Dublin metro given planning permission

Plans for a metro line running north–south across Dublin from Estuary in Swords via the airport and city centre to Charlemont (interchange with light rail) have been given planning permission by An Coimisiún Pleanála, the statutory body that decides on appeals from planning decisions made by local authorities in Ireland. The original application for a railway order was made in 2022. The 18.8km MetroLink line will have 16 stations, all but four underground, and should attract 53M passengers/year. However construction is unlikely to start until 2027 and could take eight years to complete. Final costs are not yet known, but EUR 23bn has been estimated. Two consortia have indicated they will bid to build the line. A statuary body to deliver the project will be established shortly. 

 

Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Transport, said ‘Today’s planning news is a hugely positive step for MetroLink, which is a key strategic project for the Government and Ireland. I’d like to thank TII and the NTA for developing the project to this stage. MetroLink will be transformative for the people of North Dublin and - by linking directly with Dublin airport, DART, heavy rail, Luas and bus services - the entire country. MetroLink will provide a fast, high capacity, high frequency public transport route, and it will enable the construction of tens of thousands of new homes’. 

 

Dublin has been served by modern trams (Luas) since June 2004 and now has two lines covering 42.1km, worked by 81 Alstom Citadis trams and carrying about 50M passengers/year. The north–south Green Line (Broombridge–Bride’s Glen) has an elevated station above the Grand Canal at Charlemont just south of the central area, and it is planned that the metro will terminate at an underground station here.