The Dublin MetroLink was 'never likely' to be in place by 2027, according to Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan.
Minister Ryan revealed yesterday that the MetroLink won’t be delivered by 2027 as expected.
And he said that the 2027 goal was “never likely to be achievable”.
Announced in 2018, the €9 billion six-line MetroLink system was estimated to be in place for travellers by 2025.
The line would link up the existing trains and trams in a central loop under the city, and would also link in Dublin Airport, meaning the journey time to the city centre would be just 20 minutes, with trains coming every two minutes.
That timeline was then extended and it was announced that the project would be finished by 2027.
But while Mr Ryan is still “very confident” that the MetroLink project for the city will still go ahead, he told RTE that the planning process left the project with uncertainty.
He said: ”The budget forecast for it is likely to be much smaller than the final outcome.
“There's been a big cost inflation since then, particularly in big infrastructural projects.”
The new National Development Plan (NDP) is to be published in October, and Mr Ryan has said that the projects that are quickest and cheapest will be tackled first.
Speaking at the opening of the new Pelletstown train station in north Dublin, the Green Party leader said that the NDP will be focussing on public transport and that the MetroLink projects “fits within that”.
Mr Ryan is yet to give an exact estimate for when Dubliners can expect the new MetroLink to be in place.
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