Sir, – I read with dismay Senator Michael McDowell’s latest intervention in your newspaper questioning the value of MetroLink (MetroLink looks like a financial runaway train, July 8th) . Having followed his arguments spread across five opinion pieces in your newspaper, I can only conclude that he fundamentally misunderstands what MetroLink is designed to achieve.
MetroLink is not an airport shuttle. It is a once-in-a-generation transport investment that will create a high-frequency, high-capacity corridor linking north county Dublin with the city centre. It will become the backbone of the public transport network for one of the fastest-growing parts of the country and will unlock land for future housing needs.
The young workers of Swords, Donabate, Lusk, Rush, Skerries and Balbriggan are not theoretical future population. They are already driving Ireland’s economic growth and contributing significantly to the exchequer with their taxes. Yet every morning they are forced on to overcrowded trains, congested roads and inadequate bus services. North Co Dublin has carried the increase in population growth for decades while investment has lagged behind.
McDowell’s suggestion that a cheaper Dart spur to Clongriffin is an alternative to MetroLink ignores the reality of the capacity challenge. I invite him to join me on the northern commuter line during the morning peak and experience first hand the overcrowding faced by commuters as well as the congestion through Connolly station.
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Likewise, the suggestion that simply increasing Swords Express services is an answer ignores the reality of north Dublin’s road network. As highlighted by Ken Foxe in your newspaper on July 7th, Transport Infrastructure Ireland has already raised concerns about peak-time pressures through the Dublin Port Tunnel and the impact congestion could have on access to Dublin Port. The M1-M50-port tunnel corridor is already under severe strain. Adding more vehicles to a congested road network is not a sustainable or sensible transport strategy.
The choice is not between MetroLink and doing something cheaper. The choice is between investing properly in the future of north Dublin or continuing to patch up a system that has already failed to keep pace with growth.
North Co Dublin deserves infrastructure that matches its population, its contribution to the economy and its future potential. MetroLink is that investment. – Yours, etc,
SENATOR LORRAINE CLIFFORD-LEE
Seanad Éireann,
Kildare Street,
Dublin 2
