South Dublin County Council (SDCC) have voted unanimously to support a Green Party motion which would see proposed Metro lines extend to Knocklyon and UCD from Charlemont.
The MetroLink project is an estimated €3bn project which would see the development of a north-south urban rail service in Dublin, connecting destinations such as Dublin Airport and the city centre on a proposed route between Swords and Sandyford. A large proportion of the MetroLink project is currently planned to run underground, rising above ground to run along the existing Luas Green Line.
MetroLink is scheduled to open for service in 2027 and would see a 19 minute commute from Dublin city centre to the airport and would carry more than 50 million passengers per year.
SDCC voted to support the “extension of Metro North from Charlemont to Knocklyon and the connection of the red Luas from Tallaght to Booterstown. The Metro extension to Knocklyon would be connected from Charlemont to Knocklyon via Harolds Cross, Terenure and Rathfarnham.”
“The Tallaght to Booterstown Luas link would create a much-needed south orbital route connecting 5 rail links into the city (i.e. the existing red and green line Luas, the proposed Knocklyon and UCD Metro and the existing Dart at Booterstown).”
While the route for Metro North has largely been finalised to run from Estuary and Seatown through Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre, plans for South Dublin have run into difficulty with a South Dublin-based group, Rethink Metrolink, campaigning for an extension to serve UCD.
Meanwhile, there have been calls by a leading local authority figure for the Metro North project to continue ahead of a final proposed line for South Dublin. Fingal CEO Paul Reid recently warned councillors that any further delays to the construction of the Metro North line would see the project run the risk of missing its 2027 completion target.
In his Chief Executive’s report to the council at yesterday’s monthly meeting, Mr Reid stated it is “imperative” that issues relating to the route from the city centre to South Dublin should not hold up the construction of the route on the northside.
“If needs be, the project should be divided into two phases, north and south, with preference given to the northern phase to ensure it is completed on schedule in 2027,” stated Mr Reid.
A decision on the prefered route of the National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) following an extensive public consultation last summer is expected this month. TII recently wrote to 140 properties along the Metrolink corridor about conducting a “preliminary buildings and structures survey."
Last May, Leader of the Green Party Eamon Ryan TD submitted a proposed to the MetroLink public consultation which included a proposed metro line from Charlemont as far as Rathfarnham. This original proposal stopped short of Duffy’s suggested extension towards Knocklyon and did not include a separate line serving Donnybrook and UCD from Charlemont. The Green Party’s submission also suggested the extension of Metro North to include a stop at Donabate.
Calls to extend the line to UCD came late last year after the decision on the final route through South Dublin was delayed for a third time in October.