DFDS doubles rail capacity in Ireland

[BosKonay]

DFDS has announced that it will double capacity on its weekly intermodal rail service from Waterford Port to Ballina commencing on the March 2016. As the pioneers of containerised rail freight in Ireland, DFDS now feels that the time is right to offer this increased intermodal service to its customers.

 

The new capacity will benefit customers in the west and north west of Ireland in particular, providing them with a cost effective alternative when compared with a road based shipping option. Coupled with this, the customer also reduces their carbon footprint.

 

The train timetable is optimised to meet the DFDS sailing schedules from Waterford Port to Rotterdam, which allows for onward delivery into Europe. Customers can now load in the west of Ireland on Tuesday morning and deliver in Holland on Friday. Rotterdam also provides access to DFDS sailings to Norway, and rail connections to Italy and Turkey, allowing for a rail-sea-rail connection from Ballina to Milan and Istanbul.

 

Importers into Ireland will also benefit from this extra capacity, with the rail solution particularly suitable for bulk tank operators and also shippers of large volume to the west and north of Ireland.

 

This is an important addition to the DFDS services in Ireland, and they are now the only truly multimodal operator on the island.

 

DFDS is also working with Irish Rail to further develop its rail capacity by offering longer trains. Trials are currently in progress.

 

 

From

http://www.multimodal.org.uk/news/dfds-doubles-rail-capacity-ireland

[Sulzer201]

Great to see this from DFDS and lets hope it proves to be a success, good for the environment and less HGVs on the roads, but most importantly! - another step in the revival of a rail-freight here.

[dave182]

I asked before, is there enough of a pool of flat wagons available to support this? Are any flat wagons stored up anywhere?

[BosKonay]

There are pocket wagons stored at Limerick I think and there must be lots of other flats still floating about?

Edited March 14, 2016 by BosKonay

[Riversuir226]

Theres definetly a few 42fts around, there was a few taken from Cork yard recently plus theres a load stored near Mallow. Does anyone know whether its wagons added to the existing rake or is it an extra service?

[Weshty]

Super stuff.

[Railer]

Along with all the spare LX and LP flats half the CPW wagons are unused and are rotated as maintenance spares. The CPWs can take 45ft containers.

[BosKonay]

Along with all the spare LX and LP flats half the CPW wagons are unused and are rotated as maintenance spares. The CPWs can take 45ft containers.

 

Thanks for the clarification Railer!

[MOGUL]

There should be no issues with wagon availability for the forseeable future, plenty of em to go around!

 

DFDS has increased from 1 to 2 trains, using 1 set of 12 CPWs, this set of wagons is now used on 4 days a week,

Waterford-Ballina Monday

Ballina- Waterford Tuesday

Waterford- Ballina Thursday

Ballina- Waterford Friday

 

I am told the reason for the change is DFDS winning business with a large pharma company based in the west of Ireland at the expense of other short sea shipping lines that were carrying the business by road to Dublin. This is additional on top of the tanks and containers to and from Coke.

 

Back to wagons,

IWT uses 3 sets (18 flat wagons), with 2 sets being used daily and the 3rd set being used for the extra trains on a Tuesday and Wednesday. All 3 sets are formed of 16 LX(45FT) and 2 LP(42FT) wagons. So in theory the 3rd set could be used for extra trains the other 4 days of the week if required.

[Riversuir226]

Makes sense as the pocket wagons usually stay in Waterford yard most of the week, good to see the business coming back.

[Mayner]

There should be no issues with wagon availability for the forseeable future, plenty of em to go around!

 

DFDS has increased from 1 to 2 trains, using 1 set of 12 CPWs, this set of wagons is now used on 4 days a week,

Waterford-Ballina Monday

Ballina- Waterford Tuesday

Waterford- Ballina Thursday

Ballina- Waterford Friday

 

I am told the reason for the change is DFDS winning business with a large pharma company based in the west of Ireland at the expense of other short sea shipping lines that were carrying the business by road to Dublin. This is additional on top of the tanks and containers to and from Coke.

