Minister for Transport commits to MetroLink construction starting in Q4 2027.The Department of Transport claims that the publication of two strategy and policy action plans today heralds a transformative change, but one of the reports, Moving Together was supposed to recommend legislative changes to allow congestion charging, low-emission zones and other mesures, but has been watered down to a further Review of relevant legislation to ensure powers are sufficient to bring forward demand management measures.A workplace parking levy, which is already legislated, is mentioned in the report but not in its Implementation Plan. Instead, it only has commitment to study parking provision in urban areas over 20,000 people and after that to Examine [the] effectiveness of reducing car parking as a demand management measure.It looks to be the end of the road for now for some of the most high-profile measures in the 2021 Five Cities Demand Management Study, which said congestion charging with a 10 flat rate or 5 off-peakcould be put in place in Dublin and Cork by 2025. Also published today is the National Sustainable Mobility Policy action plan for 2026-2030, which commits to MetroLink construction starting in Q4 2027, the start of construction of the first BusConnects Sustainable Transport Corridors in Cork and Galway by 2030, and the start of construction of the Luas Finglas by 2029.While the plan is an action plan, many of the actions are already underway or include fuzzy language, including only to consider a planning exemption that would allow for reasonably-sized bicycle (including cargo bike) storage structures to be installed at the front of dwellings.While other measures, such as establishing a National Transport Authority Advisory Council and extending the agencys planning remit outside of the Greater Dublin Area, were listed as to be actioned in the previous action plan the delivery of such mesures is already years behind their previous deadlines. No start date is being committed to for the delayed Dart+ South West plan to serve the Kildare line. Construction with the Dart+ West project on the Maynooth line is planned to start in Q4 2027, with construction starting with Spencer Dock train station construction and electrification commenced.The delayed hybrid battery electric Dart trains are to start serving the northern line in Q2 2027.In Dublin, four of the BusConnects infrastructure routes, named as Core Bus Corridor Schemes in the capital, are planned to be completed by 2030. The action plan commits to the commencement of construction forBallymun/Finglas to city route by Q3 2026 and the completion of the Liffey Valley to city corridor by Q2 2028.The action plan commits to completing Phase 1 of the Cork Area Commuter Rail Programme by Q4 2026 and starting Phase 2 by 2029. For the national rail network, it also commits to starting the delivery of a series of new track passing loops and platforms to boost the rail networks resilience and capacity in Q1 of 2027 and finishing the programme by 2030. The policy also commits to the start of the track reinstatement on the Western Rail Corridor between Claremorris and Athenry in 2028, while construction of the new Moyross train station on the existing corridor is pencilled in for 2030.For active travel, a distance-of-delivery metric that has been widely criticised has been adhered to. While the action plan also promises to complete a series of Quiet Road pilots in rural areas with suitable signage and traffic calming measures to support safe cycling, but the policy only has a 10km distance target, which is the distance between many towns or between towns and villages on a single route.Meanwhile, the plan aims to complete At least three park-and-ride sites nationally by 2029 and provide 150 bus shelters each year. It also promises to introduce or improve town bus services in Naas, Newbridge, Mullingar, Ennis and Tullamore by 2030.In the action plan, the Safe Routes to School programme which is mainly, although not exclusively, front-of-school safety improvements includes a 2030 outcome to address the 932 schools accepted into the programme in 2021. Minister for Transport Darragh OBrien and Minister of State Sen Canney launched the two reports. Minister OBrien said: The Sustainable Mobility Policy Action Plan supports the delivery of over 40 transport-related commitments in the Programme for Government. This includes major public transport projects such as MetroLink, BusConnects, Dart+, and Cork Commuter Rail, as well as ongoing investment in active travel infrastructure and the Safe Routes to School programme, the development of Park and Ride facilities, measures to increase taxi provision and investment in improving transport accessibility.By investing in new and innovative transport solutions like shared mobility, Bike Libraries and Smart Demand Responsive Transport, the Plan reflects the Governments commitment to transforming Irelands transport system, he said.He said that the Moving Together strategy allows for a systematic review of the transport system, with work across Government and society to explore and champion further ways of addressing the problem of congestion and its negative impacts such as air pollution, environmental damage and economic constraints.He added: People need to travel for many reasons work, education, health, leisure and the Government recognises that sustainable options are not always available, especially in more rural or remote areas. Our transport network must also be efficient to support the transportation of goods. Equally, our urban centres and streets must meet the needs of business and retail, must ensure that urban residents are protected from the impacts of congestion and pollution and must be fully accessible to vulnerable road users and the disabled community. Finding solutions that work for all is important, and this new Strategy seeks to do this in a balanced way, by moving together on key issues and future proofing our system for generations to come.Minister Canney said: The Moving Together strategy and the new SMP Action Plan, combined, take a comprehensive and practical approach to addressing the challenges that many people face in accessing sustainable transport, particularly those in rural areas. The Action Plan incorporates concrete actions to improve sustainable mobility options and regional connectivity across the country, through the completion of the Connecting Ireland Rural Mobility Plan, the provision of more town bus services and increased walking and cycling routes connecting towns and villages.He added: In addition, Im delighted that BusConnects Galway will be progressed, alongside the reinstatement of the Western Rail Corridor between Athenry and Claremorris and the completion of station upgrades in Ceannt Station and Oranmore.MORE: Moving Together A Collaborative Approach to Systems Change in Transport 20262030National Sustainable Mobility Policy (including the latest action plan).