Plans for the extension of the Luas Green line to Finglas, which will put the north Dublin suburb within 30 minutes travel time of the city centre, have been released for public consultation.
The proposed route will see the Green line extended from Broombridge in Cabra to Charlestown north of Finglas Village with four additional stops and two new bridges.
The 4km extension will bring an additional 30,000 people within 1km of the Luas line, the National Transport Authority (NTA) said. However, it is likely to be another decade before the new line opens to passengers.
The cross-city Luas line – the extension of the Green line from St Stephen’s Green to Broombridge – was designed a decade ago to allow a future extension to Finglas. Luas lines to Bray, Lucan, the Poolbeg peninsula, and Finglas were included in the 2016 NTA transport strategy for the greater Dublin area, but the Finglas line is the only route to reach the selection stage.
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The route, starting at the current Broombridge terminus, would require the construction of a new bridge across the Royal Canal and existing rail line at Ashtown, followed by second bridge just 300m later at Tolka Valley Park to cross the Tolka River. The first stop would be at St Helena's Road south of Finglas Village. The next stop would be in Finglas Village, the third stop would be at Mellowes Park north of Finglas, with the new terminus at St Margaret's Road at the Charlestown shopping centre.
The route was chosen from a short list of four options and is the most direct alignment from the Broombridge to Finglas. Much of the route will pass through parklands, but “some acquisition of private land will be required”, the NTA said. The route will run along an “attractive grass track” through the parks the NTA said and a new cyclepath will be built alongside the tram line.
A park-and-ride facility will be developed at Charlestown and passengers can change to the Maynooth and docklands rail services at Broombridge where the railway station and Luas stops are co-located.
The NTA plans a three-year statutory public consultation and design process beginning this year. A railway order application will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála in 2023. Once approval is secured from the board, the NTA plans a one-year construction tender process, followed by a three- to four-year construction programme.
