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LAST UPDATE | 26 Mar 2019
THE NATIONAL TRANSPORT Authority has confirmed that the Metrolink project will not continue south of the Charlemont Luas stop in Dublin.
The move had been widely expected, following reports last month that the route, which had been due to run to Sandyford in the south of the county, would terminate at the south city stop due to planned disruption of the Luas Green Line lasting up to four years.
The announcement this afternoon follows a public consultation on an initial route last year, when the National Transport Authority received over 8,000 submissions on the matter.
Now, the mostly underground route, due to connect Dublin Airport to the city centre will stop at Charlemont, just to the south of the Ranelagh Luas stop.
A proposed upgrade of the Luas Green Line will instead occur “at an appropriate point in the future”, although the authority said this may not happen for up to 20 years.
Other changes to the proposal mean the acquisition of the pitch belonging to Na Fianna GAA club will no longer be required for construction in the Glasnevin area.
O’Connell Street will also have an “integrated station” under the Carlton Cinema site, while the number of homes to be acquired by the authority has been reduced from 105 to 85.
However, a proposal to acquire the College Gate apartment block and Markievicz Leisure Centre for the Tara Street stop will still go ahead.
A spokesman for Transport Infrastructure Ireland told TheJournal.ie that Dublin City Council planned to move the swimming pool at the leisure centre elsewhere.
Chief executive of the National Transport Authority Anne Graham said the project would be a “significant economic driver” and create around 4,000 jobs.
“It is also of benefit in providing a more sustainable transport alternative and by providing a great incentive to get people out of their cars and on to public transport,” she added.
There was mixed reaction to the proposed changes to the route among local groups.
A spokesman for Na Fianna told TheJournal.ie that the northside GAA club “greatly welcomed” the announcement that its grounds would no longer be used as a boring site.
However, a spokesman for the Save the Markievicz Pool and Gym campaign questioned the assurance that the club’s swimming pool would be moved elsewhere, adding that the club’s facilities existed in an area which did not have many other local amenities.
The line is expected to open in 2027, with construction likely to take up to seven years.
With additional reporting from Daragh Brophy.
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In the decades that this so called plan has been repeatedly rolled out by successive governments London has finished the docklands light rail, the jubilee line extension and almost finished cross rail… China has also built dozens of metro systems in cities far bigger and more complex than Dublin. Meanwhile nothing gets done here except nonsense
@Marc Power:
I take issue with you saying only nonsense gets done here. Expenses and costs are claimed for the nonsense too.
@Maurice Bourke: I stand corrected. I totally forgot about that army of lawyers and consultants whose expertise is central to this farce
@Marc Power: Copenhagen got 3 new train systems.
@Marc Power: I live in Melbourne and in the last couple of years they’ve started building a massive underground rail system that runs through the middle of the city and suburbs with 7 new stations. That’s on top of the extensive existing system. At the same same they’re building a large underground road tunnel from west to east through the city. Both projects were announced only a few years ago and will be finished around 2025. While there’s obviously disruption, people just get on with it as they know it’ll be worth the hassle. To hear this one line can’t be build because of a few residents in Ranelagh don’t like the look of it is laughable.
@Marc Power: 2 more to the list…. Edinburgh got a tram line from the Airport to the city and
Beyond , Stockholm upgraded / built a few rail lines also
@Marc Power: yes but we did get the foundations laid for the most expensive hospital in the world. Oh and look the metro will service it right there at Mater…..oh wait.
@Marc Power: Honestly it just never ends does it. I was starting college when this was first announced. I was young and fresh faced. I’m now in my mid 30’s and am unlikely to see it till I’m near 45 years old. It’s typical Ireland. Genuinely won’t be surprised if my first ride on it is with my OAP pass.
Am I missing something here? The Metro line is going to stop at all the same stops on the south side as the Luas green line? What is the point in that? Why can’t it go to some other part of south Dublin that doesn’t currently have a light rail system?
@Declan Flynn: exactly Declan ! Another Irish joke
@Declan Flynn: The metro on the southside would be an upgrade of the green line. It wouldn’t be a second line. The southside LUAS was built to metro standard and the intention was always to upgrade it, all that needs to be changed is the stations the tracks are already built to cope with metro trains.
