A joint venture between Jacobs and AECOM has been appointed by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) as the Program Delivery Partner for MetroLink, Ireland’s first fully segregated, or free-standing, metro railway.

The predominantly underground system will feature 16 new stations connecting Swords in North County Dublin to Dublin Airport and the city centre. The infrastructure project is designed to support population growth, economic development, and decarbonisation targets across the Greater Dublin Area.

Unlike Dublin’s Luas light rail system, which can run on the street, stop at traffic lights, and shares space with cars and pedestrians, the MetroLink will be “fully segregated”, operating entirely in its own tunnels, on elevated tracks, or behind secure fencing. There are no level crossings.

A primary operational challenge for the delivery partners will be integrating the new high-capacity rail line with Dublin’s existing transport infrastructure, including Irish Rail, the Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART) commuter rail, Luas light rail, and BusConnects services. To achieve a unified and sustainable transport network, the project is expected to rely on intelligent rail technologies, incorporating IoT sensors and real-time data analytics to optimise transport management and ensure interoperability between the disparate transit modes.

As Programme Delivery Partner, the Jacobs and AECOM consortium will manage the procurement, governance, and risk management across multiple contracts throughout the project’s lifecycle. Both firms have previously provided digitally enabled transport logistics and intelligent rail solutions for major global infrastructure projects.

“MetroLink represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform how people move throughout Dublin and support the region’s future growth,” said Richard Sanderson, Jacobs Executive Vice President and General Manager Europe. “We will bring that experience to MetroLink, working alongside Transport Infrastructure Ireland to manage complexity and risk, coordinate interfaces across the programme and create lasting benefits.”