COMMENT
For more than a decade Glasgow Chamber of Commerce has been supporting a new rail link to
Glasgow Airport.
We simply wanted our airport connected to the rail system to reduce reliance on an increasingly congested M8.
So we welcomed news early in the new year that the first stage of a Glasgow Metro system had been agreed by Glasgow and Renfrewshire councils to deliver a light rail connection from the airport to rail services at Paisley Gilmour Street Station.
Given we have argued for two previous proposals to provide a direct link to Glasgow Central Station why have we given our support to this new, very different project?
Partly because we believe the project could be the catalyst for something even more ambitious. Councillor Susan Aitken’s Glasgow Connectivity Commission, on which I had the privilege to sit, examined the options for improving the public transport system across the whole city and concluded there were clear gaps, notably in the South Clyde Growth Corridor, where employment centres like the site of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District and the emerging life sciences research industry at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital are as under-served as the airport.
Creating a link from Paisley Gilmour Street Station to the airport and then on through the Growth Corridor to the city centre would have multiple benefits. But that, in turn, would be the first line in a much bigger city-wide Metro system designed to improve links between some of our disadvantaged communities and the city districts where jobs are growing.
On its own, a light rail link between the airport and Gilmour Street Station is not especially convincing, but a line that also connects the airport to the South Clyde Growth Corridor and which possibly sets the standard for a much bigger investment is much more appealing.
Equally we had to acknowledge Transport Scotland’s flat refusal to support the direct link into Central Station. The station, they argue, is at full capacity and needs to expand before any new services can be added. They are adamant that a direct link to the airport would damage existing rail services to communities in Ayrshire and Inverclyde.
Again the Connectivity Commission made recommendations on how expansion could be delivered but any work would likely be a long time in the planning and we need alternatives to the M8 congestion quickly.
Opposition from the Government or from Transport Scotland to an airport rail link hasn’t put us off the case before, but previously there has been no genuine alternative on offer. Now we have Nicola Sturgeon hinting in Parliament that the Glasgow Metro will find favour in the Government’s Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) which completes next year. And a commitment to explore the feasibility of a full Metro system is included explicitly in the current Programme for Government.
We are, in backing this first phase, choosing to trust those signals. Ms Aitken has made very clear that she wants to see the full line into the city centre built and the First Minister’s comments suggest we should be optimistic.
We are also trusting that Transport Scotland will put its weight behind the project and, whilst it is frustrating that we may not see explicit backing until STPR is complete, we have not heard such positive mood music in many years.
I can fully understand the sceptics who doubt this new project will make any greater progress than its predecessors. But, for the first time since 2007, it looks as if national government, its transport agency and the local authorities are supporting the same project.
Stuart Patrick is chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel