PLANS to construct a MetroLink service connecting Dublin Airport with the centre of the Irish capital have been approved by the Irish Government.
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien has confirmed this week that the project will now move to the tender stage.
He described the move as an “important step forward for MetroLink, a vital transport project that will help reduce traffic congestion, improve access to Dublin Airport and unlock much-needed new housing development at scale”.
Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien gave the update on the MetroLink project this weekTaoiseach Micheál Martin has also welcomed the Government’s approval for the project, which will be the largest single project to get underway in Ireland since the construction of the Ardnacrusha hydro power plant in Co. Clare in the 1920s.
“MetroLink will help make our capital city a better, more sustainable place in which to live, travel, socialise and work,” the Taoiseach said.
“I am delighted that the Government has moved MetroLink into the detailed procurement phase for multi-billion-euro construction and operation contracts, and we will continue to support it into construction.”
Significant enabling works are expected to start on the Metrolink site from early 2027, followed by heavy tunnelling and station construction, Minister O’Brien’s department has confirmed.
“As an electric, driverless and mostly underground high-capacity railway, MetroLink will be the first of its kind on the island,” they added.
“It will not only serve hundreds of thousands of people along the route in north Dublin, it will integrate with heavy rail, DART, Luas and bus services, the M1 motorway, and Dublin Airport - thereby transforming connectivity across a wide region.”
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