Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 April 2019
3. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the MetroLink project; the date by which the project will be commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15462/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraWhat is the current status of the MetroLink project? On what date will the project commence? When does the Minister expect long-suffering commuters to be in a position to use the service?
As the Deputy will be aware, the National Transport Authority, NTA, published the MetroLink preferred route for public consultation on Tuesday, 26 March.
This reflects the NTA's and Transport Infrastructure Ireland's consideration of issues raised in the consultation period held last year on what was known as the "Emerging Preferred Route".
The Deputy has welcomed the publication of the new route and the fact that it addresses the majority of issues raised during last year's consultation period.
The new preferred route proposes a number of changes to the route as published last year and I hope people will take the time to consider the rationale behind those changes and engage with the public consultation process.
Of course, a key imperative in the MetroLink project has always been to deliver a new north-south cross city link and deal with the capacity issues on the Luas green line. The big change in the preferred route is the method by which the NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, propose to deal with those issues.
The NTA-TII proposal is now to move forward immediately on two fronts: developing MetroLink from Charlemont to Swords and also completing the green line capacity enhancement project already under way. They now propose to defer the third element of the previous proposal, which is to tie-in the metro with the existing Luas green line and extend metro services southward along that line.
The Luas green line expansion programme, which is already under way, will see extended trams begin to arrive this year and will by 2021 see all 26 trams extended to 55 m and also introduce eight additional trams and increase capacity by approximately 37%.
It is also proposed incrementally to increase capacity further on the green line over the medium term so that it can handle around 11,000 passengers per direction per hour, which is an increase of approximately 70% from today. Then in the longer term, perhaps 20 years from today, the tunnelling work proposed to be completed now as part of MetroLink will facilitate a later tie-in with the green line.
I welcome the level and depth of public engagement with the project so far and commend the NTA and TII for the proactive way in which they have engaged with communities and the public at large. There is a series of further public information sessions planned for this round of public consultation, as well as a wealth of information published on the MetroLink website. I recognise also that there are still issues which require consideration and consultation with different groups and NTA-TIl are committed to doing just that.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
In so-called "megaprojects" like this, the importance of this period of front-end planning is well recognised internationally as being crucial to a project's overall success. I also think it important that we approach projects such as this in as open and transparent a manner as possible in order to deal with some of the misinformation and confusion which can arise.
In terms of timelines, this phase of consultation will end on 21 May and the NTA-TII will then finalise its business case for submission to my Department and ultimately the sanction of Government. They expect to apply for a railway order in Q2 next year and then, subject to planning, to move forward with construction during 2021.
This is the seventh proposed route since the original metro north was first unveiled as part of Transport 21 in 2005. I cannot hold the Minister, Deputy Ross, responsible for all of that.
There is scepticism out there as to whether this will ever be delivered. It is the fifth time there have been proposed changes in Deputy Ross's tenure. Is the route being designed around the Cabinet table or is it being designed by the NTA and TII because, during a Topical Issue debate a number of months ago, in response to two Government Deputies the Minister stated there would be no separation of metro north and metro south? Has a cost-benefit analysis been conducted for the most recent project which will see the metro stop at Charlemont? On what advice was this route change undertaken? Were other options, such as extending the route in the south-west direction, looked at? What impact will this have on the delivery of MetroLink? As I asked at the outset, when is construction of this project due to begin and due to end?
Maybe I could give the Deputy a timeline. First, this current consultation phase will run until the end of May. The NTA and TII will then work on finalising a business case for submission to the Government. The Government must then approve the business case before it can progress to planning. The NTA then expects a railway order application by the second quarter of 2020. A statutory consultation process will be held by the board and, dependant on planning etc., construction is hoped to start in 2021.
This was not designed around the Cabinet table. Deputies, Senators, councillors and Ministers are entitled to their opinions as they represent a large number of people, but there has been a public consultation going on at various times and at various stages of this project. Indeed, members of the public, as other representatives, are entitled to contribute to that. No doubt they have done so in an orthodox and regular way.
Construction is due in 2021. The Minister might be a little more specific, even in terms of which quarter in 2021.
I will ask again: has a cost-benefit analysis been conducted for the most recent iteration of the project. That is a simple "yes" or "no" question.
On what advice was the route change undertaken? Were external consultants brought on board in relation to this change? Are the NTA and TII both supportive of this recent change? Were other options considered, such as extending the route in the south-west direction?
There obviously have been considerations of the route in the south-west direction, by which I take it the Deputy means Rathfarnham, Terenure, Tallaght and that direction. Those considerations have been made on a thorough basis and the judgment has been made that there is not the population there to merit a Luas extension to there at present.
There are plenty of other candidates for Luas extension. There are plenty of others which are in the transport strategy as well which the Deputy would be aware of. They include the Luas green line to Bray, the Luas cross city to Finglas and the Luas to Poolbeg.
What of the cost-benefit analysis?
Certainly, the Terenure-Tallaght-Rathfarnham option is not one of those which is currently under active consideration.
On the issues the Deputy raised, he will find that, as I said, a business case will of course have to be made. When Deputy Troy asked me whether the 2021 date is something which I can be specific about, I obviously cannot be more specific about what time in 2021 because that depends on planning and other extraneous issues which are far beyond my control. I can assure the Deputy that it will be done in 2021-----
No cost-benefit analysis so.
I want to put some order on this.
-----and that is dependant on planning.
I ask Ministers and all Members to observe the clock.
