Capital rail link 'threat' to Glasgow Airport

Published on Sunday 19 November 2006 01:22

EDINBURGH is set to surge further ahead of Glasgow as the country's air-link hub as a result of its controversial new multi-million-pound rail link, a secret report has concluded.

A private paper, commissioned by the Executive, on the effects of the rail links proposed for each city's airport has found the capital could gain up to an extra 6.5 million passengers over 20 years as a result of its 600m link.

Despite plans for its own track costing 200m, the report suggests that over the same period Glasgow will actually have three million fewer passengers than previous estimates because travellers will flock east.

The report suggests that by 2030, as many as 23 million passengers could be either arriving or departing from Edinburgh. Glasgow, by contrast, will attract 13 million passengers.

The PricewaterhouseCoopers report was commissioned to study whether the construction of the Edinburgh link would adversely affect the case for building the Glasgow line. Plans for both lines are currently going through Holyrood.

The Edinburgh Airport line envisages direct links to more than 60 stations thanks to a controversial tunnel under its runway. Glasgow's line would be a simple connection to Paisley and Glasgow Central Station.

Transport Minister Tavish Scott has previously argued the Edinburgh link would have a "minimal" impact on Glasgow's own proposed link.

But using predictions that Edinburgh Airport will grow faster than Glasgow because of expected increased demand in the Lothians area, the report concluded: "At Glasgow the impact of the Edinburgh Airport rail link outweighs the benefits of introducing the Glasgow rail link during the first 13 years of operation."

Last night, SNP transport spokesman Fergus Ewing said: "Glasgow could lose up to half a million passengers a year from this. For the minister to say that is minimal is verging on the dishonest."

Whether or not the rail links are built, both airports are expected to grow massively as demand grows for more flights.