FINGAL County Council has welcomed the announcement by the National Transport Authority and Transport Infrastructure Ireland on the Preferred Route for MetroLink, linking Swords to Charlemont.
The council also highlighted the importance of ensuring that the project sticks to its proposed timelines and becomes operational as scheduled in 2027.
Fingal County Council chief executive Paul Reid, who led the calls for the Northern route to be prioritised, said the announcement would be well received by residents and businesses but any delays would not be tolerated.
“2027 has been given as the date MetroLink will become operational and it is now beholden on everybody involved in this process to ensure that deadline is met,” said Mr Reid.
“Fingal is the top county from which workers flow into Dublin city and 72 per cent of those journeys are made by car.
“The longer we go without a metro system, the longer the roads into and out of Dublin city will remain clogged up and that will inhibit the development of Fingal.”
Dublin Fingal TD Alan Farrell (FG) said: “With a journey time of 25 minutes between the city centre and Swords, the ability to cater for 20,000 passengers per direction, per hour, and the development of 3,000 car spaces at the park and ride facility to serve the Estuary station in north Swords, Metrolink will undoubtedly benefit residents throughout the north county.
“In addition to this, 4,000 jobs will be created by the construction process itself.”
Senator James Reilly (FG) told Northside People: “Metrolink will be a game changer for the development of Fingal.
“I welcome the announcement of the preferred route and the clarity that allows the project to now move forward.”