A "FANTASY MAP" of Greater Glasgow's rail network which incorporates a second Subway loop, the long-awaited Crossrail scheme and a resurrected airport link has caught the eye of transport bosses.

 

The idealised vision of what the region's infrastructure could look like if disused lines were revived and new ones built has been created as a hobby project over the past two years by budding graphic designer, Angus Doyle.

But after a flurry of interest in the map online, 26-year-old Mr Doyle - a history graduate with no formal training in graphic design - has been approached by Transport Scotland.

He said: "Before emailing me, they had taken the map I'd done and cut it up to create a representation of what the rail network looks like now. They asked my permission to use that map, plus my own map, in future planning discussions.

"I was taken aback - I was quite thrilled really."

Mr Doyle, who is originally from Manchester, began initial sketches in June 2013. He turned to members of the Glasgow Forum on the Skyscraper City website for archive reports and transport planning documents to help inform what his dubs his "fantasy map" of the region's infrastructure.

"I think I wanted to do the project as a way of honing the skills that I have and testing myself," he said. "I wouldn't say I'm a rail enthusiast particularly, but I like good urban planning.

"It became a case of just working on it occasionally here and there when I had a bit of inspiration."

The map includes ambitious projects such as a new eastern Subway loop incorporating stops at Celtic Park and Duke Street, as well as a third S-shaped underground running from Renfrew to Tollcross.

Proposals to extend the 118-year-old Subway eastwards were tabled by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport in 2007 but dropped after a feasibility study predicted it would cost some £2.5 billion and cause severe disruption.

The map includes a Glasgow Airport Rail Link (Garl) which connects both Glasgow Central and Queen Street stations directly to the airport, and overlaps with the existing Subway loop at West Street.

Mr Doyle's Garl also includes a direct link to a new Glasgow Cross station - a key plank in the long-touted Crossrail scheme - along with the electrification and re-opening of the disused City Union Line.

The move would enable passengers to travel non-stop from east to west and north to south Scotland without changing trains in Glasgow, which currently requires passengers to walk between Queen Street and Central stations.

Previous estimates have put the cost of Crossrail at £115-£200 million, but Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy has promised to commit to the project if his party takes power in next year's Holyrood elections.

More minor tweaks include re-instating a Royston area "missing link" to enable faster journeys from Cumbernauld to Queen Street.

Mr Doyle said the strength of the map was that everything in it is feasible.

He said: "It is my fantasy map but it is no way fantastical at all with the exception perhaps of the eastern Subway loop, which even then I still think long-term would probably be a sound investment."

However, rail enthusiasts are unlikely to see the fantasy map become a reality in the near future.

A spokeswoman for Transport Scotland confirmed that they had approached Mr Doyle but stressed his map was not a blueprint for future plans.

She said: "Transport Scotland approached Angus Doyle for permission to use his map and a version edited to show the existing network after recognising the attractions of the easy-to-use design style.

"There is no intention of using Mr Doyle's designs as the basis of future rail plans, as any interventions would only be considered following a full appraisal in line with [Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance] and evidence of a positive contribution to the transport networks."