Lansdowne Road DART Station in Dublin will be closed for over five hours on the evening of the Republic of Ireland’s crucial Euro 2020 qualifier against Denmark as part of a trial run ahead of Euro 2020.
It will be shut between 5:30pm and 11pm to see how congestion and crowd control would work ahead of four EURO 2020 matches at the Aviva next summer.
DART services will continue as scheduled, but passengers will have to disembark at either Grand Canal Dock or Sandymount DART Station during the closure.
Barry Kenny, Head of Corporate Communications at Iarnród Éireann, said: “In the coming weeks we will inform all regular users of Lansdowne Road Station of the temporary changes on this day and will limit any disruption where possible.
“Any passengers with restricted mobility concerns about the temporary closure of Lansdowne Road should contact Iarnród Éireann as soon as possible on access@irishrail.ie.”
The decision to trial the closure on the evening of the 7.45pm game was taken jointly by the FAI, Dublin City Council, the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and the Aviva Stadium, in conjunction with An Garda Síochána, the National Transport Authority (NTA), and Ianród Éireann.
Cathal Dervan, Director of Communications at the FAI, said: “EURO 2020 is the third biggest sporting event in the world and we are expecting that the countries we welcome here for our games will bring a lot of supporters, some of whom won’t have tickets.”
The trial will test logistics, mobility, safety, security and stadium access prior to next June’s matches and spectator numbers for the November 18 match are expected to be similar to a EURO 2020 Finals Tournament match.
Mr Dervan added: “Ireland has never hosted an international event of this magnitude before and we are testing additional stadium access, mobility, safety and security measures. Following this trial, a joint review will be undertaken.”
The tournament matches will have different requirements and ticketing systems and UEFA has recommended an increase in the size of the Outer Perimeter in order to ensure there is no congestion in all areas around the Aviva Stadium.
It is expected that the countries participating in the EURO 2020 games in Dublin will bring a lot of supporters to the city, some of whom will not have tickets, and the new system will stop ticketless supporters from getting into the inner cordon of the stadium. This will create a safer environment and queuing system at the turnstiles.
On match night there will be extra signs and stewards in place on the walking routes from both Grand Canal Dock and Sandymount Stations to guide supporters to the stadium.
Tim Burke, Superintendent at Donnybrook Garda Station, said: “We would encourage match-goers and regular users of Lansdowne Road DART Station to familiarise themselves with the temporary changes and plan their routes accordingly to and from Grand Canal DART Station and Sandymount DART Station.
“Our advice for match-goers would be to allow extra time to get to and from the Aviva Stadium, plan your routes and meeting points and follow the advice of stewards, security, Gardaí and volunteers.”
Regular users of Lansdowne Road DART Station and match ticket holders should go to euro2020.fai.ie for information and maps.
- Advice for supporters: