The Irish Transport and Infrastructure Authority said Metrolink is needed in Dublin because Ireland’s current transport infrastructure is outpacing growth.
TII also said congestion could cost the Irish economy €2 billion a year over the next 10 years.
Metrolink project director Aidan Foley said in his opening statement on the first day of Council Plenary’s oral hearing on the project that in 2021, Dublin was ranked the 35th most congested city in the world, and that Dublin’s commuters 1 person said they would spend on average:Stuck in traffic for over 213 hours a year
Mr Foley said 8,000 workers at Swords, where the service will be launched, currently commute into Dublin city center, but only 12% use public transport.
He said congestion along the Swords-Dublin Airport-Dublin city center corridor, the main artery of Ireland’s economy, had reached critical levels.
He said travel time from the region could take up to 55 minutes during peak hours, compared to 25 to 35 minutes during off-peak hours.
Metrolink is expected to take about nine years to complete, and Foley said TII recognizes that people’s lives will be disrupted during construction.
He said TII was satisfied that the tunnel and station were constructed to an appropriate depth and using appropriate methodologies to ensure that the buildings above would not be seriously affected.
He said any property damage would be superficial and appropriate measures would be taken to monitor for adverse effects such as vibrations and subsidence equipment.
Mr Foley’s submission said construction could be invasive and particularly disruptive to people near construction sites, but the use of noise blankets and machinery to limit noise and vibration output Measures will be taken to limit the impact of noise and vibration, he said.
TII also established the Property Owner Protection System (POPS) in response to some property owners’ concerns about potential damages.
This gives property owners in certain areas access to pre- and post-construction surveys and damages of up to €45,000, although these owners can also bring legal claims if they wish.
He said about 17% of property owners in the target area have registered with the scheme.
TII also has a communications plan in place to inform the public and those affected by the project. This includes monthly meetings with tourist information centers and roadside residents.
TII said it has carried out a number of public consultations on the preferred route since 2018 and has made a number of amendments to the plan as a result of the feedback received.
Around 200 people attended the first day of the oral hearings at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin.
Also attending today’s hearing are Green Party MP Ciaran Cuffe and Dublin Labor MP Fingal Duncan Smith.
Details of the proposed rail link between Swords and Dublin city center will be outlined at a public hearing over the next five weeks.
Construction of the metro, which was first mooted more than 20 years ago, is expected to start in 2025, take about 10 years and cost at least 9.5 billion euros.
The Irish Transport Infrastructure Authority has announced that Metrolink will allow 53 million passengers a year to travel from Swords in north Dublin to Charlemont in the city center in south Dublin in just 25 minutes.
The trains, which run every 90 seconds, carry 20,000 passengers per hour in each direction, and most of the approximately 19km line has 16 new stations serving the communities of Swords, Ballymun, Glasnevin and Ranelagh. It will run underground along the
Since the Draft Railway Order was submitted in September 2022, more than 300 submissions have been made.
The oral hearing is expected to outline the concerns of some people about the project, including a number of homeowners, Trinity College in Dublin and the Department of Public Works.
View the proposed MetroLink map
The project’s design team created more than 3,000 individual drawings and distributed 2,500 information packs to property owners affected by the project.
Stops include Estuary, Seatown, Swords Central, Fosterstown, Dublin Airport, Dardistown, Northwood, Ballymun, Collins Avenue, Griffith Park, Glasnevin, Mater, O’Connell Street, Tara, St Stephen’s Green and Charlemont. It is being
The project also includes the construction of a new 99-metre-long bridge over the M50 and a 260-metre-long viaduct over the Broadmeadow and Ward rivers.
A 3,000-space high-rise park-and-ride facility near the M1, a proposed first stop at Estuary Station and a maintenance hub located close to the proposed Dardistown Station will also be part of the project.
A rail link between Dublin Airport and the city center was first discussed around 2002, and the project became known as Metro North.
It was revived again in 2018 and rebranded as MetroLink, with an estimated completion date of 2027 and an estimated cost of €3 billion.
Around €300 million has been spent so far on various metro projects in Dublin.
Last year, Department for Transport Secretary-General Ken Spratt said the current Metrolink project would cost €115.3 million until the end of March 2023.
At the time, Spratt said the most likely cost of the MetroLink project was thought to be €9.5 billion.
Acquisition of property
Construction of Metrolink will require the acquisition of significant residential and commercial real estate, as well as numerous public and private land and real estate interests.
Some need to be acquired permanently, others temporarily during the construction phase.
Compulsory purchase orders will be used if the project is approved, and TII said the acquisition of these properties and lands will be proportionate to the public interest of the project.
TII said it had already consulted with property owners before the project was approved and would continue to do so.
It said it would index the prices it agreed to pay residential property owners if property values rose, but would not adjust them downward if values fell.
TII said it will also cover all reasonable professional fees involved in the transaction and will assist in sourcing alternative accommodation.
TII said it would assist those renting affected properties with rental agents to help them find new rental properties and cover moving costs, including paying rent for up to one year. Ta.
TII said it would assist affected businesses with relocation and give them as much time as possible to do so.
A public hearing was previously told that the construction would have a significant impact on the gate lodge at Suntory Lodge. The Gate Lodge is an 18th-century property located off Old Ballymun Road in north Dublin that is currently used as homeless accommodation.
This impact is greater than previously assessed due to the designation of properties being upgraded to protected structures.
For this reason, the team plans to record the ruined lodges in more detail in the future.
The hearing also heard that Metrolink’s plans are primarily in line with the Government’s climate change targets and development plans for Dublin City and Fingal.
It said it was of strategic importance to the long-term development of the Dublin region.
It also said some impacts, such as the demolition of the Markiewicz Leisure Center in the southern city, would be mitigated by rebuilding the facility elsewhere.