 

Back to wagons,

IWT uses 3 sets (18 flat wagons), with 2 sets being used daily and the 3rd set being used for the extra trains on a Tuesday and Wednesday. All 3 sets are formed of 16 LX(45FT) and 2 LP(42FT) wagons. So in theory the 3rd set could be used for extra trains the other 4 days of the week if required.

 

The press release had me wondering if IE was going to run an extra or a longer train.

 

Nearly 20 years since the demise of Bell its great to see Waterford Port and DFDS becoming more pro-active about using rail and the direct sea route to the Continent. Its hard to see how land-bridging by road or rail across the UK was more economic or reliable than direct sailings to Rotterdam.

 

To put current traffic levels into perspective for over 20 years Waterford Port & Bell competed with Dublin, Belfast & Cork ports for traffic to the UK & the Continent regularly operated 3 daily liners from Dublin, 1 each from Cork & Limerick, plus 3-4 extras on weekends. Heuston and later the Holyhead container terminal acted as a hub with CIE Liner trains connecting with the Bell Liners.

[Riversuir226]

The press release had me wondering if IE was going to run an extra or a longer train.

 

Nearly 20 years since the demise of Bell its great to see Waterford Port and DFDS becoming more pro-active about using rail and the direct sea route to the Continent. Its hard to see how land-bridging by road or rail across the UK was more economic or reliable than direct sailings to Rotterdam.

 

To put current traffic levels into perspective for over 20 years Waterford Port & Bell competed with Dublin, Belfast & Cork ports for traffic to the UK & the Continent regularly operated 3 daily liners from Dublin, 1 each from Cork & Limerick, plus 3-4 extras on weekends. Heuston and later the Holyhead container terminal acted as a hub with CIE Liner trains connecting with the Bell Liners.

 

There was a recent change of management at Waterford port, theres a new crane being installed at the moment and theres an increase in cruise ships. With the clearing of the old flour mills on the North Wharf and Frank Cassin (Former Bell wharf) back in use along with plans for a new pedestrian bridge and station things seem to be improving nicely.

[Junctionmad]

There was a recent change of management at Waterford port, theres a new crane being installed at the moment and theres an increase in cruise ships. With the clearing of the old flour mills on the North Wharf and Frank Cassin (Former Bell wharf) back in use along with plans for a new pedestrian bridge and station things seem to be improving nicely.

 

I find it hard to beleive the north warf/FC wharf will return to any serious usage , silt is the bane of the original port and still remains a multi million annual cost for belview. Without continuous dredging the north wharf/FC can't sustain any serious shipping. FC wharf is undoubtably useful for cruise liners, assuming kings channel remains dredged

 

The development plan largely drawn up in the boom, envisaged significant high density housing in the NW/FC area , it's hard to see that vision remaining concrete in the face of housing costs and economic issues that bedevil Waterford.

 

The current economics of belview port are very poor and multi annual looses have left it in a very weak position,

 

Notwithstanding as one of three rail connected ports remaining anything good is to be welcomed

 

I remember it all in its heyday.

Edited March 21, 2016 by Junctionmad

[jhb171achill]

It's mad to think of ALL the ports which either could be or were rail connected.... some aren't even ports any more! But we will always be an island.....!

 

Rosslare (I wouldn't call that "rail-connected" now!)

Arklow

Dublin

Drogheda

Dundalk

Warrenpoint

Greenore

Belfast

Carrickfergus

Portrush

Derry

Killybegs

Burtonport

Sligo

Westport

Galway

Foynes

Fenit

Tralee

Bantry

Cork and surrounds......

 

Yes, I know there are more.....

 

And actually meaningfully rail connected? One - Waterford. Just one.

[MOGUL]

The press release had me wondering if IE was going to run an extra or a longer train.

 

Nearly 20 years since the demise of Bell its great to see Waterford Port and DFDS becoming more pro-active about using rail and the direct sea route to the Continent. Its hard to see how land-bridging by road or rail across the UK was more economic or reliable than direct sailings to Rotterdam.

