Railway spur line from Clongriffin to Dublin Airport back on the agenda

0
Adina Vălean Commissioner for Transport

Dublin airport could be required to link to the national rail network “immediately” under proposed European legislation.

Provisional agreement on more sustainable and resilient trans-European transport network to brings Europe closer together will require Dublin airport to be linked to the main Dublin-Belfast rail line. 

According to the revised TEN-T will mandatory targets, major airports, dealing with more than 12m passengers annually, will have to be connected by long-distance rail, a major step towards improving connectivity and accessibility for passengers and strengthening the competitiveness of rail vis-a-vis domestic flights.

Irish Rail plans for an 8km spur line from Clongriffin to Dublin Airport were discussed a decade ago but had fallen off the agenda. 

See also  IndiGo to launch daily direct flights from Mumbai to Heathrow on Oct 25

Back in 2015 the then Irish Rail CEO David Franks said the line could cost as little as €300m, and could open the entire rail network to air passengers and boost tourism.

The company could also run services from the regions direct to the airport – reducing the need for passengers to use expensive airport parking.

Part of the opposition to the plan was that it would risk pulling passengers towards Dublin and away from regional airports.

Share.

Comments are closed.