Glasgow Crossrail

Description:

The Crossrail project is widely regarded as the most important strategic rail infrastructure project in Scotland, because it closes a critical gap in the Scottish rail network.

The scheme has the potential to join south-west Scotland with the rest of the country by connecting services that operate on the routes into Glasgow Queen Street and Central stations. It will open a huge range of new rail connections across Scotland by integrating the network and providing faster journey times. Crossrail will also improve cross-Glasgow conurbation rail links and support economic regeneration in some of the city's poorest areas.

Crossrail would involve the construction of new three new stations at Glasgow Cross/High Street as a first major provision and then a possible further two stations at West street and Gorbals. These would take passenger load away from the two current city centre stations, sharing passenger capacity across the city.

For example, passengers at Glasgow Airport could theoretically take a Crossrail service to Edinburgh without changing trains in the centre of the city.

Likewise, passengers in East Kilbride who work in the east end of Glasgow could utilise Crossrail services into a new High Street station, again keeping out of the city centre itself. Capacity would be varied across a number of sites.

In October 2005, Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority completed a £600,000 feasibility study, funded by the Scottish Executive, to bring the Crossrail project to a detailed stage of development.

The study proved conclusively that the scheme was technically possible. The consultants also suggested that a completed Crossrail would add £1.06bn to the Scottish economy over a costed 60-year period.

A report, carried out for SPT by transport consultants Faber Maunsell, predicted the following:

• More than three million passengers annually would use the Glasgow Cross station at High Street alone
• A further million passengers annually would use the new stations at West Gorbals and Glasgow Cross
  Routes which traditionally come from Edinburgh and Stirling and end at Glasgow Queen's street could link to Ayrshire and other destinations to the south in a direct journey.

Crossrail would consist of construction of the High Street curve, reinstating the Strathbungo link and building new sidings at Kelvinhaugh. The City Union line from Shields junction through West Street to High Street junction and the line between Muirhouse and Langside junctions would have a renewed double track. Use of the City Union Line would allow rail services to connect with Glasgow's subway system at West Street which could become an interchange station.

Other new stations will be built at Glasgow Cross and Gorbals. The existing High Street station will be relocated east of its current site and completely renovated. The centrepiece of the project could be the transformation of the A-listed Mercat building at Glasgow Cross, into one of the city's busiest railway stations. Finally an interchange with the subway at West Street will serve the new residential community of Tradeston.

Investment will be made in signalling and the electrification of rail services to deliver faster journey times and better reliability.

Options remain for the particular sections of line to be selected, the choice of stations and the use of diesel or electric trains.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport are currently running a campaign to build support for this project. Please visit the Crossrail Glasgow website to find out more and add your support. Read more about the Glasgow Crossrail campaign on the Clyde Waterfront news pages.