Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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457. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the expected timeframe for delivery of MetroLink; the current status of the planning process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47411/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, MetroLink will be a fully segregated and mostly underground new railway line between Swords and Dublin City Centre, the first of its kind in Ireland. It is a key project under the National Development Plan 2021-30. MetroLink will be able to carry a peak capacity of 20,000 passengers per hour per direction in the future.

A significant milestone in the progression of the MetroLink project was cleared in July 2022, when the Minister for Transport secured approval for the project from the Cabinet under Decision Gate 1 of the then-Public Spending Code. This approval enabled the project to move to the planning application stage, and in September 2022 Transport Infrastructure Ireland(TII) submitted a Railway Order application to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

An Coimisiún Pleanála held an Oral Hearing in relation to MetroLink in February/March 2024. TII engaged constructively with all parties as part of the Oral Hearing. Following the Oral Hearing, An Coimisiún Pleanála held an additional round of public consultation from 19th August to 8th October 2024. A planning decision is awaited from An Coimisiún Pleanála.

Subject to securing planning approval, and no successful legal challenges, a Detailed Project Brief and Procurement Strategy will be prepared for consideration at Approval Gate 2, in line with the Infrastructure Guidelines.

Dependent on the outcome of the planning process, construction of MetroLink is earmarked to commence over the coming years with a view to operation in the mid-2030s.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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459. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the progress on implementing the hourly Belfast–Dublin “Enterprise” service, including rolling-stock, timetabling, infrastructure constraints and North–South coordination supported by the Shared Island Fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47415/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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The Enterprise rail service is the only cross-border rail service on the island of Ireland. It is a well-known symbol of North-South cooperation and provides an important public transport link operating between Dublin and Belfast.

In October 2024, the Enterprise moved to a near hourly service supported by funding provided by the Shared Island Fund. The Enterprise now operates 15 services in each direction between Dublin to Belfast from Mondays to Saturdays with eight return services on Sundays.

The Enterprise Fleet Replacement Programme will replace the current rolling stock of four diesel trains with a more sustainable fleet of eight trains. This programme is progressing as the current Enterprise rail fleet will reach the end of its standard design life later this decade. In addition to this, the current frequency of Enterprise service since October 2024 is only made possible by augmenting the four current Enterprise train sets with two non-Enterprise sets on a temporary basis.

Iarnród Éireann and Translink Northern Ireland Railways have secured approval in principle for funding of €165 million for the Enterprise Fleet Replacement Programme under the PEACEPLUS cross-border EU programme, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), a North South Implementation Body established under the Good Friday Agreement. The balance of funding for the programme will be provided jointly through the Department of Transport and the Department for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland on a 50:50 basis.

The procurement process for this project is now nearing completion, and Iarnród Éireann and Translink are developing the final business case. The contract for the manufacturing of the new Enterprise fleet is expected to be awarded in the near future, subject to final funding approval from the Northern Ireland Executive, the SEUPB, and from the Government of Ireland at Approval Gate 3 of the Infrastructure Guidelines.

The first of the new Enterprise trains are expected to be delivered by 2029. They will then need to undergo testing to ensure they meet the required safety and operational standards before they can be used by passengers. The Enterprise Fleet Replacement Programme will reduce the intercity journey time of the route to less than two hours and should improve the timetable to a typical hourly frequency of 16 return services.