Glasgow’s subway will undergo a £300 million overhaul to modernise its system during the summer of 2016. The engineering work will include introducing driverless trains and the installation of glass screens at the side of platforms.
The subway system, owned by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), has an average of 40,000 commuters and passengers every day, but has not been extensively updated for over 30 years.
Subway stations including Partick, Hillhead and St. Enoch have already been refurbished and modernised, with Buchanan Street currently being overhauled. The new driverless trains are expected to be running by 2020, a year before the Subway’s 125th birthday.
An SPT spokesperson told reporters: “The modernisation of the Glasgow Subway continues to make significant progress, particularly at our city centre stations. The recently completed St Enoch station is now a vastly improved facility and the new iconic canopies have transformed this busy public space. Work on Buchanan Street station is currently underway and continues in accordance with the project plan.
“The introduction of the Bramble smartcard in our Subway has been hugely successful with now over 100,000 customer cards issued. The expansion of the scheme onto other modes is progressing well particularly with Abellio Scotrail were the ability to use the same card for rail and subway will roll out in the first half of 2016 when the ability to top up cards online will also be released.
“It will be necessary to suspend train services for four weeks at the commencement of the school holidays in summer 2016 when passenger numbers are at their lowest. There is no need for our passengers to take alternative arrangement as we have already communicated that SPT will be providing alternative travel solutions”.