 

To put current traffic levels into perspective for over 20 years Waterford Port & Bell competed with Dublin, Belfast & Cork ports for traffic to the UK & the Continent regularly operated 3 daily liners from Dublin, 1 each from Cork & Limerick, plus 3-4 extras on weekends. Heuston and later the Holyhead container terminal acted as a hub with CIE Liner trains connecting with the Bell Liners.

 

The Bell lines era was before my time unfortunately, they seemed to do a lot of business compared to any of the current short sea shipping lines(Eucon, Bg, Dfds etc)!

 

As a port Waterford seems to be in slow decline, first the loss of Bell lines, then they lost the Banana business to Cork Port.. On the positive side the Dfds/Samskip ships going in and out of Belview seem to be doing well.. And they have a good set up with their cranes loading ships, trains and trucks..

[jhb171achill]

If DFDS double their train length, Baseboard Dave's going to be busy!

 

:-)

[Riversuir226]

I find it hard to beleive the north warf/FC wharf will return to any serious usage , silt is the bane of the original port and still remains a multi million annual cost for belview. Without continuous dredging the north wharf/FC can't sustain any serious shipping. FC wharf is undoubtably useful for cruise liners, assuming kings channel remains dredged

 

The development plan largely drawn up in the boom, envisaged significant high density housing in the NW/FC area , it's hard to see that vision remaining concrete in the face of housing costs and economic issues that bedevil Waterford.

 

The current economics of belview port are very poor and multi annual looses have left it in a very weak position,

 

Notwithstanding as one of three rail connected ports remaining anything good is to be welcomed

 

I remember it all in its heyday.

 

Plans have been significally changed since the celtic tiger ones, the new plan was announced a few months ago and as demolition has started & funds are in place it won t be long till construction starts. House prices and rent both business and commercial are rising within the city.

Frank Cassin quay is in use for shipping and dredging has been in progress over the last weeks , in prep for the cruise liners.

I remember it in its heyday too

[Riversuir226]

The Bell lines era was before my time unfortunately, they seemed to do a lot of business compared to any of the current short sea shipping lines(Eucon, Bg, Dfds etc)!

 

As a port Waterford seems to be in slow decline, first the loss of Bell lines, then they lost the Banana business to Cork Port.. On the positive side the Dfds/Samskip ships going in and out of Belview seem to be doing well.. And they have a good set up with their cranes loading ships, trains and trucks..

 

Its been quite busy of late, there was 7 ships in port last weekend, theres also a lot of animal feed coming in lately

[Riversuir226]

It's mad to think of ALL the ports which either could be or were rail connected.... some aren't even ports any more! But we will always be an island.....!

 

Rosslare (I wouldn't call that "rail-connected" now!)

Arklow

Dublin

Drogheda

Dundalk

Warrenpoint

Greenore

Belfast

Carrickfergus

Portrush

Derry

Killybegs

Burtonport

Sligo

Westport

Galway

Foynes

Fenit

Tralee

Bantry

Cork and surrounds......

 

Yes, I know there are more.....

 

And actually meaningfully rail connected? One - Waterford. Just one.

 

Don t forget New Ross was also rail served , Cork and Foynes seem to be the big potential ports without rail connections, Foynes might have eventually but Cork sadly won t be unless the Cork and Passage line is reopened with a slight diversion to Ringaskiddy

[jhb171achill]

Quite a few pockets always kicking about in Limerick - or are they there for repairs?

[Riversuir226]

Quite a few pockets always kicking about in Limerick - or are they there for repairs?

 

Theres always a few in the weekly Waterford to Limerick wagon transfer, so maybe that explains why theres a few in Limerick.

[Railer]

Quite a few pockets always kicking about in Limerick - or are they there for repairs?

 

Always there, storage. There are 23 out of 24 in service. The one with the yellow handrails at each end is never used anymore, think it's number 3. Only 12 CPWs are required for the DFDS flow with the rest used as maintenance spares. The other DFDS links are made up of LX flat wagons like the IWT.

