For a quarter of a century, residents in Swords have been hearing about a MetroLink line that would connect their community, and Dublin Airport, with the city centre.
News emerged on Thursday that the project has been approved by An Coimisiún Pleanála, with the 18.8km rail line expected to cost more than €10 billion.
It is a plan that has always been around for 24-year-old David Murray, who grew up in the north county Dublin town and works at the airport. Plenty of his colleagues there have longer commutes that would be greatly improved by a rail line.
“It is positive [news], but I probably won’t be able to enjoy it,” Murray says. “I can’t afford a house in Swords and by the time I can, the housing prices will have gone up again. But it is good for the area. It’s well needed.”
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Hope and scepticism are the prevailing moods around the MetroLink. Patrick Heaslip, who moved to Swords from Drumcondra 25 years ago, says planning approval is a welcome step forward, but highlights the difference between it “being approved and actually being physically available for use”.
“It’s been going on for as long as I can remember,” Heaslip says. “When I moved into Swords initially, the second runway at Dublin Airport was in the makings. At the time, the house I was buying, I was worried about the effect of the noise. I sold that house after 20 years and the runway still hadn’t been opened. So, things move slowly.”
Paul and Linda Seagrave have lived in Swords for 40 years, and Paul mentions the construction of the M50 as another example of a mismanaged infrastructure project – he believes the proposed MetroLink could repeat old mistakes.
“Why are they going to stop the metro just at Swords?” Paul says. “It’s a bit of a waste of time. If they keep going, it’s cheaper; if they stop and do it again, it’s going to be dearer like the M50. One lane cost more than the M50 was built for.
“The [number of] people is not getting smaller; it’s getting bigger. The population is crazy.”
Twenty-five minutes is the expected MetroLink travel time from Swords to Dublin city centre. While many make that commute in the mornings, Saoirse McDermott’s journey is in the opposite direction. She travels from Dublin 1 to work at a dental practice in Swords.
“I usually get the bus. I get the 43 or the 41. The 43 would be a lot quicker but sometimes they don’t show up. If it was possible to get a quicker kind of transport, it’d be ideal for me. If I do have to get the 41, that will usually take an hour and a half to get home.”
Moving to Ireland from Germany in 1999, Gabriele Kuehnel was shocked by the absence of a rail line linking Dublin Airport to the city. She lives in Rush and works in Dublin Port with the National Environmental Health Service, where the green impact of a rail line would be very welcome.
“There’s always the push for cleaner [transport] and less traffic,” Kuehnel says. “We have lots of people from Swords working in the port. There are quite a few colleagues so it would be brilliant for them. And all the visitors – my God ... Dublin has to develop.”
Like a lot of people around Swords, Catherine O’Gorman works in aviation. She is an auditor with ASL Airlines and is often stopped at the airport by visitors looking to locate a train line that doesn’t exist.
“I started working in Aer Lingus in 1996 and they were talking about it back then,” she says. “That’s nearly 30 years ago. I thought [it would take] maybe 10 or 15 years. Now, [you’re thinking] will I ever get use out of it? I could be retired.”
Greg Condon, who has lived in Swords for 36 years, also speculates on when, or if, he might see the MetroLink. “It’s a long time it’s got the go ahead and then been knocked on the head again,” he says.
“I always thought I’m never going to see it in my lifetime. So, we’ll wait and see if I’m still alive when it does eventually come around.”
