IN A submission on MetroLink, Iarnród Éireann (IÉ) said it “is firmly of the view” that the closure of the lines to facilitate the building of a new underground station at Glasnevin was “excessive” and would cause “significant disruption to passenger, freight and maintenance services”.
The two lines from Dublin Connolly (the former Midland Great Western Railway to Maynooth, which is part of the proposed DART+ West) and North Wall (the former Great Southern and Western Railway route through the Phoenix Park Tunnel, which will be part of the DART+ South West) meet the proposed Metro North route (from Swords in North Dublin via Dublin Airport to the city centre) in the vicinity of Cross Guns Bridge and the Royal Canal, where a new Glasnevin underground station will be built.
In the company’s submission to Bord Pleanála, IÉ chief executive Jim Meade said by the time MetroLink is in build, it is anticipated the electrified Dart+ West to Maynooth will be in operation and Dart+ South West to Celbridge will be under construction.
IÉ was supportive of MetroLink, he said, but “electric and diesel trains will need to be accommodated through Glasnevin, as will access to the Maynooth depot to stable and maintain trains during the MetroLink construction process”. Mr Meade also told Bord Pleanála that IÉ “requires” developer Transport Infrastructure Ireland to minimise impacts on IÉ services and infrastructure in the vicinity of Dublin’s Tara Street Station.