Dublin’s MetroLink rail line is facing a legal challenge, following the initiation of judicial review proceedings against the multibillion project by residents in Ranelagh.
The 18.8km rail line, expected to cost more than €10 billion, was first proposed a quarter of a century ago and is anticipated to begin operations in the mid-2030s.
Travelling mostly underground, the remote-controlled, driverless trains will run every three minutes from Swords in north Dublin to Charlemont, close to Ranelagh in South Dublin. The route will have 16 stops serving areas including Dublin Airport, Ballymun, Glasnevin, Phibsborough and the city centre.
It was approved in its entirety by An Coimisiún Pleanála through a railway order signed on September 30th.
The deadline for a legal challenge against the commission’s decision ran out on Monday, which would have allowed State transport body Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) to press ahead with the development of the line.
However, on the final day, a group of 20 residents – most of whom live on Dartmouth Square in Dublin 6, close to the planned Charlemont terminus at the southern end of the line – submitted a High Court challenge aimed at overturning the commission’s approval of the rail project.
TII is already in talks with a number of international consortiums which have indicated an interest in building the mega project.
However, the legal challenge potentially puts the project in doubt and means no definitive timeline can be given for when construction could start, if the challenge is unsuccessful.
The project would require a workforce of approximately 8,000 and is expected to take at least eight years to construct, making it the largest infrastructure project in the State. TII hopes MetroLink could begin operations in the mid-2030s.