Dublin city is facing up to 15 years of significant disruption as long-awaited public transport projects move from planning into construction, senior officials have confirmed. After years of consultation, debate and design, multiple large-scale schemes are now beginning, promising to transform how people travel across the capital.
At a meeting of Dublin City Council’s Mobility and Public Realm Strategic Policy Committee, representatives from the National Transport Authority (NTA), Iarnród Éireann, and the MetroLink project outlined an ambitious pipeline of works.
Two major BusConnects core bus corridors — from Liffey Valley to the city centre and from Ballymun and Finglas to the city centre — are scheduled to begin construction this year. A third route, linking Clongriffin to the city centre, is expected to follow in 2027.
Meanwhile, enabling works have commenced on the DART+ West project, which aims to electrify the Maynooth line and double train frequency into the city. Larger-scale construction on MetroLink, the planned high-capacity metro from Swords to the city centre, is anticipated to ramp up in 2027.
Grainne Mackin, Director of Communications at the NTA, acknowledged the scale of disruption ahead. “There is going to be inconvenience, there is going to be disruption, there is going to be diversions — absolutely, there’s no shying away from that,” she told councillors. “This is some of the biggest infrastructure this city will see, and has seen for a long time.”
She added that the long-term benefits would be transformative. “Over the next decade to 15 years we will see that Dublin will be transformed with all these different versions of sustainable transport.”
City officials stressed that the projects are urgently needed. Brendan O’Brien, Dublin City Council’s Head of Traffic, said the capital had already lost critical time. “From the city’s perspective this should have been delivered yesterday, to be quite frank with you. We’ve already lost a decade of underinvestment in public transport in the city. But at least we’re having them now.”
Despite progress, challenges remain. Seven of the 12 planned BusConnects corridors are currently subject to judicial review, while some rail projects — including DART+ South West — have yet to secure government funding.
Concerns were also raised about construction safety, particularly the anticipated increase in heavy vehicle movements. MetroLink representatives revealed that over 1.5 million two-way truck movements are expected during peak construction phases. Councillors and transport advocates called for modern, high-visibility lorries and strict safety standards to protect cyclists and pedestrians.
Karl Stanley, a Social Democrats councillor, warned against cutting corners. “We don’t want cyclists hit by a truck turning left because we didn’t want to pay extra for trucks with highly visible cabs.”
Officials said safety-led traffic management plans are being embedded into procurement processes. MetroLink also plans to introduce a “just-in-time” delivery system to minimise congestion caused by idling or queuing trucks.
Construction on the Liffey Valley corridor is due to begin in March, starting between Liffey Valley and Ballyfermot before progressing toward Inchicore by year’s end. Works will be phased to avoid a complete shutdown along the route.
As Mackin concluded: “We need to keep the city moving. The city needs to do business, people need to get to school, to work and to visits.
