CIE 8100 Class
Encyclopedia
Dublin Area Rapid Transit
The Dublin Area Rapid Transit is part of the suburban railway network in Ireland, running mainly along the coastline of Dublin Bay on the Trans-Dublin route, from Greystones in County Wicklow, through Dublin to Howth and Malahide in County Dublin.Trains are powered via a 1500V DC overhead catenary...
(DART) system. Built by GEC and LHB
Alstom
Alstom is a large multinational conglomerate which holds interests in the power generation and transport markets. According to the company website, in the years 2010-2011 Alstom had annual sales of over €20.9 billion, and employed more than 85,000 people in 70 countries. Alstom's headquarters are...
(Linke-Hofmann-Busch) in 1983/84, they are two-car units, and were the only units used on the DART before the arrival of the 8200 Class
IE 8200 Class
The Iarnród Éireann 8200 Class electrical multiple units were built for the Dublin Area Rapid Transit . The units are two-car sets, of which there are five. They are numbered in the sequence 8201+8401, etc... The units first entered service in 2000...
. 40 two car sets were delivered, numbered 8101/8301 to 8140/8340. 81xx units are power cars while 83xx units are unpowered driving trailers. The driving cabs are full width, with the inner ends connected by gangways.
The original seating layout consisted of 72 seats per coach with 16 tip up seats at the doors, giving 176 seats in total. With increasing passenger numbers and the heavy spring in the tip up seats becoming a possible source of injury, the tip seats were removed in the late 1980s. As a result of ever continuing passenger demand in the late 1990s extra standing room was provided through the removal of 16 seats from the 83xx unpowered driving trailers, reducing seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
to 56 giving a 2 car unit a total of 128 seats.
8110/8310 and 8136/8336 were withdrawn after suffering serious damage in a fire at Fairview depot in July 2001. All of the remaining units returned to service in 2007 and 2008 following refurbishment by Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
. This included the installation of modified marker lights, removal of some seats to add more standing space giving all coaches 64 seats and space for a wheelchair, installation of an electronic passenger information system, new wheel slide protection
Wheel slide protection
Wheel slide protection and wheel slip protection are railway terms used to describe automatic systems used to detect and prevent wheel-slide during braking or wheel-spin during acceleration. Analogous to ABS and traction control systems used on motor vehicles....
equipment and digital
Digital
A digital system is a data technology that uses discrete values. By contrast, non-digital systems use a continuous range of values to represent information...
traction control to replace the outdated analog
Analogue electronics
Analogue electronics are electronic systems with a continuously variable signal, in contrast to digital electronics where signals usually take only two different levels. The term "analogue" describes the proportional relationship between a signal and a voltage or current that represents the signal...
system and installation of a door closing warning beeper. It was also supposedly intended to allow the units to operate in 8-car sets, the original units being limited to six cars, but some unmodified LHB sets had operated in 8-car consists during 2007.
As with other DART units, they are maintained at Fairview depot
Fairview DART depot
Fairview DART depot is a railway depot used for servicing electrical multiple units on the Dublin Area Rapid Transit system. There is a three road shed, train wash and sidings. It is located just south of Clontarf Road DART station on the Dublin-Belfast railway line. However, maintenance on DART...
, as well as being stabled at Bray
Bray Daly Station
Bray Daly Station is a railway station serving Bray in County Wicklow, Ireland.-DART:From the inception of the Dublin Area Rapid Transit service until its extension to Greystones in 2000, Bray Daly station served as the terminus for the service, and thus a large number of tracks are present just...
.
Fleet details
| Class | Operator | Number | Year Built | Cars per Set | Unit nos. | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8100 Class | DART | 38 | 1983-84 | 2 | 8101 - 8109 8111 - 8135 8137 - 8140 |
8110 and 8136 withdrawn |