Overall vision and purpose

The Clyde waterfront has undergone a massive transformation in recent years with £80 million of investment underway or completed in the past twelve months.  This has dramatically changed the skyline and has placed greater pressure on our roads and transport services.  To help influence the travel patterns of these new developments before they become established a good public transport system is required on the north bank of the Clyde.  Glasgow City Council has drawn up proposals for a new public transport system for the Clyde Corridor, which will not only provide better access to the new employment, leisure and retail facilities but will also help tackle increased traffic congestion and pollution in the city centre.

Clyde Fastlink will be a “state of the art” public transport system running a six minute interval service from the city centre along the northern bank of the River Clyde, via the International Financial Services District, SECC, and the new Transport Museum, terminating at the west end of Glasgow Harbour. The public transport vehicle will provide an experience offering many of the benefits of a tram without the rails embedded in the ground.



From Glasgow Harbour to the eastern end of Broomielaw, the system will be almost fully segregated from the existing road network, running on its own private section. Two-way sections will be provided for this length of the route, with the exception of a short section on Broomielaw at Lancefield flats where it will be on-street due to land constraint. In the city centre section it runs in a clockwise one-way loop passing below Glasgow Central at the “Heilanmans Umbrella” and sharing the network with all other traffic, but running on bus lanes where possible to minimise delay.

To ensure journey time reliability traffic signal priority will be given to Clyde Fastlink when approaching junctions, especially within the city centre. This will be achieved by introducing a traffic stage dedicated to the Clyde Fastlink. At locations where space is limited, ‘pre-signals’ will be implemented allowing Clyde Fastlink to gain a head start on other queuing traffic.

The “state of the art” system will operate with a combination of measures to provide a high quality service; dedicated private lanes, bus lanes, pre-signals, priority signals and real time information.

Clyde Fastlink - map (PDF 3.9Mb)

Clyde Fastlink - Non technical summary of the environmental statement (PDF - 2.71Mb)

Clyde Fastlink - Non technical summary of the environmental statement (PDF - 37kb) - TEXT ONLY VERSION

Contact Details:
Glasgow City Council
Land Services
Richmond Exchange
20 Cadogan Street
Glasgow
G2 7AD

Phone: 0141 287 9000
Fax: 0141 287 9059
E-mail: clyde.fastlink@ls.glasgow.gov.uk