Dublin Metro Project 'To Proceed Quickly'

According to an unpublished Government brief, further delays to Metro North in Dublin are "not an option" and could undermine the State's ability to seek investors for other major infrastructure projects.

Officials at the Department of Transport have said the Government need to either scrap the proposed 18km rail link from St Stephen's Green to Swords or proceed quickly with enabling works.

The delays have affected the two bidders involved in the procurement process for the planned Metro, who have had to invest significant sums of money to keep their teams mobilised. The brief stated: "If the project does not proceed based on this competition it is highly unlikely that bidders with the requisite skills would invest the substantial sums required to put another bid together.

"This could also have a serious impact on the credibility of the Government as a counter-party for PPP [public-private partnership] deals for other major infrastructure investment projects."

Fine Gael and Labour's programme for government does give a firm commitment to funding Metro North, but it pledges to support high-capacity commuter services subject to cost-benefit analysis.

The full extent of the exchequer budget for the project has not been disclosed though it is estimated to be somewhere in the region of €3 billion.

The Railway Procurement Agency have prepared the latest estimates on the business case for the Metro, and they estimate it would yield €2 in economic benefits for every €1 spent on its construction. Officials also estimate that it could create about 4,000 construction jobs, as well as 2,000 other posts linked to the project during the construction period.

According to records released under the Freedom of Information Act, State has already spent about €135 million on planning, diverting utilities and works on heritage for Metro North and a further €45 million is expected to be spent on similar works this year.

This brings the total spend on Metro North to almost €175 million before the project has received formal Government approval.

Some commentators have advocated scrapping Metro North and focusing on the proposed Dart Underground scheme on the basis that it would be cheaper, benefit more passengers and yield a greater economic return.

This project would involve building a tunnel to link the Docklands and Inchicore, which would provide underground stations in the city and link existing rail systems such as the Luas and Inter-city trains.

In unpublished records, department officials say a straight comparison between Metro and the Dart Underground is difficult as they have different objectives.

Given the pressure on the public finances, the previous government announced last year that it would not be possible to fund the Dart project in the near future.

(JG)