Iarnród Éireann says fuel scheme will save €2m a year

IARNRÓD ÉIREANN has said new fuel efficiency measures it is introducing will lower its fuel bills by €2 million a year and cut its carbon emissions by about 7 per cent.

The company said it is already ahead of the 2012 deadline to comply with EU standards for emissions from new rail vehicles.

Iarnród Éireann is conducting trials on a driver advisory system that allows maximum use of braking, track contours and current train position to save on fuel costs.

It has deployed a control system across the entire Dart fleet. The system allows the momentum of a train to be converted into electrical energy during braking so that other trains can be powered by this energy conversion.

Other initiatives it has introduced include lowering the line voltage on the Dart system to reduce the energy consumption. In addition, it will be implementing automatic shutdown systems on the Dart fleet that will allow vehicles to automatically power down when not in service.

The company is hoping that with the expansion of the Dart network to Maynooth and Hazelhatch further environmental benefits will be possible from Dart trains in the high-density Dublin commuter belt.

All commuter railcars, which operate on Drogheda, Dundalk, Maynooth, Gorey and Kildare commuter services, have been fitted with automatic engine shutdown equipment causing the engine to cut out if the vehicle is stationary for a certain amount of time.

The same technology is being fitted to Intercity railcars which operate Cork and Belfast Enterprise services.

As engine technologies improve, Iarnród Éireann will be replacing less efficient diesel engines with more efficient motors with lower CO2 emissions.

An Iarnród Éireann spokesman said: “Fuel efficiency makes economic and environmental sense for us.

“We must focus on our costs, and in key areas environmental initiatives will enable us to this. Rail has always been, by definition, at the forefront of green technology.”