Following government approval in October, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) will submit a Railway Order (planning) application for Luas Finglas to An Bord Pleanála on Monday 18th November. The public can make submissions about the proposed light rail line to An Bord Pleanála from 22nd November 2024 to 20th January 2025.
Luas Finglas is a major public transport project that will extend the existing Luas tram network northwards by almost 4km from Broombridge to the Finglas area, with stops at St Helena’s, Finglas Village, St Margaret’s Road, and Charlestown near the M50. The route will provide interchanges with Broombridge train station which is on the planned DART+ West line, as well as bus services.
Luas Finglas is being delivered by TII on behalf of the National Transport Authority (NTA). Funding for the project is provided by Department of Transport through the NTA.
It is one of four Luas tram extensions identified in the NTA’s Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2022-2042. If accelerated, the Luas Finglas line could be operational by 2031, subject to planning and funding.
Luas Finglas will create a new high-capacity, frequent and speedy public transport connection for communities in the Finglas area, shortening journey times to/from Dublin city centre to approximately 30 minutes or less and providing for connections to other destinations. The project will support increased housing supply close to the route, in support of the government’s goals for transport orientated development and the transition to a zero-carbon transport system.
The tram route is mostly off-road and segregated from road traffic. As well as the tram line, the project will provide for improvements to the walking and cycling network in the area. In addition, a 350-vehicle park and ride facility is to be provided near the St Margaret’s Road stop. Overall, Luas Finglas is anticipated to generate an additional 1.3 million low-carbon public transport trips in 2035, increasing to 1.8 million in 2050.
Peter Walsh, CEO of TII said; “The team at TII is very pleased to reach this milestone today. Luas has been a huge success story for Dublin over the past 20 years. TII has an excellent track record of delivering Luas projects on time and within budget while its passenger numbers have exceeded all projections.
Luas Finglas will enable the delivery of sustainable, compact growth in Finglas as it has done in the IFSC, City West, Cherrywood and Sandyford.
Everyone at TII looks forward to delivering more Luas services for Dublin and other cities in Ireland.”
Anne Graham, CEO of the NTA, said: “It’s very positive to see progress on Luas Finglas, a project that was identified as a key priority in our GDA Transport Strategy, 2022-42.
“I believe that an ambitious and exciting project like this has the potential to be transformative for this part of the city and that it will further enhance the area for people who live here, work here, or want to run a business here.”
Paolo Carbone, TII’s Head of Light Rail Capital Programmes said; “All of us at TII are very proud of the benefits the Luas network has delivered for the people of Ireland and visitors to Dublin. We are equally proud of achieving the milestone of submitting a Railway Order and look forward to delivering it expeditiously as soon as it is approved.”
Andrew Doyle, Country Director Transportation for Egis, engineers for the preliminary designs for Luas Finglas said; “We are delighted to see Luas Finglas reaching this important milestone. This is a flagship project for us at Egis with our partners in TII; these designs reflect our shared emphasis on sustainability and the benefit of extensive consultation and study.”
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The Luas Finglas project involves an extension of the Luas Green Line from Broombridge, which at present is both a Luas terminus and a heavy rail station, to the Finglas area. The preferred route is almost 4 km in length, serving an estimated population of 56,000 by 2035 at four new stops for communities in the Finglas area: St Helena’s, Finglas Village, St Margaret’s Road and Charlestown. In future, the Broombridge stop will form part of the DART+ West route between Maynooth/M3 Parkway and Dublin, thus providing a direct interchange with DART services. A map of the Luas Finglas route is below.
Overall, the Luas Finglas project will create a new high-capacity, frequent and speedy public transport connection for communities in the Finglas area, serving Dublin city centre and beyond. The project anticipates a frequency of 8 trams per hour/direction on initial operation. There will be a journey time of around 13 minutes between Charlestown and Broombridge, and circa 30 minutes between Charlestown and Trinity College. When compared with travel by private car, the tram is expected to lead to an average reduction in journey times to/from the city centre of 15 minutes (around 30%) during peak periods.
Further information on the Railway Order application can be found at www.luasfinglasro.ie
