So far, two lines have been planned, which will mainly serve the North and West of the city. One line is to go from St. Stephen's Green to the airport and on to Swords. The second line is to split off the first one just south of the airport, and from there pass through Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley, and Clondalkin before joining the Red Line of the LUAS to continue towards Tallaght. Some stations will be underground (mainly in the City Centre) while the rest will be either above ground or at ground level.
The line will meet at stations with the LUAS and probably the DART. One source of current debate is the feasibility of providing an interchange station between the Metro and the DART where their respective lines cross in the vicinity of Glasnevin or Drumcondra.
Proposed Timeline
- 2010 - Metro West Phase 1 (Tallaght to Clondalkin).
- 2011 - Metro West Phase 2 (Clondalkin to Lucan).
- 2012 - Metro North.
- 2012 - Metro West Phase 3 (Lucan to Blanchardstown).
- 2014 - Metro West Phase 4 (Blanchardstown to Ballymun).
Need for a Metro
A high-capacity public-transport link to Dublin Airport has been identified as one of the most important gaps in the Dublin network, by the RPA.Dublin Airport is currently carrying 20 million passengers per year, a figure which according to some estimates may grow to 30 million by 2015, but the airport has no rail link to the city.
Metro was chosen as the preferred option for airport access over an alternative Iarnród Éireann-proposed solution based on a new airport spur from the existing DART line. Metro will be fully segregated from all traffic which will mean it will not disrupt traffic when in operation, unlike an on-street LUAS. The metro will also bring rail access to areas current lacking it, such as Ballymun, Dublin City University, and Swords.
The population of Greater Dublin, which was 1,565,446 at the time of the 2001 census, is expected to reach 2,000,000 by 2021.
According to the Government's Railway Procurement Agency, Metro North has the potential to eliminate up to 41,000 car journeys per day from Dublin's congested roads and should be able to serve the Airport with a 17 minute journey to the city centre and Swords with a 26 minute journey. It is also expected to carry around 80,000 passengers a day, similar to current DART passenger numbers.
The proposed metro system should provide room for expansion. Stations are supposedly to be built to accommodate longer carriages and more frequent trains in the future.
Prime Ministerial Vanity ?
However it has been cogently argued that the metro north is entirely a vanity project. Some particular points are of interest:
1.It happens to service the constituency of the prime minister.
2.The report presented to the Dail in respect of metro north did not examine the possibility of using a coach service through the soon to be finished port tunnel. This has the potential to provide a much superior service with a direct connection between the airport and Busaras. The journey time would be significantly faster than the metro at approximately 13 minutes. As the tunnel is effectively reserved for heavy good vehicles only, there is ample space to provide a very high frequency bus service (http://www.dail.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/Committees29thDail/jct/metro-report/Report.doc).
3.Three separate tram routes servicing different part of the northside of dublin before meeting at the airport and continuing to Swords would provide capacity for up to 30 million passengers a year. Such a network would serve a greater area of Dublin and cost half as much as the expected 3 billion for metro north. This observation is on the basis that the two trams currently in operation costed 750 million euro and carry 20 million a year (www.rpa.ie).
4.Another rail tunnel is proposed. This runs through the city in an east-west direction. It is designed to link the two main train stations, the DART line, and the two tram lines. The tunnel would create the opportunity for 2 full service (heavy rail) metro lines through the city, with a much higher capacity than the metro light. The tunnel itself would pass through the most densely populated part of the city (www.irishrail.ie).
5.Approximately a third of the metro north line cannot be built on as it is a designated airport exclusion zone(www.fingalcoco.ie / see development plan).
6. The north of dublin is the least populated part of the city (www.cso.ie). It is also witnessing less growth in population in comparison to the west of dublin (www.dublinbus.ie / bus network review).
7. It is unclear that any savings will be made in designing the tunnels for light rail ,instead of heavy rail. This is because much of the cost goes into the job of tunnelling.
METRO North
After a study of the Metro North project, the Railway Procurement Agency has selected a shortlist of three broad corridor options. There is a "West Route", a "Central Route" and an "East Route" with the Central route being preferred on grounds of cost and construction feasibility.
Irrespective of the route chosen, the line will go underground at the city centre, terminating at St. Stephen's Green. Again irrespective of the route chosen, it is proposed to have a station in the vicinity of O'Connell Street.
Following a period of public consultation on the routing, the RPA will prepare more detailed engineering plans, including the exact location of stations, before seeking tenders for the line's construction.
Central Route (17km - 14 Stations)
The central route will emerge from the tunnel just south of Dublin City University. From there it will travel on an elevated structure through the centre of Ballymun and cross over the M50 motorway. The Central route will pass Dublin Airport somewhere near the Great Southern Hotel. There is a possibility to change this route to go underground at the Airport to a station at the short-term car park. From the airport, the route will continue to Swords on an elevated structure to finally terminate at ground level just north of Swords.
Possible stations include: St. Stephen's Green, D'Olier Street, O'Connell Street, Mater Hospital, Botanic Rd., DCU, Ballymun (Centre), Ballymun (North), "Metropark" (P+R), Airport, Airside, Swords, Estuary, Lissenhall (P+R).
West Route (22km - 16 Stations)
The west route will emerge from the tunnel at Broadstone for a short distance at ground level. It will then climb to an elevated stretch over the Tolka Valley and run underground through Finglas. The route will climb to cross the M50, continue towards Dublin Airport at ground level and run underground at the Airport to a station at the short-term car park. From there, the route will continue to Swords on an elevated structure, finally terminating at ground level just north of Swords.
Possible stations include: St. Stephen's Green, Tara Street, Rotunda/O' Connell Street, Broadstone, Cabra Road, Liffey Junction, Tolka, Finglas, Finglas (North), M50 (Derry Road Junction) (P+R), "Metropark" (P+R), Airport, Airside, Swords, Estuary, Lissenhall (P+R).
East Route (17km - 13 Stations)
The east route will emerge from the tunnel at between Griffith Avenue and Collins Avenue near Whitehall. The route will then continue northwards on an elevated structure along the M1 motorway through Santry. It will cross over the M1 north of the M50 junction and will pass through the Airport on an elevated structure, with a station near the Great Southern Hotel. From the airport, the route will continue to Swords on an elevated structure to finally terminate at ground level just north of Swords.
Possible stations include: St. Stephen's Green, Hawkins Street, O'Connell Street, Mater Hospital, Drumcondra, Griffith Avenue, Santry, Clonshaugh Road (P+R), Airport, Nevinstown, Swords, Estuary, Lissenhall (P+R).
Possible combined route
In early June 2006 the RPA announced that as a result of initial feedback from the ongoing public consultation they were considering a further route option which would run from the city centre along the East Route as far as Drumcondra before going underground to join the Central Route, with an additional station at Griffith Avenue.
METRO West
The RPA is carrying out feasibility study for the proposed Metro West line. After this a shortlist of options will be identified and maps will be available. The route options will then be brought for consultation.
Metro West is intended to link the areas of Tallaght, Clondalkin, Lucan, Blanchardstown and Ballymun. Metro West is planned to connect with the Luas Red line, the Kildare and Maynooth rail lines and Metro North.
