decarbonise their railways, both North and South of the Northern Irish border.
6. There are no rail connections to another country, except for the link between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which is between two similar systems.
7. It is unlikely, that there will ever be a rail link between the Irish gauge railways on the island of Ireland and the standard gauge railways of Europe.

Effectively, the island of Ireland has an isolated network of tracks on which they could build a zero-carbon railway system.

• Signalling could be an off-the-shelf digital system.
• Zero-carbon traction power could be trains powered by either electricity and/or hydrogen.
• Both electricity and hydrogen would need substantial amounts of new rolling stock.
• Electricity would require electrification at €1,000,000 per single track kilometer, which could be around €5.5 billion for the electrification alone.
• Electrification would also need many bridges, stations and tunnels to be modified or rebuilt.
• Hydrogen would need a refuelling infrastructure and could go anywhere that diesel can.
• Hydrogen locomotives and trains, would be one-to-one replacements for diesel locomotives and trains.

It would appear that because of their geographic isolation, hydrogen could be an ideal zero-carbon fuel for the railways of Ireland.

In Do Cummins And Stadler Have a Cunning Plan?, I speculated that the electro-diesel Class 99 locomotive could be converted into an electro-hydrogen Class 99 locomotive, as Cummins are building diesel engines that can be converted into hydrogen ones.

Ireland with its unusual network could change to a zero-carbon railway in the following way.

• Purchase a fleet of diesel locomotives and trains that can run on Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and be convertible to hydrogen.
• A version of the Class 99 with or without the electrical gubbins would satisfy the locomotive replacement.
• A version of the tri-mode Stadler FLIRT like a Class 745 train, would satisfy the train replacement.
• All new trains and locomotives would replace the current stock and run on HVO.
• The hydrogen infrastructure would be built.
• The new trains and locomotives would be gradually converted to run on green hydrogen.

Within a few years, the island of Ireland would have a zero-carbon railway.

Advantages Of A Fully-Hydrogen Railway

These are a few advantages.

• One fuel for all trains.
• All trains and locomotives would be one manufacturer.
• No expensive electrification.
• Hydrogen trains and locomotives have a long range.
• No infrastructure modification for gauge clearance.
• Ireland has plenty of onshore and offshore wind for hydrogen.
• Standard fuelling systems are being developed.
• There would be no disruption as the trains changed to HVO and little disruption as they changed to hydrogen.

I believe that there would be a large increase in train usage both from locals and visitors, which can only be good for the Irish economy.

Managing The Project

This could be one of those rare projects that flows well.

• The changeover to hydrogen could involve very little rail infrastructure work.
• The hydrogen filling stations could be more-or-less independent of the rail infrastructure.
• Trains and locomotives could go into service, when they are accepted and the staff have been trained.
• Trains and locomotives would only be converted to hydrogen, as routes are made hydrogen-capable.
• There should be no gauging problems with the new trains and locomotives.
• There is only one train manufacturer.

Hopefully, it will all be delivered on time and on budget.

October 29, 2024 Posted by AnonW | Hydrogen, Transport/Travel | Class 99 Locomotive, Cummins, Hydrogen Hybrid Rail Locomotive, Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO), Irish Rail, Island Of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Offshore Wind Power, Onshore Wind Power, Republic Of Ireland, Stadler, Wind Power | 1 Comment