From 2012 passengers arriving in Dublin Airport will be able to take a Metro into the centre of Dublin with a 17 minute journey time, under a plan published today.
The Metro North, linking Stephen's Green with Lissenhall, north of Swords, will have 15 stops and will be able to carry 20,000 passengers an hour. The Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said trains will run every four minutes at peak time and can increase to one every 90 seconds if required.
It is anticipated that the 17km line North Metro will carry up to 34 million passengers annually from St Stephen's Green to Dublin Airport and Swords.
The decision on the routes follows a detailed public consultation process which started with the outlining of four possible options.
Following more than 2,000 submissions, the route chosen by the Railway Procurement Agency is an amalgam of two options.
The metro will travel under the Liffey to serve O'Connell St, the Mater Hospital, Dublin City University, Griffith Avenue, Ballymun, the airport and on through Swords to Lissenhall.
Half of the line will be underground while the other half will run on street level separated from traffic.
Mr Cullen said: "Metro will offer a new travel experience for business and leisure commuters in speed, ease and comfort. With the Luas, it will undoubtedly compound this excellent start in transforming the capital's public transport system."
The project is part of the Government's €34 billion Transport 21 investment programme.
The Drumcondra stop will serve the 82,000-seater Croke Park while DCU's 10,000 students will also have their own Metro station.
The RPA said that Dublin City Council requested a stop at Parnell Square East to serve the north inner city, and it is seeking further public consultation on this.
The route includes several key interchanges with rail and bus services including a key connection with the Maynooth suburban rail at Drumcondra.
The project will have more than 2,000 park and ride spaces and is projected to cut road journeys by 100 million kilometres per year.
Mr Cullen added: "Metro North is not just an airport link. It is an important commuter link for the communities and the institutions of north Dublin city and county.
"By developing Metro North and Metro West, by extending the Luas network, by providing greater capacity on the DART and suburban rail network and by increasing significantly bus capacity, the annual number of public transport passenger journeys in Dublin will almost double.
The next step in the Metro project will involve work on progressing the design of the route and stations and the preparation of a Railway Order application by the RPA.
Neither an approximate cost or details of the cost benefit analysis have yet been released, with the Minister for Transport saying to reveal such information would undermine the Government's negotiating position when contracts are issued.
Mr Cullen said the project would be funded by a Public Private Partnership to ensure best value for money for the Exchequer.
As part of the project a terminus will be built under Stephen's Green. Because the Luas Green line and the Metro will not be linked, passengers will use this terminus to change trains. This terminus will also accommodate passengers on the rail interconnector.
RPA chairman Padraic White said there was a 50-person project team including international experts with experience in major transport projects like the Channel Tunnel, the Hong Kong underground, Oporto Metro, Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 and Munich's S-Bahn.
