AECOM-Jacobs Venture Wins Dublin MetroLink Program Delivery Contract

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has formally awarded the Programme Delivery Partner Support Services contract for MetroLink to Jacobs AECOM, a joint venture of AECOM and Jacobs, appointing it delivery partner for the 19-kilometer Dublin metro line. The agency announced the award on September 10, 2026, after what it described as a highly competitive procurement process, and AECOM (ACM ) announced the joint venture’s appointment the same day in a company release datelined Dallas.

Under the contract, the joint venture will integrate directly with the MetroLink team to manage, oversee, and coordinate the construction, integration, and commissioning phases of Ireland’s first metro system. TII said the partner is central to ensuring the project is delivered within a defined budget, a required timeframe, and what it called the highest standards of safety and quality. AECOM said the venture will support the procurement and delivery of the metro system, bringing integrated program management, governance, and risk management to the program. The team will work with TII through an integrated delivery model designed to enhance governance, manage interfaces across multiple contracts, and provide transparency throughout the program lifecycle.

TII chief executive Lorcan O’Connor said the partnership is structured over a multi-year framework. When TII issued its invitation to tender on November 19, 2025, it stated that it intended to engage the successful tenderer for programme delivery partner services for approximately 12 years.

MetroLink is planned as a high-capacity, high-frequency line from Swords in North County Dublin to Charlemont, via Dublin Airport and the city center. TII says the line will serve 16 new stations, deliver a 25-minute journey time from North Dublin to the city center, and carry up to 53 million passengers annually once completed, with interchanges to Irish Rail, Dublin Area Rapid Transit (DART), Luas, and bus services. The predominantly underground system is described by AECOM as Ireland’s first fully segregated metro railway, while TII’s tender documentation describes it as Ireland’s first fully automated, high-capacity metro system. TII’s notes to editors call MetroLink the largest programme of works in the history of the State; AECOM characterizes it as one of Ireland’s largest infrastructure investments.

Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said the appointment demonstrates continued progress on one of the most important infrastructure investments in the history of the State, and said the partner will provide construction and engineering oversight to help ensure MetroLink is delivered efficiently, safely, and in line with international best practice. National Transport Authority chief executive Anne Shaw called the appointment a further important milestone for the programme, saying the partner will support the effective planning, design, and delivery of a modern, high-capacity public transport system. O’Connor said: “The appointment of Jacobs AECOM as our Programme Delivery Partner marks a critical transition for MetroLink as we move from planning into full-scale delivery preparation.” He added that structuring the partnership over a multi-year framework secures global expertise while ensuring transparency and value for public money. Michael Flynn, MetroLink’s interim programme director, said: “The Programme Delivery Partner will provide the essential on-the-ground project management, scheduling, and engineering oversight needed to turn our operative Railway Order and active procurements into physical reality.”

Richard Whitehead, AECOM’s chief executive in Europe and India, said the selection reflects the firm’s experience delivering complex, multi-billion-dollar programs around the world, and that the joint venture will work alongside TII and its partners as one integrated team. Richard Sanderson, Jacobs’ executive vice president and general manager for Europe, said Jacobs brings experience from transportation programs where integrating multiple contracts, disciplines, and stakeholders is critical, and that the firm will apply that experience to managing complexity and risk and coordinating interfaces across MetroLink.

Procurement History and Programme Framework

TII began inviting bids for the PDP Support Services contract on November 19, 2025, with the selection process managed through eTenders. The tender followed market engagement events held across Europe, a dedicated €2 billion allocation from the Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund by the Government of Ireland, and the programme’s inclusion in the National Development Plan 2025. Seán Sweeney, MetroLink’s programme director at the time, said the contract represented an opportunity for suppliers to join what he called a historic, nation-building project for Ireland.

MetroLink is being procured through four major public contracts, alongside a series of advance and enabling works packages known as the M100 contracts that are designed to address preparatory issues. In the tender notice, TII said the partner role is predominantly focused on securing personnel with the capability, qualifications, experience, and skills required to deliver the services set out in the tender documents. The notice set five strategic objectives for the partner: safely supporting TII in the procurement and delivery of MetroLink within expected sustainability and quality standards; creating a partnership with TII, its advisers, stakeholders, and local communities while developing a collaborative supply chain; achieving key delivery milestones and operational readiness within the required timeframe; assisting TII in delivering within the defined budget while actively managing risks; and fostering knowledge-sharing while developing TII’s internal capabilities.

TII, which is delivering MetroLink in partnership with the National Transport Authority, has said construction is set to take around nine years following receipt of the Railway Order. The agency says the programme will support several thousand direct construction jobs for each year of construction activity up to opening, plus a further 2,500 to 3,000 indirect supply chain and support-related jobs each year.

Joint Venture Experience

AECOM and Jacobs cite combined experience from metro and rail programs including London’s Elizabeth line, the Metrolinx program in Toronto, the Austin Transit Partnership, California High-Speed Rail, the Baltimore & Potomac Tunnel replacement program in the United States, and Cross River Rail in Brisbane.

Both companies already hold infrastructure roles across Ireland. AECOM’s current work includes the Dublin Airport Capital Investment Plan, the National Transport Authority’s BusConnects Cork program, the Adare Bypass, and Ceannt Station in Galway. Jacobs supports the authority’s BusConnects Dublin and Cork programs, TII’s proposed Luas Cork light rail scheme, Irish Rail’s Galway-to-Portarlington network upgrade and East Coast Railway Infrastructure Protection Projects program, and strategic planning for Uisce Éireann’s water services.