@Declan Flynn: It was intended to be an upgrade to the Luas line which would run on same route and replace Luas Tram with larger higher capacity Metro carriages.
The Green line needs the higher capacity Metro cars to meet capacity as development further south increases passengers.
This would have been cost effective upgrade.
Instead various groups are proposing all new lines as an alternative. Those haven’t been costed or planned at all.. but look nice on local elections literature.
Bringing the Dart to Dingle as Dustin used to say.
@Declan Flynn: how many people don’t understand this! No the existing line would have some remedial work done! It is already Metro standard in terms of the track bed and track widths! All they needed to do was close a couple of access roads and lengthen platforms but the NIMBYS got in the way!
@Declan Flynn: Declan. This is simple. Metrolink as planned will cost 3,000,000,000 and the green line needs upgrading anyway. It was always planned to be upgraded and the cost is relative peanuts and gives the whole project a better cost benefit ratio. The cost of this scheme will make any other infrastructure project in the history of the state look like spare change you’d find down the back of the couch. Now do you think that the government will sanction a further likely two billion spend to tunnel another few kilometers. So likely a 4.5-5,000,000,000 scheme. After the children’s hospital debacle? No need to reply …
@Declan Flynn: and the thumbs up you’re getting shows how many people don’t have a clue what they’re talking about!
@Declan Flynn: Yes you are. Quite alot actually. The Green Line was built with this upgrade in mind as it was envisaged that it would be over capacity. Which, after Cherrywood is completed, it will be. The green line would have been the metro from Sandyford to Charlemount. It was cost effective. A metro to say Terenure/ Tallaght would cost billions and be nimbyed out of existence anyway.
@Declan Flynn: yes, like Rathfarnham, we have nothing except the 16 Bus which stops everywhere and hardly ever seems to return!
@Maire: but do you not understand that a line to Rathfarnham is a completely different project which would cost billions!!!!!
The proposal here was link the city centre with the airport. Integrate the off street part of the Green line to the metro and upgrade the Green line for a few hundred million.
Underground would be the only way to get out to Rathfarnham and would cost billions! It makes sense to connect the city with the airport and build out from there!
@Declan Flynn: please educate yourself before posting nonsense.
@John Kelly:
Re. Caff Caff, point taken.
Everyone else, trolls for making the same point.
Another win for the NIMBYs of Ireland?
@Dublin Cycling: Ireland. The only place where the needs of the few outweigh the needs of the many.
@Thomas Roche: S
H
U
T
U
P
@Ronan Fahy:
N
O
@Dublin Cycling: stop your trolling the journal! The green line was never going to closed for four years. This farce will effect tens of millions of trips per year when metro link opens. If you think not linking the luas was idiotic, this is even worse! #relinkmetrolink
I can understand comments being closed on a court case. But an Irish sports person retires and we’re not allowed to give an opinion.
@Damo.f: are you new to the Journal?
@Damo.f: he “retired” before. Nobody cares.
@Damo.f: Strange That DAMO Gee I wonder why ???? I wonder what the Journal could possible be thinking………Same as the rest of us Perhaps ??
Eoghan Murphy is Minister for Housing and Planning. Can you imagine any other country where a Minister for Housing and Planning fights hard against a vital infrastructure project in favor of a rat run (Dunville Ave)!? He should resign. If he can’t protect the country against wealthy landowners in Ranelagh he’s not fit for the job.
@John: We live in a banana republic, if it was not for our tax rate we would be like Romania, its really really sad that over 50 percent seem to think we are better off voting FF and FG…..these are the people are to blame for the mess we live in, not FF or FG they are just doing as they usually will do they are incapable of change, they are only interested in two things, how to tax us more to pay for the whole gravy train and keep big business milking us (which also feeds into their pockets in a wide variety or underhanded ways)
Bonkers decision, once cherrywood opens the green line will become unuseable without significant upgrades like metrolink
@Ian McNally: This, the green line is already at capacity at peak times so by the time Cherrywood is completed we can expect every Luas during peak to be full going into town after about Sandyford.
So yet another rail link to South county dublin but still nothing to the airport. The first luas was supposed to go through ballymun to the airport but was shelved. That was 20 years ago
@andyearley: There is a stop at the airport on the map above, is there not?
@andyearley: It says it in the article, it’ll run from the airport, through city, to Charlemont.
