Construction of the MetroLink rail line is facing an “inevitable delay” following a court challenge to the decision to grant permission for the multibillion euro project, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has said.
Judicial review proceedings have been taken by a group of residents living in Ranelagh, Dublin 6, near the planned southern terminus of the 18.8km, mostly underground, line.
The route is designed to run from Swords, in north Dublin, to Charlemont, close Ranelagh in south Dublin. The route will have 16 stops serving areas including Dublin Airport, Ballymun, Glasnevin, Phibsborough and the city centre.
MetroLink was approved by An Coimisiún Pleanala through a railway order signed on September 30th. The deadline for a legal challenge against the commission’s decision ran out on Monday, which would have allowed State transport body TII to press ahead with the development of the line.
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However, on the final day, 19 residents of Dartmouth Square West, close to the planned Charlemont terminus, and one company, submitted a High Court challenge aimed at overturning the commission’s approval of the rail project.
The company involved is Kalamunda Co Unlimited, the holding company that owns the McCabes Pharmacy group which was bought two years ago by PHX Ireland, the owner of the Lloyds Pharmacy chain. Kalamunda is owned by Sharon McCabe, of Dartmouth Square West, and according to the company’s most recent financial statement, it reported a €48.9 million profit in 2024.
The residents who submitted the challenge are John Ryan and Grace Maguire; Geraldine Ann Cusack and Geraldine Cusack; Terry Reid and Denis McLoughlin; Leo Crehan and Ann Crehan; Martin Jones and Mary Jones; Elizabeth Vandenberghe; Caroline O’Connor; Niall Parsons; Kitty Wallis and Camillus Wallis; Muiris O’Dwyer and Helena Kelly and Angela Ryan and Manuel Ryan.
A judicial review of a planning decision can be taken if there is a belief that the commission made a legal error in the process of reaching its decision.
It is understood that among the core grounds submitted by the residents is that the commission failed to carry out a lawful Environmental Impact Assessment of MetroLink, and failed to ensure the environmental effects of the proposed railway works were comprehensively assessed.
It is also understood they will argue there was an unlawful predetermination of Charlemont as the terminus of the rail line, and the commission approved a project with a design that had not been fully defined at the time of the grant of permission.
That the effects of the project on architectural heritage of buildings of historic interest, including those on Dartmouth Square, were not properly evaluated before the granting of permission, is also expected to form part of the residents’ case.
They are also expected to argue that fair procedures were breached as substantial additional information was submitted by the applicants at the end of the hearing which was not subject to a further oral hearing or adequate opportunity for public participation.
In a statement on Tuesday, TII said it regretted the “inevitable delay that will result for a project after three years of significant scrutiny and public consultation since the Railway Order was submitted” which included “three rounds of extensive public consultation,” it said.
“We remain hopeful that the matter will progress efficiently through the judicial review process and that the Railway Order will be upheld to allow us to move forward with the delivery of this vital nation-building programme at the earliest appropriate opportunity,” it said.
TII is already in talks with a number of international consortiums who have indicated an interest in building the mega project. However, the legal challenge puts the project in doubt and means no definitive timeline can be given for when construction could start, if the challenge is unsuccessful.
MetroLink, projected to cost in excess of €10 billion, will require a workforce of approximately 8,000 and is expected to take at least eight years to construct, making it the largest infrastructure project in the State. TII hopes rail services could begin operating in the mid-2030s.
