THE problems which prompted the idea for the Glasgow Airport Rail Link have not disappeared since the project fell by the wayside.
Access to the west coast's main transport hub is acceptable if the roads are not busy but, as anyone who has tried to catch a flight from there knows, that is a big if.
Inclement weather, repair work, accidents and rush hour traffic can quickly gum up the surrounding area, leaving travellers – whether they are in buses, taxis or private cars – sweating over whether they can get on the right plane. The issue is coming into sharper focus in the run-up to 2014, when Scotland may have more visitors than ever before due to the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup.
With the public purse already stretched, any major project is going to be tricky to implement.
The disastrous example of the Edinburgh tram project will also be high in the mind of those responsible for public infrastructure.
But consideration also has to be given that Glasgow has capacity to grow passengers numbers from the current seven million a year to 13 million.
So any plan has to be fit for purpose for the long term and not just a sticking plaster to alleviate pressure around some major sporting events.
A new plan is necessary but it must also be one which properly addresses the needs of those travelling to and from Glasgow Airport.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article