@andyearley: prime example of just reading the headline
@David Daly: ops yeah I was only up and the anger got to me. Ops
@andyearley: it ain’t fun from the airport. It will run from north county Dublin to swords, the largest town without a rail link in Ireland. Go Dublin airport which will handle 40,000,000 plus by then. It then hits another major amount of trip generators , connects with dart and further into green line. The lack of knowledge on this project is shocking!
@andyearley: Did you even read the article?
The Metro is starting in Swords and running via the airport straight into town. It should have run all the way to Cherrywood but some eejits seem to think this is a bad idea!
@Tony Stanley: didn’t you read my retraction two comments up?
@Shane Murphy: yeah I forgot arseways myself
Journal. Will you please give us a source for the “4 year disruption” piece. The original plans were for a 3 month closure of the green line to tie it into the Metro. All other work could have been done with the Green line still operating! The upgrade will still happen, they’ll just wait a couple of years!
@joe: this a key point. The 4 year figure is a fabrication of Michael McDowell, a wealthy landowner in Ranelagh.
@Oisín O’Connor: hence the Journal haven’t come back with a source!
So… the plan then is to go underground from airport to o connell bridge, Stephens green and onto canal at Charlemont. And then leave luas south of there to cherrywood as is other than allow much longer trams which they currently can’t operate over O’Connell Bridge. So is the luas cross city, as is, then redundant? Or, in a classic Irish solution, will passengers coming in on a 55m Tram have to change to the smaller one at Charlemont to carry on to O Connell bridge? What a collosal waste of money, inconvenience, noise, dirt and effort that was so. At least DCC will get their college green plaza now if the Luas cross City gets dug up.
@alan doyle: The longer trams are operating across O’Connell bridge already and have been for over a year now!
@alan doyle: another one who doesn’t have a clue. LUAS cross city won’t be dug up. It will operate as normal! The plan was metro Sandyford to airport. Change to green line if you want to go to Grafton St, phibsboro, grangegorman etc. Stay on metro if you want to go the Ballymun, swords, airport
@alan doyle: College Green Plaza was turned down for very good reasons and is far from certain to get built
Why not keep the route underground all the way to sandyford. Stop at Charlemont, ucd and sandyford.
It would relive huge pressure on the luas which is already over capacity. You could also run an east – west luas as a feeder line from ucd onto dundrum and beyond.
You could easily charge extra for the underground train also.
@thephantomshit: Or how about just upgrade the Luas to bigger capacity Metro carriages..
And spend the billions saved on new public transport instead of duplicate infrastructure!
@Tom: what duplicate infrastructure are you talking about? Upgrading is exactly what they were planning on doing!
@Tom: apologies misread your comment. Actually agree with you
@thephantomshit: You got a spare €2bn for the extra tunneling?
Eoghan Murphy is Minister for Housing and Planning. Can you imagine any other country where a Minister for Housing and Planning fights hard against a vital infrastructure project in favor of a rat run (Dunville Ave)!? He should resign. If he can’t protect the country against wealthy land owners in Ranelagh he’s not fit for the job.
Is that a rail system that runs to the northside. Never thought they would sanction that. Luas is only for southsiders. Oh wait 2027. Got it
@Joseph Kane: 2030 best case at this rate but more than likely this will be shelved again when there’s a sniff of a downturn in a couple of years so my bet is on 2040+
Only in Ireland would the government let a dump of a suburb dictate a national infrastructure plan. Dublin is the growth engine for the country, and by crippling its infrastructure you cripple the whole of Ireland
This is BADLY needed infrastructure that will probably never be built in our lifetimes just to placate the grey vote.
The NIMBYs of Ranelagh and Dunville have so much to answer for in addition to the spineless rats Eoghan Murphy, Shane Ross, Leo Varadkar and Eamon Ryan.
I don’t know why it has to go to Sandyford when there is a Luas going that way already. It would be better to extend the line northwards to Donabate to reduce the pressure on existing suburban rail which is beyond capacity.
@HuffnPuff: they are doing that. There is a long term plan to link it to northern line around Donabate in future!
@HuffnPuff: It would replace the Luas to Sandyford under the current plans.
Upgrading the Luas route is significantly cheaper than building an all new underground portion & stations on the Southside plus the line needs this upgrade because the green line is already at peak without the 10s of 1000s of people who will live in Cherrywood when completed.