[MOGUL]

Always there, storage. There are 23 out of 24 in service. The one with the yellow handrails at each end is never used anymore, think it's number 3. Only 12 CPWs are required for the DFDS flow with the rest used as maintenance spares. The other DFDS links are made up of LX flat wagons like the IWT.

 

No Lx/LPs used on the DFDS, all three sets of flat wagons are used by IWT only on the Dublin service

 

DFDS uses 1 set of CPWs for both of its weekly trains, think they stopped using the flats about 18 months ago now!

 

Does anyone know what the purpose of the handrails on the CPW wagon in North Wall?

[DiveController]

Any photo for those not so familiar?

[MOGUL]

Any photo for those not so familiar?

 

I don't have any of my own I'm afraid, it's usually stored near the wagon shed in North Wall so getting a photo would be difficult.

 

I have found a video on youtube where you can see this wagon being shunted around the yard, the title of the video is:

IE class 201 (215) Shunting Pocket & IWT wagons at North Wall, Dublin

[DiveController]

Yes, that's very interesting. The yellow step and grab handle seems to be common to all the wagons but the new red H&S floor and railings are obviously to provide a safe walkway over the air and vacuum piping/ cylinders etc for access to either end of the pocket. Since I'm not aware of any containers with half-doors:D, I wonder if it's for access for monitoring/control e.g. a reefer placed in the pocket?

[MOGUL]

Starting from Thursday's departure ex Ballina, DFDS will be using a wagon set of 12 LX(47ft 6in)and 3 LP (42ft 9in) for their Waterford-Ballina trains.. These were taken from the third set of flat wagons being used by IWT.. The CPWs will transfer to NW for use as the third IWT set (extra tues/ weds trains)

[jhb171achill]

Gone are the days when no two goods trains anywhere had the same consist! Everything's so standard nowadays, it's major news when a passenger train has three coaches instead of four.......!

[jhb171achill]

Surely a 25-35 bogie goods train should be plain elementary. Extend a few loops and get on with it.

[MOGUL]

more of the the same I'm afraid JHB...

 

CPWs will run Waterford to NW on Sunday.. Will operate 2nd Tuesday and Wednesday trains to Ballina next week

[Mayner]

more of the the same I'm afraid JHB...

 

CPWs will run Waterford to NW on Sunday.. Will operate 2nd Tuesday and Wednesday trains to Ballina next week

 

I wonder how container traffic through Waterford Port compares with 20-30 years ago when Bell operated services to the UK and the Continent?

 

The daily 15 bogie Cork, Limerick, & (2) Dublin Bell Liners in the 70s & 80s would had a combined daily 120 TEU capacity which makes todays twice weekly train look insignificant.

[MOGUL]

Not even on the same level id say John.. It was a port that Bell used to serve the whole island, no idea how many vessels a week they ran.. Now its just a stop off for local Waterford traffic on the DFDS/Samskip service of 2 vessels a week.. DFDS liner train to Ballina is 60TEU/week and that is after the trains increased last week..

 

CPW transfer will now run on Monday Waterford to NW

[jhb171achill]

I wonder how container traffic through Waterford Port compares with 20-30 years ago when Bell operated services to the UK and the Continent?

 

The daily 15 bogie Cork, Limerick, & (2) Dublin Bell Liners in the 70s & 80s would had a combined daily 120 TEU capacity which makes todays twice weekly train look insignificant.

 

Exactly. We hear that today they're putting 3 wagons on instead of 2, and it's running twice a month instead of once.

 

And that's news?????? (Forgive my cynicism........hmm)

[Noel]

Exactly. We hear that today they're putting 3 wagons on instead of 2, and it's running twice a month instead of once.

 

And that's news?????? (Forgive my cynicism........hmm)

 

Interesting. Point2Point road haulage with the new motorways must be more cost efficient and flexible. I presume rail makes more sense cost wise for 'bulk' transfer of the same cargo consignment rather than containers all bound for different end point destinations.

[MOGUL]

Nope rail is at least as cost efficient if not cheaper.. The flexibility thing is a small issue that can be overcome by having daily trains