Ireland is swapping the oldest trains in Europe for the newest under a significant investment in the railways, it was claimed today.
Iarnród Éireann said the new €400 million Intercity railcar fleet being rolled out this year will transform services.
It also claims the 183 South Korean-built carriages will be the "greenest" diesel train fleet in Europe already meeting future standards for fuel emissions.
"The transformation of our rail service is extraordinary," said Dick Fearn, chief executive, Iarnród Éireann, officially launching the new fleet in Sligo.
"We have totally rebuilt our network, we have dramatically expanded commuter capacity, and now we are completing the task of a total renewal of our Intercity fleet."
The first of the new railcars are already running on the Cork-Dublin, Sligo-Dublin and Limerick-Dublin lines.
Other routes to get the new carriages this year include Rosslare-Dublin, Waterford-Dublin, Westport-Dublin, Tralee-Dublin, Tralee-Cork, Galway-Dublin and the Carlow, Athlone, Portlaoise commuter routes.
Iarnród Éireann said the investment will see significantly higher frequency and capacity on all Intercity routes with improved accessibility for mobility-impaired customers.
The new trains will have automatic PA and information display systems, electronic seat reservation displays for web bookings, full air-conditioning and an internal CCTV system.
A record high of more than 46 million journeys were made on the country's rail network last year, according to Iarnród Éireann.