The Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler has signed a contract with Ireland’s national railway operator, Iarnród Éireann, and the state-owned company Translink Northern Ireland Railways, which operates the network in Northern Ireland. Under this agreement, the company enters a new market and will supply eight hybrid trains from its FLIRT family; starting in 2030, these trains will operate on the 180-kilometer intercity cross-border route connecting the capitals of the island’s two regions.
The contract encompasses not only the supply of the trains but also 15 years of technical support, the provision of spare parts, engineering services, expert maintenance support, and staff training. The new rolling stock will replace aging trains, reducing travel time between Dublin and Belfast to less than two hours and increasing service frequency to 16 departures per day in each direction.
These 200-meter-long, low-floor trains are designed to accommodate 407 passengers and will feature Wi-Fi connectivity, onboard catering services, and accessibility solutions for passengers with reduced mobility. Propulsion will be provided via overhead catenary lines, diesel engines, or batteries, as a significant portion of the Northern Irish network remains non-electrified. Furthermore, the trains are designed to be compatible with the future electrification of the Drogheda–Belfast section using 25 kV AC power, whereas the Drogheda–Dublin line currently operates on 1500 V DC power. In the future, the diesel modules could potentially be removed. The project – covering both the procurement of trains and infrastructure upgrades – is being funded by the governments of Ireland and Northern Ireland to the tune of €698 million, with an additional €165 million allocated through a joint British-Irish program supported by the EU.