Full steam ahead for new Dublin train station

Pelletstown station is being planned in an area which has been identified for major residential development by Dublin City Council.

The station - located between Boombridge in Cabra and Ashtown station near the Royal Canal - has been planned for over 20 years.

Irish Rail applied to DCC to build the station in 2013 and was given approval. The application was supported by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

Track

But local residents appealed the final decision to An Bord Pleanála who said they were concerned the unmanned station would attract "antisocial behaviour, vandalism and crime".

An Bord Pleanála finally approved the new station and applied a condition requiring ongoing monitoring reports on public safety and antisocial issues.

However, the plan may take some time before it is on right track as the Department of Transport has not committed to the station being built, despite the payment of €2.3m in development levies for its construction.

The location of the station on lands just 5km from the city centre, have been zoned for residential development since 1998.

The provision of a railway station at the site was part of the justification for allowing high-density housing in the area.

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said: "Irish Rail will now be reviewing the business case and following consideration will report to the National Transport Authority. If the report is positive then it will be a matter of the cost and where the project is ranked by NTA on a priority list for available funding."

If the station is scrapped the levies must be returned to the developers.

hnews@herald.ie