IMechE Technical Tour 2026

Day 0 – Delegates travel to Belfast

Delegates have this day to make their own way to Belfast, either arriving by the evening (staying in the tour hotel) or by overnight ferry. In the latter case the tour will start immediately on arrival in the city centre. It is recommended that people travel via the Stena Line ferries from either Liverpool (Birkenhead) or Stranraer (Cairnryan) to Belfast. Ffestiniog Travel are happy to make arrangements for individual travel to join and leave the Tour.

Day 1 – Rail developments in Northern Ireland

From our hotel in Belfast, we have planned a full day excursion that starts with a visit to the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland to see how they are building two new steam locomotives to current standards. We return to the city centre for a guided tour of the new main station at Grand Central, followed by a visit to Translink’s Adelaide depot. Here we will acquaint ourselves with the driver training simulator and have a presentation from the Translink team on their operations and plans for the future.

Day 2 – By Enterprise to Dublin and the Luas Tram

Having checked out of our hotel and transferred to Grand Central station, we board the ’Enterprise’ inter-city train to Dublin. After leaving our luggage at the hotel near Heuston Station, we take the Luas tram ’red line’ to Red Cow for a visit to their maintenance depot. Later we check into our hotel for a 2 night stay with the evening free to explore the city.

Day 3 – Irish Rail and Dublin’s DART

We plan to visit the Inchicore works of Irish Rail (Córas Iompair Éireann) and hear about forthcoming projects, including their plans for freight and for local public transport expansion. We have asked to see Alstom’s BEMUs for use on the non-electrified sections of the DART.

Day 4 – The Port of Foynes and Foynes Flying Boats & Maritime Museum

We leave Dublin by train heading towards the West Coast. After changing trains at Limerick Junction, we arrive in Limerick to be picked up by a coach to visit the project to reopen the line from Limerick to Foynes, initially for freight and later for passenger services. We shall have a lecture from some of our members about the Scottish rolling stock strategy and visit the famous Flying Boat and Maritime Museum. We return to Limerick and take a train to Cork where we stay for a 1 night.

Day 5 – Rail Developments in Cork, the Middleton Line, and Ferry

After breakfast in our hotel, we learn about suburban railway projects in the Cork area and expect to visit the Midleton line. During the afternoon, a coach will take us to Ringaskiddy where we board Brittany Ferries’ ’The Armorique’ to France. After an evening meal we retire for the night to our cabins.

Day 6 – Rennes and the Véhicule Automatique Léger Néo Metro

The day starts with breakfast on board the ferry prior to arrival in Roscoff. Having disembarked, a coach will transfer us to Morlaix Station where we catch a TGV train to Rennes to visit the VAL Néo (Véhicule Automatique Léger) light metro. This will include a visit to the depot. After checking into our hotel, the evening is free to explore the city which stands at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is both the préfecture of the Brittany region and Ille-et-Vilaine département.

Day 7 – The Château d’ Angers and APS trams

For the penultimate day, we leave Rennes by train and head for Angers, our base for the last two days. Angers is the préfecture of the Maine-et-Loire département and, prior to the French Revolution, it was the capital of the province of Anjou. Today, the old medieval city centre is still dominated by the massive château of the Plantagenêts, home of the Apocalypse Tapestry, the biggest medieval tapestry ensemble in the world!

Here we will visit the tramway, which uses the Alstom Alimentation par Sol (ground level power supply) system in two sections, to avoid unsightly overhead power lines in the historic city centre. The evening is free to explore this charming city.

Day 8 – Railways in the Loire Valley

On the final day of the tour, we will explore further the railways in the Loire Valley before returning to our hotel in Angers.

Day 9

Delegates make their own arrangements to travel home or continue their exploration of the Loire Valley’s châteaux. Ffestiniog Travel are happy to make arrangements for individual travel to join and leave the Tour.