Dublin Metro

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This article or section contains information about a planned or expected public transportation infrastructure. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the infrastructure approaches, and more information becomes available.

The Dublin Metro (Irish: Metro Baile Átha Cliath) is a planned metro system for the city of Dublin. The first two lines were set out in the Irish Government's 2005 Transport 21 transport plan: they are known as Metro North and Metro West. They will form a part of the planned rail infrastructure of Dublin, along with Luas trams, DART and Dublin Suburban Rail network.

Metro North (Irish: An Metro Thuaidh) is to run from St. Stephen's Green to the airport and on to Swords, before ending at Belinstown. Its route will consist of deep bore tunnel under the airport and in the city, along with cut and cover tunneling through the suburbs of Ballymun and Swords, along with surface running in non built-up areas, and a few elevated sections.

Metro West (Irish: An Metro Thiar) will run from an intersection with Metro North, just south of the airport at Santry, and from there pass through Blanchardstown, Liffey Valley, and Clondalkin before joining the Red Line of the Luas to continue towards Tallaght. Metro West will be entirely above ground, at road level, with major junctions overpassed.

Contents 1 Proposed timeline 2 History of proposed Metro 3 Metro North 3.1 Concerns over location of Dublin Airport station 3.2 DCU/Ballymun track 3.3 Other concerns 4 Metro West 4.1 Route through Finglas 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Proposed timeline

• 2010 - Metro West Phase 1 (Tallaght to Clondalkin).
• 2011 - Metro West Phase 2 (Clondalkin to Lucan).
• 2012 - Metro West Phase 3 (Lucan to Blanchardstown).
• 2013 - Metro North^[1]
• 2014 - Metro West Phase 4 (Blanchardstown to Ballymun).

This is the original timeline proposed with Transport 21. It is currently unclear as to whether Metro West is to be constructed in stages, as originally planned or constructed as one large project, to be completed fully by 2014.

[edit] History of proposed Metro

The original idea for the two Metro lines in Dublin can be attributed to the November 2001 "Platform for Change" report by the Dublin Transportation Office (DTO)^[2]. The purpose of the report was to come up with an integrated transportation strategy for the greater Dublin region. In its report, the DTO outlined plans for three Metro lines. The first was a North-South line which would run from Swords to Shanganagh via Dublin Airport, Finglas, Broadstone, the city centre, Ranelagh, Sandyford and Cherrywood. The second would link Tallaght West to Tallaght and then continue through the south-western suburbs of Dublin to the city centre. The third line would run in an orbital pattern, with a spur off the Swords-Shanganagh line at Finglas and then continue via Blanchardstown and Clondalkin to Tallaght, where it would connect with the other line.

Dublin Airport carried over 21 million passengers in 2006. This figure which is projected to grow to 30 million by 2015^[3]. As a result, the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) identified a medium-capacity public-transport link to Dublin Airport as one of the most important gaps in the Dublin rail network. Two options were seen as a solution to the problem:

• A spur off the existing DART line to Dublin Airport, as proposed by Iarnród Éireann.
• A metro system, running from Finglas through Dublin Airport and on to the city centre, in line with the DTO's suggestions.

The metro option emerged as the preferred option, as it provides both an airport link and a commuter link. It has been described by the RPA as "an important commuter link for the communities and institutions of North Dublin City and County"^[4]. Metro North (from Swords to St. Stephen's Green) and Metro West were adopted as government policy with the launch of the Transport 21 programme in 2005.

[edit] Metro North

Three potential routes for Metro North were published by the Railway Procurement Agenccy in February 2006. After public consultation, the RPA announced in October 2006^[5] that the selected a routing known as the 'East/Central Combined Route'. A slightly updated route, with changes in proposed station names, some modifications to station locations, and details of proposed overground and underground routes through Swords was released by the RPA in March 2008^[6].

The metro line will begin at an underground station in St. Stephen’s Green in the city centre. It will continue north and run underground through a 7 km long tunnel (4.4 miles). Stops along this tunnel will include O' Connell Bridge, Parnell Square, Mater, Drumcondra and Griffith Avenue. It will emerge from this tunnel just south of Dublin City University. From there it will be cut and cover through Ballymun and Northwood (previously named Santry Demense) stations. After this it will go overground for Dardistown station (previously referred to as Metropark), before heading into a 1.5 km bored tunnel under Dublin Airport. A cut and cover tunnel will be used in parts of the track approaching Fosterstown station (previously Nevinstown) and after Swords station. Elevated tracks will also be used here. Following Swords, the metro will conclude with two more stops at Seatown and Belinstown. There is also the potential for stops in between Seatown and Belinstown, at the Estuary and Lissenhall.

The total route length will be 17 km (10.6 miles), of which 8.5km, or 5.3 miles (50℅), will be deep bore through two separate tunnels. Metro North will have a final design capacity of roughly 20,000 passengers per hour, based on one 90 metre train every 2 minutes. The RPA have stated that it is possible to improve the timings to one train every 90 seconds in the future. Park and ride facilities are envisaged for Belinstown, Fosterstown and Dardistown. There will be bus interchanges at several of the stops, while there will rail interchanges at Drumcondra and St. Stephen's Green (following the completion of the Interconnector). The Luas will interchange at O'Connell St. and St. Stephen's Green.

