The Government has decided not to go ahead with the DART Underground
However, there are plans to extend the DART to Balbriggan by 2022.
Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe said he reviewed the business case for DART Underground and recommended to Cabinet that the tunnel as currently designed does not meet current transport needs.
The underground system would have cost €3bn.
The minister said plans to extend the DART to Balbriggan will be in the forthcoming Capital Plan, as well as electrification of lines into Dublin.
2022 has been set as a timeline for the completion of the DART to Balbriggan.
€40 million has already been spent on this project, but compulsory purchase orders worth €120 million will not now go ahead.
Mr Donohoe said: "We must seek the best value for taxpayers' money in everything we do.
"A project of such magnitude has to be designed and delivered in a way that best ensures cost effectiveness for the taxpayer."
Dublin business groups and opposition parties have criticised the Government's decision to shelve DART Underground as short-sighted and a step backwards for Dublin.
The DART Underground was regarded as the most important transport project in the country with city centre stations at the Docklands, Pearse Street, St Stephen's Green, Christchurch and Heuston linking all national rail, DART and Luas services.
