The National Transport Authority (NTA) has statutory responsibility for developing public transport infrastructure in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) including Metro, Rail and Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) projects. In addition, the principal functions of the Authority include the strategic planning of transport and the development of an integrated, accessible public transport network.
The NTA recently published its Integrated Implementation Plan 2013-2018 for the GDA. In that Plan the NTA has proposed a BRT Scheme as an interim solution to the short term demand needs of the Swords/Airport corridor. It is accepted that BRT will not on its own replace rail-based solutions where a higher capacity solution is required in the long-term, such as on the Swords /Airport corridor.
For this reason the NTA is undertaking a technical consultancy to assess the long term rail transport requirements of the North Dublin/Fingal corridor, extending from Finglas to Malahide and including Dublin Airport and Swords. This review will examine existing proposals as well as other options for a rail-based transport solution to meet the area’s needs in the long term. Any assessment will of course take into account the number of people travelling to the airport to work or fly. It is also worth pointing out that it is already possible to travel by bus from the airport to the city centre in less than 30 minutes.
I expect to have this report from the NTA by the end of the year.
