After two Luas lines and a number of extensions opened in the 2000s, since then it has proven to be very hard to get major rail infrastructure projects underway in Ireland. A combination of complex, multi-stage planning processes, slow decision making, jammed courts and high construction inflation have meant that the 2010s were pretty much a lost decade with little to show for it. The only noteworthy projects were Luas Cross City, which opened in 2017 and finally connected the Red and Green lines in Dublin city centre, and the reopening of the Phoenix Park Tunnel which enabled Kildare Line trains to access the city centre through a 19th-century tunnel.

In 2015, a government Capital Spending Plan listed Metro North as scheduled to start construction in 2021, to open in 2026. The DART Interconnector had no start date and would be re-examined after 2021. Metro West was no longer an active project.

As of 2021, a government Capital Spending Plan listed Metrolink (renamed from Metro North) as scheduled to start construction in 2024, to open in 2032. The Minister for Transport claimed that the 2026/2027 opening date was "never realistic"! The DART+ project would electrify the remaining rail lines in Dublin and would open in phases up to 2034. The DART Interconnector was renamed DART+ Tunnel and was being reexamined.

As of summer 2024, Metrolink still had not received a planning decision with this now expected early 2025. Enabling works will start in 2025 with main construction in 2027, and is projected to open in 2035. It has been decided not to proceed with DART+ Tunnel for now and it has been deferred to after 2040. DART+ West line has received planning permission and is expected to start construction in August 2025. Remaining DART lines will follow. See below for a map and details on individual projects.





Click here for a full list of recent and upcoming rail line and station openings.