On 22 March 2007 the Railway Procurement Agency began the procurement process for Metro North. In October 2007 it announced that it had a shortlist of four consortiums interested in building Metro North. Draft Environmental Impact Statements were published in early 2008. In May 2008 a newspaper report indicated that the RPA planned to submit a Railway Order in August 2008^[7].

[edit] Concerns over location of Dublin Airport station

In July 2006, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce has expressed its concern over the location of the Dublin Airport Station on the Metro North route ^[8]. According to the Chamber of Commerce, the RPA's favoured option was a station at the Radisson SAS Hotel, which is 700 metres from the Airport Terminal. This option was devised on the basis that it would be almost equidistant between the current terminal and the site of the planned Terminal 2. The RPA had proposed a covered travelator linking the station to the terminals. The Chamber of Commerce do not support this proposal. They said, "unless the more costly underground option [of tunnelling under the terminal] is developed, the massive economic and social benefits the project promises to deliver to the country over the coming decades will be put at risk." The location of the Metro stop may also pose a problem for users of the system who wish to access the proposed Terminal 3 to the west, which is part of the overall future development of the airport.

In the announcement of the proposed route on 19 October 2006, however, it was confirmed that the Metro station serving Dublin Airport would not be located at the Radisson SAS Hotel. The exact location has yet to be finalised, but it will be located much closer to Terminal 1 and the proposed Terminal 2 than previously planned^[9].

[edit] DCU/Ballymun track

On 20 April 2007 RTÉ News reported that the decision to have elevated tracks between DCU (where the underground track ends) and the airport (where it goes underground again) have been scrapped due to many complaints about noise and visual pollution that this would bring^[10]. Residents associations in the Whitehall, Glasnevin and Ballymun areas had campaigned for the cut and cover option (which creates the least long-term obstruction) as the deep-bore tunnel had not been given as an option on the RPA public consultation open days. The underground track will run underground from St Stephen's Green to north of Ballymun and surface at the Northwood stop before crossing the M50 and going underground again under Dublin Airport.

[edit] Other concerns

In 2006 Eamon Ryan, then transport spokesperson for the Irish Green Party, called for the underground section of the Metro to be extended south to Beechwood, where it would then surface and provide a direct link to the Luas Green Line^[11]. This option would allow passengers to travel from the south of the city to the north, without having to change mode of transport. It is also consistent with the Dublin Transportation Office's suggestions in the Platform for Change document, which envisaged that a Metro line would run across the city following the upgrade of the Luas to Metro by 2020. The Green Party entered government in June 2007, however since then there does not seem to have been any change in government transport policy with regard to extending the Metro south of St. Stephen's Green.

Other concerns over the Metro North are that bicycles will not be allowed in the carriages, and that the distances between some of the most central stations are too long. There is also concern over lasting damage to St. Stephen's Green, as the northwest corner of it will become a construction site during the building of the Metro^[12].

[edit] Metro West

Two potential routes for Metro West were published by the Railway Procurement Agency in January 2007, with a number of sub-options also included. Following discussions and a public consultation process, the preferred route was announced in July 2007. This route starts at Tallaght, then continues on through Belgard, Clondalkin, Liffey Valley, Blanchardstown. Stops are also planned for the National Aquatic Centre and Abbotstown, before continuing in the direction of Sillogue and Harristown. Following Harristown it will link with the Metro North, after Northwood and before Dardistown station. The line is expected to be 25 km (16 miles) long^[13].

Although the Metro West is currently in the early planning stages and can change at a later stage, according to the design drawings produced by the RPA, the Metro West line will not be segregated from road traffic, unlike the Metro North proposal. Metro West will run overground, with some tunnels and bridges to avoid major road junctions^[14]. The preferred route will also see a number of interchanges with other modes of public transport. As well as the link with the Metro North, the line will also link with the Luas at Tallaght and Belgard, rail services at Fonthill and Porterstown and Dublin Bus services at a number of other stops. Park and ride facilities are also proposed at a number of stops.

[edit] Route through Finglas

Metro West will serve the northern parts of Finglas via stops at the N2 and Meakstown. When developing options for Metro West, the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) considered routes south of the M50, serving Finglas more directly. These routes were not deemed feasible as they would have considerable impact on residential and commercial properties in the area, require additional bridges over the M50 and add considerable journey time to the route. It is proposed in the DTO strategy that Finglas is served by a radial light rail line. The first phase of this is outlined in Transport 21 as running to Liffey Junction.

[edit] See also

• Transport 21
• Rail transport in Ireland
• List of metro systems

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Department of Transport
• Transport 21 website
• Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) - Metro
• Platform 11 (rail lobby group) - Dublin Metro
• Transport 21 coverage on RTÉ Television