Iarnród Éireann – Irish Rail (IÉ) has awarded a major contract to Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group Ireland following a competitive tender process that commenced in February 2025.
The contract – which is for eight years with the option to IÉ to extend for a further two years – is valued in excess of €140 million.
The contract is for the operation and maintenance of the IÉ fleet of rail bound On Track Machines (OTMs) which are essential for the ongoing maintenance of the national rail network. The fleet of 19 machines carry out a range of works including tamping, ballast cleaning, and regulating.
Cathal Mangan, chief civil engineer and director infrastructure manager designate at IÉ, welcomed the announcement, saying: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with Rhomberg Sersa. Our teams work in close collaboration to ensure the national rail network is both safe and reliable for our customers.
“In collaboration with the team at Rhomberg Sersa we have been able to innovate our on-track maintenance operations reusing approximately 400,000 tonnes of ballast over the past 5 years and converting the on-track fleet to 100% HVO fuel, helping contribute to the decarbonization of our overall operations.”
“We are delighted that we have succeeded in this competitive tender and are set to continue our strong working relationship with the Irish Rail team,” said Billy Stamp, Managing Director – Ireland – with the Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group.
“We very much work in partnership with the Irish Rail engineers and front-line Permanent Way staff through adopting a collaborative approach. We look forward to continuing to work together with Irish Rail to deliver vital track maintenance work across the network.”
As the rail network is over a century old, ongoing maintenance is essential to ensure the safe and timely running of services. The Rhomberg Sersa team – which totals 70 staff – works mainly at night and on weekends on the network in order to minimise passenger disruption.
In 2019 Rhomberg Sersa was awarded a five-year contract to operate and maintain the then 14 machines which are owned by IÉ and an option to extend this contract by two years to 2026 was exercised. The new contract was opened to public tender in 2025, and after a competitive process involving a number of international companies and consortiums, it was awarded to Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group.
Image credit: Rhomberg Sersa
