A Railway Order planning application will be made by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) regarding the major Luas Finglas project.

The application will be submitted to An Bord Pleanála on Monday, November 18, while the public can make submissions about the proposed light rail line from November 22 to January 20.

The Luas Finglas project will extend the existing Luas tram network northwards by almost 4km from Broombridge to the Finglas area, with stops at St Helena's, Finglas Village, St Margaret's Road and Charlestown near the M50.

The route will provide interchanges with Broombridge train station which is on the planned DART+ West line, as well as bus services.

Luas Finglas is being delivered by TII on behalf of the National Transport Authority (NTA) with funding for the project being provided by Department of Transport through the NTA.

It is one of four Luas tram extensions identified in the NTA's Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2022-2042. If accelerated, the Luas Finglas line could be operational by 2031, subject to planning and funding.

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Luas Finglas will create a new high-capacity, frequent and speedy public transport connection for communities in the Finglas area, shortening journey times to/from Dublin city centre to approximately 30 minutes or less and providing for connections to other destinations.

Peter Walsh, CEO of TII, said: "The team at TII is very pleased to reach this milestone today. Luas has been a huge success story for Dublin over the past 20 years.

"TII has an excellent track record of delivering Luas projects on time and within budget while its passenger numbers have exceeded all projections. Luas Finglas will enable the delivery of sustainable, compact growth in Finglas as it has done in the IFSC, City West, Cherrywood and Sandyford.

"Everyone at TII looks forward to delivering more Luas services for Dublin and other cities in Ireland."

The project will support increased housing supply close to the route, in support of the government's goals for transport orientated development and the transition to a zero-carbon transport system.

The tram route is mostly off-road and segregated from road traffic. As well as the tram line, the project will provide for improvements to the walking and cycling network in the area.

In addition, a 350-vehicle park and ride facility is to be provided near the St Margaret's Road stop. Overall, Luas Finglas is anticipated to generate an additional 1.3 million low-carbon public transport trips in 2035, increasing to 1.8 million in 2050.

Anne Graham, CEO of the NTA, said: "It's very positive to see progress on Luas Finglas, a project that was identified as a key priority in our GDA Transport Strategy, 2022-42.

"I believe that an ambitious and exciting project like this has the potential to be transformative for this part of the city and that it will further enhance the area for people who live here, work here, or want to run a business here."