Mixed reaction from public and opposition as €9.5bn…

Mixed reaction from public and opposition as €9.5bn Metro Link plans are revived by government

There has been a mixed reaction among members of the public and the Opposition to the prospect of a revived MetroLink development going ahead as early as 2025.

The estimated cost of the MetroLink “megaproject”, which was announced by ministers Eamon Ryan, Pascal Donohue and Michael McGrath on Tuesday has been set at €9.5 billion. The first trains are expected to begin running sometime in the 2030s.

“It is the largest ever, and certainly the greenest, public investment plan in the history of our country,” said Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath.

The MetroLink was first proposed in 2005, with an estimated cost of €3 billion, and was even under discussion as far back as the late 90s. Since then, the project has been beset by delays and revisions.

The latest version of the mostly underground railway will be fully automated and run from north of Swords to Charlemont in the south city centre. It will serve residential areas on the north side, Dublin Airport and the city centre.

The line will consist of 16 stations with trains running every three minutes at peak times, according to an announcement this week.

“We have been excessively cautious and conservative on cost estimates to make sure we don’t see the likes of what happened with the children’s hospital,” said Minister Ryan.

Ireland is one of the few European countries that does not have an underground railway in its largest city. Minister Ryan said that the project would not only improve the transport situation in Dublin, but also help to alleviate the housing crisis by making residential developments on the northside more viable.

The response to the announcement, however, has not been entirely positive with many pointing to the estimated cost.

“I welcome today’s re-announcement of the MetroLink project, but we have been here before, repeatedly,” said Sinn Féin's Transport Spokesperson Darren O’Rourke in a statement.

“This project has been on the cards for twenty years at this stage. Communities and commuters have waited far too long for this important rail link into the city.”

“We need assurances that this project will now be finally delivered on budget and on time, and ahead of schedule if possible.”

“I am concerned about the massive cost escalation for this project already.”

Some members of the public have also been voicing their concerns on social media, while TV and radio personality Oliver Callan skewered the reformed plans, pointing out that the cost is the equivalent of five children's hospitals.

Others were more positive but most people fear the project will run over budget and time. Others from rural counties like Donegal complained that Dublin was again receiving huge investment while they don't have a basic rail link to the rest of the country.

There are already fears the cost of the MetroLink could balloon to €12 billion under conservative estimates provided to Cabinet while Leo Varadkar has said that a warning to Ministers of a possible €23 billion final cost is a "worst-case scenario" figure.

Cabinet Ministers gave approval to Transport Minister Eamon Ryan for the preliminary business case for the MetroLink project as submitted by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

A Government spokesman said it was “too early” to give a precise project cost as the project has yet to go through the planning and procurement stages.

However, a credible, stress tested indicative cost is in the region of €9.5 billion, which is the midpoint of a cost range of between €7 billion to €12 billion.

It is anticipated that construction will begin in 2025, with an anticipated delivery timeline for between 2031 and 2034.

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