Mace on track for Ireland’s first metro railway

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Mace has been appointed to a multi-disciplinary team responsible for delivering Ireland’s first metro railway system.

Running for 18.8km, the Dublin MetroLink programme will be a high-capacity, high-frequency railway with 16 new stations running from Swords to the North of the republic’s capital, to Charlemont in the South.

It’s anticipated the railway will carry up to 50 million passengers a year once it’s up and running. Furthermore, the new network will act as an “integrator” for existing air, rail, DART, Dublin Bus and Luas services across the greater Dublin area.

The MetroLink will also provide a direct line to Dublin Airport from the city centre, with stops at key city locations including Ballymun, O’Connell Street, and St Stephen’s Green.

Appoint by Transport Infrastructure Ireland, the project client team headed up by Turner & Townsend takes in Mace alongside WSP, and is supported by O’Connor Sutton Cronin, and PWC.

Each of the partners has been collectively appointed to a framework that runs for 13 years until 2036. Twelve years have been allocated for development and construction, with a further year to bring MetroLink into operation.

Aidan Foley, Transport Infrastructure Ireland’s MetroLink project director, said the appointment of the client partners represented a “key milestone” that “underlines” the Irish state’s commitment to delivering the project.

“The successful delivery of MetroLink is essential if Dublin is to have a fully integrated public transport system,” he added.

“We believe the terms of engagement through the NEC4 professional services contract represents a real opportunity to work collaboratively and productively towards achieving our shared project goals.

“We are looking forward to working closely with our new colleagues to advance the project through the next stage of its development.”

Much of the route runs underground and there are plans for 30 trains every hour in each direction, which will cut journey times from Swords to the city centre down to 25 minutes. The project supports the advancement of Ireland to a low emissions transport system, while contributing to the country’s sustainable economic development and population growth.

Frank Randles, Mace Consult’s country director for Ireland, said: “MetroLink represents a fantastic opportunity to prove that Ireland can deliver major infrastructure efficiently and in support of its people.

“From the creation of a high-functioning delivery partner team that leverages complementary skills from across our industry, to the transformative impact this scheme will have in the region, we’re excited to collaborate with our partners and draw on our project and programme delivery consultancy expertise to set a leading example for our industry.”

Main image: Dublin’s MetroLink programme

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