New Luas lines among transport proposals for Dublin

Plans to build Luas lines to Bray, Finglas, Lucan and the Poolbeg peninsula have been published by the National Transport Authority.

The draft Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area for 2016-2035 sets out transport projects designed to serve the needs of the capital and its surrounding commuter belt for the next 20 years.

Many of the measures identified in it were approved for funding under the Government’s capital plan published last month, including the €2.4 billion Metro North line from Dublin city centre to Dublin Airport and Swords.

However, other projects, such as Luas extensions and new lines, have yet to secure Government funding or approval.

The strategy sets out proposals for improving bus provision, cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, as well as the road network, but its central focus is on the expansion of rail.

Developing the Luas tram network is the core of the plan. The Luas cross-city line, currently under construction from St Stephen’s Green to Broombridge in Cabra, would be extended to Finglas, north of Broombridge, under the strategy.

Using the new line to link the city to the airport had been considered as an alternative to Metro North, but it emerged last month that this option had been discounted because it would prevent the extension of the Luas line to Finglas.

To serve the future development area of Poolbeg on the southern side of the mouth of the Liffey where it enters the sea, as well as nearby Ringsend and Irishtown, it is intended to extend the Luas red Line – currently running from Saggart in west Dublin to the Point in the north docklands – south of the Liffey.

The line would cross the Liffey on a new bridge near the East Link bridge.

The plan identifies a new east-west Luas line, running from Lucan, which is not served by any rail line, to the city centre.

This would cater for the “high transport demand along this corridor”, the strategy says, serving Lucan, Liffey Valley and Ballyfermot along the route.

To match the new, high- speed rail provision of Metro North, the strategy proposes developing Metro South by upgrading to metro standard the existing Luas green line, which runs from St Stephen’s Green to Bride’s Glen south of Cherrywood.

Metro North tunnel

This would mean extending south to Ranelagh the planned Metro North tunnel under the city, extending Luas station platforms for the longer metro trains which also run faster than the Luas. .

From Bride’s Glen a new spur of the Luas green line would be built to extend the line to Bray town centre.

While a decision on the final alignment has yet to be made, it is likely to run to Bray Dart station via Shankill and the former golf club lands.

“It will provide a high-frequency, high-capacity link between Bray and the key employment areas of Sandyford, Dundrum and Cherrywood, in addition to connecting to the city centre,” the strategy states.

Plans for the Metro South and the Lucan line were in the last Dublin transport strategy published five years ago, but were not progressed.

For bus development, the strategy identifies a core network of 16 radial bus corridors coming from the suburbs into the city; three orbital bus corridors which would run between suburbs, avoiding the city centre; and six regional bus corridors serving the city from places such as Belfast, Donegal and Mayo.