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RAILWAY PROCUREMENT AGENCY (METRO NORTH)

FUNDING

Dublin City Council (DCC) and Fingal County Council (FCC) have published details of their proposed Supplementary Development Contribution Schemes, which will assist the funding of the line.

In the DCC area, the scheme will apply to a strip of land extending about 1 km either side of the proposed line and encompassing an area of approximately 1,409 hectares. Approximately 247 hectares offer the potential for development and the council proposes to levy €2,540 per residential unit, €22.35 per sq metre for commercial developments and €32.20 per sq metre for retail developments. It is expected to raise about €113m.

FCC also intends applying the scheme to a strip of land extending about 1 km either side of the proposed line, encompassing an area of approximately 1,458 hectares, of which 874 hectares are projected for development. The levies per hectare proposed by FCC are €390,000 residential and €900,000 for either commercial or retail developments, yielding about €683m.

 

ROUTE SELECTION

As part of the consultation process for Metro North, four options have been put forward for the alignment through Ballymun: elevated, surface, open cut and cut & cover. A fifth option, a bored tunnel, was also considered, but was quickly discounted as it offered few advantages over the cut & cover option, but had significant disadvantages.

 

TENDERS

The RPA is seeking to establish panels of qualified candidates for future Metro North contracts, covering infrastructure construction, the supply of rolling stock and operation of the system. Two separate contracts, an ‘infrastructure contract’, which will include infrastructure provision and rolling stock supply; and an ‘operating contract’, will be awarded.

The infrastructure contract will include civil engineering design and construction, including tunnels and elevated sections, track laying, signalling and communication systems, the construction of stations, service facilities, depots, control rooms, car parks, etc. and, through a qualified list of rolling stock suppliers established by the RPA, the design, manufacture and supply of rolling stock. The infrastructure contract will also include the testing and commissioning of the system, ensuring that passenger services are started, maintenance of the infrastructure and rolling stock. It is anticipated that this contract will be for 30-40 years.

The operating contract will include assisting the infrastructure contractor with testing and commissioning of the system, operation of the system, cleaning and light maintenance of the rolling stock, ticketing and revenue protection and customer services. It is currently envisaged that the operating contract will be for the duration of the construction period plus a 5 to 7 year operational phase. The RPA would have to option to extend the contract by up to a further 5 years.