An Bord Pleanála has decided to grant planning permission to redevelop Tara Street Station in the centre of Dublin, one of the busiest on the national rail network. The station, in the heart of the city centre, currently hosts up to 20% of all rail passengers on the Iarnród Éireann network daily. With the city centre resignalling project set to boost the number of trains and passengers entering the station daily, an enhanced facility is required to cater for the growth forecast.
The projects is being led by Iarnród Eireann Architects in conjunction with Aecom/Austin Smith-Lord, the original design was by Adamson Associates/Murray & Murray working with Iarnród Eireann Architects.
The new station will see a 12-metre high station concourse as its focal point, with the capacity to cater for up to 14,500 passengers per hour at peak. To fund the development of the station, a landmark office development will also be included over the station, with an office space of 8,400 square metres, which sees the overall development height total 49.1 metres, or nine stories of office development over a three-storey height concourse area.
In order to minimise potential disruption to Iarnród Eireann customers during the construction process, the scheme is being developed on a phased basis to permit the station to remain open during construction. The newly developed second entrance to the station at Townsend St will facilitate this approach.
In a statement Iarnród Éireann said “Tara Street Station is one of the most important stations in the country, and investment planned under Transport 21 will see the capacity of the rail line increase significantly. We therefore need a quality station to accommodate our current and future customers. This decision will allow us to develop such a station and crucially, allow us to deliver these improvements while minimising the impact on the travelling public. Furthermore, the office development element of the project means that, as well as delivering a landmark building to the city, the new station facility will be developed at no cost to the taxpayer or our customers.”
CIÉ will now seek a development partner as part of the detailed design phase, allowing for the works to be scheduled. The construction programme is envisaged to take approximately 2 years, and a 10-year planning permission has been granted.
