Cullen turns sod on new Dublin city railway station

Minister for Transport Martin Cullen has turned the first sod on the new Spencer Dock railway station due to be constructed in Dublin over the coming years.

The €30m facility, which is being built on the city's north docks, is the first railway station to be constructed in the city since Tara Street in 1890.

The station will be linked to the Maynooth and Navan line, as well as the planned extension of the LUAS network into the docklands area, one of the fastest-growing parts of the capital.

It is due to open in the middle of next year.

Meanwhile, speaking at the site of the station, Mr Cullen said he was not aware of any move by the contractors building the Dublin Port Tunnel to halve their claim for extra expenses incurred during the project.

Reports this morning claimed the contractors had initially sought an extra €444m, but had now reduced this figure to around €200m

However, Mr Cullen said a meeting on the tunnel was held last night and, as far as he understood, no new deal was put on the table.