People power pushed the Navan rail link back on track but the reality is a commuter service is still well down the line...

Will the first train on a Dublin to Navan Rail line in more than seven decades roll into Navan in 2036?

The much campaigned for Navan rail line has been bumped up to a designated a medium term project in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) Transport Strategy published by National Transport Authority last week.

This covers a 2031 to 2036 timeframe, despite an earlier draft of the strategy giving no commitment to the provision of the link from the M3 Parkway to Navan before 2042.

People power seems to have been instrumental in bringing the project forward. In total, over 4,000 submissions were received during public consultation on a daft of the plan and almost half of those were from people in Meath, reflecting the scale of the campaign to deliver a rail service to Navan.

The Strategy covers Dublin city and county as well as the counties of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow and also includes the extension of the Dart to both Drogheda and Kilcock.

Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan TD said: “This is a really significant plan for the country’s capital and the surrounding counties. This new GDA Strategy when delivered will bring back the sort of comprehensive rail network we had at the start of the last century – but it will be cleaner, faster and better value for money."

Ann Casey tackles some of the questions surrounding this two decade old saga...

Is this rail line getting built?

Well, it now looks like the Government has finally made the commitment to provide the rail line in the medium term (2031 to 2036). It is included in the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy, which was published last week, as one of the key pieces of infrastructure to be delivered in that timeframe.

But it's been promised for years?

The rail line from Navan to Dublin had been promised for many years. In 2010, the then Transport Minister and local TD Noel Dempsey announced design work had started on the project which was due for completion by 2015.

The project, which was hailed as a key part of the Government-funded Transport 21 programme, involved the extension of the Dunboyne M3 line, which opened in September 2010, to the north of Navan.

The project was shelved in 2016, when it was assessed that there was insufficient prospective commuter traffic to justify the development of a high-capacity rail line. Instead, it was proposed to enhance the bus service. However, the decision was greeted with anger by local commuters and public representatives.

In 2020 consultants, Aecom, carried out an in-depth analysis of the case for extending the link from the Parkway station to the Meath town, showing huge demand for the infrastructure.

It's 2031! Still years away?

Something of this scale always meant it would take years of planning, as well as the Compulsory Purchase of land, but it is a commitment to a start date rather than the earlier draft NTA plan which suggested a commencement anywhere between 2031 to 2042. The the work surrounding planning, route finalisation and acquiring of land is expected to take place in the meantime.

Disappointment has been expressed that it won't be completed any sooner with SF spokesperson on Transport, Darren O'Rourke pointing out that "a business case prepared by the consultants, AECOM, proposed a timeline of 2029 for the rail line, a timeline which would be much more favourable to the people of Meath."

What else is in the NTA Plan?

The plan includes major investment in pedestrian and cycling facilities, as well as enhanced bus corridors, Next Generation Ticketing, extensions to the DART and Luas networks and the provision of the Metrolink from north of Swords to Charlemont. The extension the DART+ programme will deliver electrified rail services to Sallins/Naas, Kilcock and Wicklow, as well as Drogheda, benefiting Meath commuters from Enfield, Maynooth and Kilcock, as well as Laytown and Gormanston.

But sure, it could all be changed again?

That is possible, but more than half of the respondents to a consultation process on an earlier draft of the plan, made the case for the Navan rail line, putting it centre stage. The project currently has firm backing from the government and the opposition. Sinn Fein has vowed to get it built sooner if they get into a power.

“Sinn Féin included funding in our Alternative Budget that would kickstart the Navan Rail Line project. In 2023 we would allocate €18million for the initial pre-construction phase of the project, in line with the funding recommendation contained in the Navan Rail Line Assessment Report, commissioned by the NTA," Deputy O'Rourke has stated.

Is it not needed now more than ever?

It is indeed needed more than ever and the entire county will benefit from the project, not just those who commute on a daily basis - it has the potential to transform the county socially, economically and environmentally.

Navan has experienced rapid population growth over the last two decades, with its population increasing by 20 per cent between 2006 and 2016 alone, while the overall Meath population grew from 195,044 to a staggering 230,296 in 2022.

A significant proportion of the county’s population, particularly along the N3/M3 corridor, travel to and from Dublin City each day for employment and education purposes. Currently, those travel choices are largely limited to car and bus, with some interchange to rail possible at Dunboyne/Pace.

What is the proposed route for the track?

The route is expected to be mostly along the alignment of the old Navan railway line, which closed in 1963 with a number of variations. It is expected to run west of Dunshaughlin to avoid the very expensive option of crossing the M3. It is expected there will be stations at Dunshaughlin, Kilmessan, Navan town centre and a terminus station at the north edge of Navan.

Will everybody be happy about the rail line?

The route is likely to be contentious, especially with landowners with property along the route, facing Compulsory Purchase Orders. Baron Randal Dunsany, whose lands are in the path of the railway line is on record as having said; “I’m prepared to go to Mountjoy to protect it." The railway line could go through part of the Baron’s Dunsany Estate which has been rewilded as a nature reserve.

There may also be controversy over the line going west of Dunshaughlin. Back in 2010, there was a lot of opposition in the Ashbourne, Ratoath and Dunshaughlin areas to the route going west, amid claims it made more sense to located a station to the east of Dunshaughlin where it would serve a much greater number of commuters.

These controversies are reason why planning and consultation needs to get underway as soon as possible.

What will it ultimately cost?

The current estimate is around €750 million but rising inflation it s impossible to say how much it will cost in ten years time.

"It will run far in excess of €750 million, the longer wait. The sooner it is started the better," Deputy O'Rourke said last week.