THE Scottish Government is to consider fresh calls to improve transport links to Glasgow Airport, more than two years after a rail link from the city centre was cancelled.
Transport Minister Keith Brown is to meet local SNP MSPs Hamza Yousef and Derek Mackay, who are pushing for a number of different options to be considered to ease the bottlenecks that frequently plague the M8 – the main access route for the airport.
They include building a "tram-train" which could travel along light rails from the airport to St James station in Paisley, then on to existing lines to Glasgow; a dedicated bus lane on the M8 and extension of the Fastlink rapid bus transit scheme from Glasgow, which is currently planned to terminate in Renfrew.
The meeting represents the first time improving access to the airport has been considered by the Scottish Government since the cancellation of the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (Garl) in 2009, which provoked a political firestorm in the west of Scotland.
While potentially far cheaper than Garl, which was to cost £210 million, the three new options could still require significant investment and each have significant drawbacks.
Building a light rail link from the airport could be done for between £50m and £80m, according to companies who have previously studied the option, and could provide a seamless link for passengers who would not have change trains. Tram trains are regularly used on the continent, including at Lyon Airport.
Using the hard shoulder of the M8 or creating high occupancy lanes could speed up journey times but could increase problems for other drivers forced to wait in the slow lanes.
And it is unclear whether the Fastlink scheme, which is due to go to the Southern General in its first phase but is planned to extend to Braehead shopping centre and Renfrew, would offer faster journey times than the existing airport bus service.
Mr Yousaf, list MSP for Glasgow, said: "It's important that we have good transport links in and out of the airport. At the moment bottlenecks present us with a serious problem. Everyone has drawn a line under and moved on from Garl but we still want to see decent transport links to the airport, especially with the Commonwealth Games on the horizon."
Mr Mackay, speaking in his role as constituency MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, added: "I'm very conscious that the M8 can be particularly busy at peak points and as a consequence can present some challenges to Glasgow Airport.
"We're looking at a range of options for how transport solutions could assist Glasgow Airport's vibrancy and growth. Humza and myself have requested a meeting with Keith Brown to discuss that, which I expect will take place early next year."
A spokeswoman for Government agency Transport Scotland said: "A meeting request has been received and we expect to confirm a date shortly. Transport Scotland has also been working with Glasgow Airport as part of a wider forum to develop surface access to the airport."
A spokesman for Glasgow Airport said: "Convenient and reliable access by a range of modes of transport is of fundamental importance to the operation and success of any airport and Glasgow Airport is of no difference in this respect."
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