Iarnród É
ireann (Irish Rail) is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established in 1987, it operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and freight railway services in Ireland. In 2019 alone, IÉ carried 50 million passengers, up from 48 million in 2018.
Having a requirement for the supply of eight train lifting jacks for their Fairview depot, WH Scott & Son was invited to tender after managing IÉ’s statutory examinations and crane upgrade & modification programs for over ten years.
Working closely with Windhoff – a German manufacturer of specialised railways roll
ing stock and heavy industrial plant – WHS designed, produced and delivered a bespoke train jack solution with a team of engineers attending the factory acceptance test held in Germany and managing all of the electrical and mechanical installation and commissioning onsite in Ireland.
The lifting jacks, including all pertinent accessories, were design, installed and commissioned to lift bodies and bogies of IÉ’s 8100/8300 class electric multiple unit (EMU) fleet and 8500-10-20 classes of EMU by their lifting arm pockets, allowing bogies or other underframe equipment to be changed.
The EMU fleet served by the above system covers approximately 150 cars comprising of 8100, 8300 and 8500 series, with vehicles from Siemens, Mitsui and Alsom. The solution the WHS team provided greatly increased efficiency of the lifts, offering the client a significant saving in resource, cost and improved safety performance. The project was completed with a 100% safety record, on time and the jacks are currently in operation.