Quote:
Originally Posted by Terrontress
I think DMUs should not be used for long, prestigious routes. It is not much fun in first class having a diesel engine beneath you, vibrating away.
Better to stick to loco hauled.
I love the German loco hauled trains which move off with no noise at all.
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The current commuter cars have almost no insulation between the engine and the passengers, so if that's your only experience of DMUs, that's a fairly understandable viewpoint.
I've been on DMUs where you'd be hard pressed to tell there was an engine under the floor. The C3Ks aren't bad in this regard. Hopefully the 22Ks will be better.
The German locos may be quiet, but that's because of they have wires overhead, not because they are loco hauled per say. If they were IC EMUs, I'm sure they'd be just as quiet.
On that note, there would be a pretty strong argument for electrifying Dublin-Belfast. Not only is it a fairly modest distance, but there is commuter potential along the whole length of the line, with commuters into Belfast ant the northern end, local traffic between Newry, Dundalk and Drogheda which have been very local about stronger economic ties lately, and commuter traffic into Dublin.