Railway Order Application for MetroLink 30/09/22

Railway Order Application for MetroLink 30/09/22

Transport Minister Eamon Ryan was on hand to offer his support as Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) made its application to An Bord Pleanála for the Railway (MetroLink-Estuary to Charlemont via Dublin Airport) Order {2022}.

MetroLink will deliver transformative public transportation infrastructure for Ireland and the Greater Dublin Area, the first of its kind for the country.  MetroLink’s high-capacity, high-frequency, modern and efficient metro railway with 16 new stations running from Swords to Charlemont will link Dublin Airport, Irish Rail, DART, Dublin Bus and Luas services and create a fully integrated public transport network with major interchanges at Glasnevin and Tara. MetroLink is being designed with full accessibility and active travel modes such as walking and cycling at its core.

As well as linking major transport hubs, MetroLink will connect key destinations including the Mater and Rotunda Hospitals, Dublin City University (DCU) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and serve such communities as Swords, Ballymun, Glasnevin, Ranelagh and all points in between.

Much of the 18.8km route will run underground, an exciting innovation for Irish public transport. MetroLink’s fully automated trains will run every three minutes during peak periods. MetroLink will be capable of delivering a service frequency of one train every 90 seconds to accommodate growing passenger numbers when required. The system will be capable of carrying up to 20,000 passengers per direction per hour in each direction. For comparison, current Luas Green Line services can carry approximately 9,000 passengers per direction per hour.

Passengers will be able to travel from Swords to Dublin city centre in approximately 25 minutes.

MetroLink will be different from existing services because it will:

• Offer higher frequency services.
• Connect seamlessly with all public transport modes.
• Be fully segregated from all other road users.
• Be fully automated (driverless train service).

The Railway Order application is a key milestone for MetroLink and Minister Ryan was there to show his appreciation for all work which has gone into reaching the Railway Order Submission.

For example, TII delivered 2,500 comprehensive property packs to affected property owners which include all relevant drawings. The design team produced over 3,000 separate drawings for this purpose.  

A copy of the draft Railway Order and the accompanying documentation may be inspected during normal office hours from 07/10/2022 until 25/11/2022 at the following locations:

1. An Bord Pleanála offices at 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1
2. Dublin City Council offices at Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8
3. Fingal County Council offices at County Hall, Main Street, Swords, County Dublin
4. TII offices at Parkgate Business Centre, Parkgate Street, Dublin 8
5. NTA (National Transport Authority) offices at Dún Scéine, Harcourt Lane, Dublin 2

The dedicated Railway Order website is available at www.metrolinkro.ie.

Images

The image of the MetroLink team at An Bord Pleanála today can be downloaded here.

From left to right:

• Aidan Foley, MetroLink Project Director, Transport Infrastructure Ireland
• Paul Brown, MetroLink Project Director, Jacobs Idom
• Peter Bennett, MetroLink Design Coordinator, Transport Infrastructure Ireland
• Eva Mackin, Property Lawyer, Transport Infrastructure Ireland

Visit the MetroLink Image Gallery for the latest images of the proposed project.

Downloads

You can download a copy of this update here.

Click here to view a copy of the press release issued by Minister Eamon Ryan.