The first new models of subway trains Glasgow has seen in years will be fully rolled out in 2023.
On 4 December, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) began the testing of new trains within the Glasgow Subway. The new, modern Stadler trains will be driven on the tracks of the Subway overnight, before being introduced into full service in 2023, with 17 of them expected to run.
The test consisted of the train rolling into Govan station under its own power, followed by testing whether a “rescue locomotive” can shunt it out of the tunnel and into the depot.
The testing of the trains, which were first delivered to Glasgow in April 2019, could only be started now due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I am delighted that these initial exercises, ahead of the in-system testing, which is due to begin next year, went well,” said SPT Subway Director Antony Smith.
The introduction of the trains will mark the final stage of the £288m modernisation programme of the Subway, which first began in 2010. The programme saw a refreshment of the 125-year-old system, and will conclude with a full automatisation of the trains. The Subway is also expected to introduce platform screen doors, much like the ones in use in Paris and London.
The Glasgow Subway is the world’s third-oldest subway system and has not been extended since its opening in 1896. The system saw a full refurbishment in the late 1970s. The current rolling stock dates back to that era.
Not before time
Third oldest in the world and only now being updated