Assuring Ireland's landmark MetroLink programme

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18.8KM AUTOMATED METRO LINE

MetroLink: €15bn metro connecting Swords, Airport & Dublin

GT'S ROLE SINCE JULY 2024

Grant Thornton advises NTA as Approving Authority since Jul 2024

18-MONTH ADVISORY PROGRAMME

18 months of governance, delivery and commercial support

AG2 ASSURANCE REVIEW

Led AG2 review supporting MetroLink’s move to tender stage

The challenge

The National Transport Authority needed independent commercial and governance advice for its role as Approving Authority on MetroLink, Ireland's largest ever transport infrastructure investment, free from conflicts facing advisers already engaged on delivery. Over 18 months, the NTA needed support to strengthen its own governance, test long term delivery options, and develop a robust Project Delivery Agreement, building towards Approval Gate 2 (AG2), the point at which Ireland's Infrastructure Guidelines require confirmation that a programme of this scale is ready to proceed to tender for its main construction contracts.

How we helped

Over 18 months of commercial advice and critical-friend assurance, we supported the NTA's governance arrangements as Approving Authority, developed an options report on establishing a dedicated delivery agency for MetroLink's future delivery, and supported a Programme Delivery Agreement between the NTA and the programme's delivery partners. This built the foundation for Grant Thornton to lead the AG2 Integrated Assurance Review, working alongside NTA and Department of Transport in joint sessions rather than sequentially, combining document review with targeted interviews across cost, risk, schedule, design and financial functions against five agreed Lines of Inquiry, drawing in specialist cost consultants for benchmarking.

The results

Our review confirmed a strong strategic case for MetroLink and gave real confidence in the underlying cost base through independent benchmarking, while identifying a number of findings that the NTA and the programme are able to address moving towards tendering. Working jointly with the NTA and the Department removed duplication between the two approving bodies and gave decision-makers up to Government a single, evidence-based view, supporting a recommendation to approve, with conditions, that has since allowed MetroLink to proceed towards tender for its main construction contracts.

It's been a privilege to bring international experience of commercial structuring and independent, third-line assurance on major transport programmes to Ireland's most ambitious transport project to date. What mattered was working closely enough with the NTA to ensure those ideas were adapted to fit their context and frameworks.

Rupert Ingham Director (Complex Projects & Transactions)

About our team

Grant Thornton's rail and transit team brings together commercial, governance and assurance specialists with direct experience of major metro and rail programmes internationally, including in North America, the Middle East India and the UK. Our MetroLink team combined commercial advisers and accredited assurance professionals, with subject matter experts mobilised and stood down as needed across the 18-month programme, backed by a relationship with the NTA that began in 2024.