Glasgow airport rail link 'could be saved by new upgrade plan'

Published on Wednesday 28 October 2009 21:20

THE Glasgow airport rail link could be saved by being combined with a £1 billion upgrade of the main Edinburgh-Glasgow line, according to campaigners.

It would both rescue the airport project and provide a direct rail connection for air passengers from east of Glasgow, the Scottish Association for Public Transport (SAPT) said.

The new link would be created using an existing east-west line in the city, which is currently used only for moving empty trains to and from depots.

The scheme differs from the previously proposed Glasgow Crossrail project, because trains from the east would not run via a new city-centre interchange.

The Glasgow airport rail link (Garl) was scrapped by the Scottish Government last month as part of budget cuts. Upgrading the Glasgow-Paisley line will continue, but a mile-long spur to the airport will no longer be built. The lack of direct connections to the east had been seen as a major drawback for Garl, with passengers having to change trains in Glasgow.

The SAPT has now called for the airport link to become part of the Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme, which will see several lines between the two cities electrified by 2016 to speed up journeys and enable more frequent trains to run.

It said this would enable the link to be paid for by the Network Rail funding mechanism, rather than come out of the Scottish Government's under-pressure capital budget.

The SAPT said the line via Falkirk Grahamston and Cumbernauld, which is to be electrified by 2014, could be used for the new airport service. A three-mile stretch of track between Bellgrove in Glasgow's east end, and Shields junction on the south side could be electrified at a cost of less than 3 million to provide a link to the Glasgow-Paisley line to the airport. This section is not currently used for passenger services.

The scheme could also include a station at West Street on Glasgow's south side to act as an interchange with the city's Subway.

The SAPT admitted the spur line to the airport, whose cost has reportedly rocketed because of increases in building costs, would also need funding.

SAPT chairman Dr John McCormick said: "We would hope (airport owner] BAA and Network Rail could look at alterations to cut this cost."

Glasgow City Council, which has described the loss of Garl as a "stake through the heart" of the city, welcomed the SAPT plan.

Network Rail said it would "look at the substance" of the plan, but

Transport Scotland cautioned that routing services via the Cumbernauld and Crossrail routes would "add significantly" to journey times between the two city centres.