@HuffnPuff: https://www.thejournal.ie/cherrywood-town-centre-development-4046200-May2018/
Thats why. And Sandyford is one of the largest business Parks in the country. So basically soon in about a decade or so you won’t be able to get on the luas past Sandyford. And you can’t run any more trams because of the on street nature of the trams.
It’s absolutely correct not to go any further on an existing major transport line, the issue here is that it shouldn’t be going to Charlemont at all, from Stephens green this should be heading for Portobello, Rathmines, Terenure (nearby Kimmage and Rathgar), Rathfarnham and Ballyboden. All densely populated areas where a huge amount of people heading to the city already travel to the green line for reliable access. It’d alleviate pressure on the green line while providing a great new link from under serviced communities direct into the city and other major transport services. The green line drops people at stephens green anyways where they could change for the underground link to the airport etc. Could also link with orbital route bus changes coming so there’d be easy access for everyone that wishes to avail of the service.
@Brian Feeney: you do realise the differences in cost don’t you? Upgrading the green line is a drop in the ocean in comparison to the cost of extending to Rathfarnham etc.
@joe: Terenure is one of the worst bottleknocks in western europe. An underground from Terenure to Stephens Green is vital for anyone travelling in from Tallaght and Rathfarnham
@Brian Feeney: ‘Upgrading an existing line’ versus ‘planning and building a whole new line’ Do you see the problem with your plan?
I cant see why burying the green line is of any benefit given that you have no service to most of Dublin.
@Ben Coughlan: there’s no burying. The tracks are already in place for a Metro, the stations just need to be upgraded and some level crossings closed off.
Can you provide a source for this as I don’t believe its true ” disruption of the Luas Green Line lasting up to four years.”
@Caff Caff: it’s not true!
Why not keep the route underground all the way to sandyford. Stop at Charlemont, ucd and sandymount.
It would relive huge pressure on the luas which is already over capacity. You could also run an east – west luas as a feeder line from ucd onto dundrum and beyond.
You could easily charge extra for the underground train also.
MetroLink is transport plan from the 1970s it’s just not suitable transport plan to be proposing in the 21st century! There is going to be so many advancements in self driving transport & tunneling technology that if we build a Metro Dublin will be laughing stock come 2027 2028 2038 we need to invest in real future proof transport for Dublin
@Cormac McKay Dublin: They can’t really grant approval if the “tunneling technology” is yet to be developed.
This is probably not an ideal scenario, but what’s wrong in starting with the northern half of the project first? This is a project that is going to be years in the making anyway, we have to start somewhere. When it nears or reaches completion, the Southsiders will be looking at it with envy and demand their half of the project, which can then be built. Or maybe during that timeframe an alternate route will emerge as favourite.
@clemguis: Their demands should be met with “this is what you asked for” while the south spur is built off in the direction of Rathfarnham.
No sense in rewarding stupidity.
Beyond stupid. The contented classes strike again. Can’t wait for their crying in 10 years time as to why they can’t get on the green line at Beechwood.
Has anyone been down to Cherrywood recently and seen what is coming? Dundrum, too, is expanding. Bonkers
Ross may not be popular but fair play to him for creating havoc in FG. Hilarious that junior FG minister brendan griffin in ross’s dept had to set up a free taxi service in kerry to keep his constituency voters on side to accomodate ross’s new driving laws.
I think that I’ll be an old man before it’s finished.
When you see capital cities like Lisbon and Madrid with good metro systems then look at Ireland, we are an embarrassment.
No mention of this and regardless of whatever official reasons were given, when some badly managed projects have massive overruns, other projects get cut.
Corruption and Nimbyism. Welcome to Oirland. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/moscow-company-interested-in-dublin-metro-plan-1.300379
What’s the bets this whole project is mothballed next year when the downturn starts
Metro should stop at Saint Stephen’s Green not Sandyford – we have the Luas for the onward journey if required
Jesus just build it already and stop talking about it
Wow that transport system looks like all other major cities………. said no one ever.
Blue line sandyford to red cow
I hope when Eamonn Ryan starts calling to homes asking for votes he is ran like a dog.Shameful what he has done as the leader of The Green Party ,he helped kill this project, that was almost perfect.
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