Timeline: The long journey to Dublin's MetroLink

Dublin's MetroLink has had many names, routes and false starts, dating back to the 1970s.

One of the earliest examples of the long-mooted Metro line can be found at Dublin Airport. Area 14 at Terminal 1 is currently used as an overflow area beneath the Ryanair check-in area.

Built in the early 1970s, it was intended to serve as an underground station for a future rail link, which never materialised.

In 1975, Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ) proposed another version of an underground rail network in the capital, with a central station in Temple Bar.

In 1984, the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) service was launched, but by 1987 the government halted any further expansion due to cost concerns.

By 2000, then Minister for Public Enterprise Mary O'Rourke said Dublin was "on the brink" of an integrated transport system. The intention was to build 70 kilometres of track connecting Swords, Dublin Airport, Tallaght, Blanchardstown and Bray as part of the "biggest public transport project in the history of the State".

14 kilometres would have been located underground and commuters would have been able to use the same ticket to jump between bus, Luas and train services. This plan never materialised.

In 2002, as the Luas was still being built, another version of the underground rail project was proposed by the government. Under this plan, the Metro would have been up and running by 2007, with an interconnecting line to Blanchardstown in west Dublin. This plan was also shelved.

Following the global financial crisis in the early 2010s, plans for the relaunched Metro West and Metro North were delayed because of the high construction costs. Various other plans were proposed after the Irish economy stabilised, but none came to fruition.

By 2018, the capital's Metro project, now known as MetroLink, was launched with plans to connect the rail service with the existing Luas Green Line to Dublin airport and beyond at an estimated cost of €3 billion. A year later this plan was also dropped because of the significant disruption and impact it would bring to the Luas network.

In 2022, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) applied for planning permission for the current plan by means of a Railway Order. Under this final plan, the MetroLink runs from Swords in north Dublin to Charlemont, near Ranelagh in south Dublin.

By early 2024, An Board Pleanála's oral hearings into the estimated €9.5 billion project were finally underway. Running for six weeks, the planning inspector heard submissions from more than 120 parties.

In October 2025, permission was finally granted for the long-awaited MetroLink. More than sixty years after it was first proposed, MetroLink has now finally been approved for construction, although it is not expected to become operational until at least the mid-2030s.

Timeline of Dublin's Metro

2000

Then Minister for Public Enterprise Mary O'Rourke says the metro will cost £4.3 billion to construct and is due to be completed by 2016.

2002

Then Minister for Transport Seamus Brennan says a rail link between Dublin Airport and Dublin City Centre will be completed in 2007 at an estimated cost of €2 billion.

2005

Metro North is at the centre of the Government's Transport 21 plan, which also includes a Metro West orbital rail route to serve areas including Tallaght and Blanchardstown.

2011

Planning permission is granted for Metro North, but just before approval, then Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar says Metro West plans are suspended due to the financial crisis. Two months later, the Metro North project meets a similar fate.

2015

Plans for a Dublin Metro are revived by the then Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe. The project cost is €2 billion and the completion date is estimated to be around 2026.

2019

Then Minister for Transport Shane Ross confirms the project, rebranded MetroLink, will not link up with the Luas Green Line because of the disruption it could cause.

2022

Then Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan announces the Government is submitting a planning application for MetroLink, which he estimates will cost around €9.5 billion. The project is earmarked to start in 2025 and be operational in the early 2030s.

2025

After several weeks of oral hearings the year before, An Coimisiún Pleanála grants a Railway Order, effectively the planning permission for the construction of the Metrolink project.

2026

In March, a new revised cost estimate is submitted to Government and after six months of consideration, the Cabinet approves the project on 16 September.

Additional reporting: Samantha Libreri