Irish Rail says mandatory testing in advance of Euro 2028 is the reason for the closure of the Lansdowne Road DART station on the night of the Republic of Ireland’s UEFA Nations League clash with Austria.

On Friday, a joint statement by the FAI, Irish Rail, Aviva Stadium and National Transport Authority said: “Lansdowne Road DART Station will close temporarily on the evening of Thursday, October 1st, 2026, for the UEFA Nations League game between Republic of Ireland and Austria.”

The statement details the closure of the Aviva Stadium-adjacent station from 3.30pm until the end of service, citing “normal testing and readiness exercises which take place on occasion for notable sporting events at Aviva Stadium”.

Irish Rail said the move is not linked to potential protests centering around Ireland’s Nations League clash with Israel.

Ireland will be a co-host for Euro 2028, with an Irish Rail spokesperson telling RTÉ Sport that the move is a means of planning for the seven tournament fixtures scheduled for Aviva Stadium.

“This is in line with UEFA fixtures such as they had for the Europa League final,” the spokesperson said.

“They have match protocols for those and it means that Lansdowne Road is closed but Grand Canal Dock remains fully open because people are starting from there then heading north afterwards, so you can manage the crowds safely there as a result.”

The Dublin venue trialled this traffic management strategy at the 2024 Europa League final and at the 2020 Euros qualifier between Ireland and Denmark, the latter as preparation for the 2020 Euros at which fixtures were due to take place in Dublin. The Aviva was stood down as a venue amid the Covid-19 pandemic due to a lack of guarantees regarding spectators.

The spokesperson for Irish Rail added: “There’s a requirement (by UEFA) and we’re the first city, but all of the various cities will be testing whatever the UEFA tournament arrangements will be.

“There’s a requirement for us to test and a Nations League match is a good opportunity to test something like this.”