Green light given for €10 billion MetroLink rail line

The 19km line could see airport to city journeys of 20 minutes.

An Coimisiún Pleanála approved the 19km line which could see journeys from the city to the airport take just 20 minutes.

The approval of the long-awaited line comes three years after planning permission was originally sought.

Expected to cost over €10 billion, the MetroLink was first proposed in 2000, with operations now set to begin in the mid-2030s.

Travelling mostly underground, the driverless trains will be remote controlled and are set to run every three minutes from Swords to Charlemont.

The route serves 16 stops in areas such as Dublin Airport, Ballymun, Glasnevin, Phibsborough and the city centre.

On the MetroLink, you can expect a trip from Swords to the city centre to take about 25 minutes, with a journey from the airport to the city taking only 20 minutes.

Once construction on the line begins, it will be the largest infrastructure project in the history of the State, with works expected to continue for up to eight years.

While the approval is good news, the commission’s decision may be subject to legal challenges and before works begin it must secure final Cabinet approval.

The approval now allows for the Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to seek indicative tenders for its construction, before formulating and submitting a final business case to Government to approve and for construction to begin.

We're getting there...