With that whole uinion dispute, I remember all of that happening arriving in Edinburgh, where I needed a Helensburgh train. The first was cut back to Bathgate, and the second was cancelled outright. I was actually going to Balloch, but because many of them were cancelled, I eventually just got picked up from Dumbarton. It did have a happy ending however, because I had a through ticket from London Kings Cross to Balloch, and when I claimed delay repay, I did end up getting the every penny of the £60 ticket refunded, even if ScotRail initially referred it to LNER, who probably told ScotRail it was definately their fault that I had a 1 hour train delay. In general, I definately think that Crossrail Glasgow would be a worthwhile scheme, provided they mainly got additional trains to run on it rather than replacing trains that currently run into Central or Queen Street. The main weakness of the scheme however is that it can't provide a direct link from Glasgow Central to Queen Street. The way to do that would perhaps be by a completely new deep level allignment, which also then extended north and joined the northern network, and then south under the Clyde to join up with the southern network. That could in turn allow trains from say Paisley to Stirling, or other routes that could cross Glasgow not terminate there. Obviously though, that would cost far too much money, more money than any Scottish government would spend without the strongest ever business case
not sure if it is of higher priority, it adds nothing in convenience compared to bus 500. It won't be cheaper, won't be more frequent, won't be faster either. Connecting South with West end and north is way more important. Also, using City Union line you can access Paisley and construct a turn to Airport, which will be cheaper than the whole new line via QEUH
@@istvan_m there’s buses within airports that take longer than gilmour st to Glasgow airport. Subsidise some buses and the billion saved could maybe save people being slaughtered on the a9 or have us country filth get to our local town more than twice an hour
Awesome to see you back doing a Glasgow video. Sadly crossrail in Glasgow has been talked about as long as I can remember, it’s sadly highly unlikely anytime soon though we can dream. I was down in the Gorbals a couple of weeks ago, and even from about 6 months ago the progress was amazing. Great to see an area that was a ropey s@&thole when I used to have to walk through it at night being turned into a thriving modern community. Keep up the great work!
Talked about ! There is more enthusiasm for railway land for 'Devolopment Opportunity ' for any thing BUT Railways in Glasgow. I am seventy.this has been talked about since the 1950s when there were still Scottish Railwaymen who were occasionaly listened to. Shuttting St Enoch instead of Queen St (HighLevel)Madness.From St Enoch one could go all points of the compass as well as cross the river.
The City Union line is still in use, although it is only used for freight or empty rolling stock moves today. It's not up to passenger standard so would need to be upgraded but the core is already there.
@@andrewvannan1714 No, it's not electrified for a start. A rail tour a few years ago is the only passenger-carrying service to run over that bridge in many years. It will take years and many many millions.
You're spot on about a new rail link the Gorbals would really help boost the areas economy. Compared to how it looked 10 years ago it's come such a long way since then and a rail link like this would have really helped!
As a Glasgow resident I do agree that reviving the Glasgow Crossrail link would be a great idea. As pointed out in the video, the railway line is basically already there, although currently only used for moving rolling stock about, so in terms of an infrastructure project this would be relatively low cost. The rail line to Glasgow Airport is also long past due. I use Glasgow Airport a lot, when travelling on business, and it’s ridiculous that driving and paying loads for parking is usually my only realistic option.
Glasgow Crossrail should have been built years ago. The Scottish Government has done next to nothing on transport in Glasgow. I think there was also a Crossrail plan linking Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central (both Low Level)
Glasgow has the second most train station in the UK only after London Glasgow transport links via train are very good it's the buses and roads are the problem
Where is the money for all the things they ‘should have done’? Westminster would never fund it and Scotland has so much other stuff to fund like social services. Not a lot of money for trains in Glasgow floating around
But there hasn't been any real expansion of the railways or Subway for decades - this can't be put down to just the fact that transport has to compete for resources with other essential services. That is true of any city or region. The tunnels are already built and could be recommissioned for Glasgow Crossrail. The issue is mismanagement and lack of drive rather than money per se. Newcastle opened the Tyne and Wear Metro (a type of light rail/tube 'crossrail') despite the same demands of resourcing and social services etc. Lack of investment in the railways or Subway expansion hasn't meant social services improving as a result
The Plan for the Glasgow Metro yes should’ve been done years ago, the only issue with that is funding, we do not have the money to construct it on our own as of now, we need a multi factor of entities to help build this, including all councils involved, SPT, the Scottish Government, and The UK Government. Google the Clyde metro plan it’s ver fascinating but would take long to build fully,
@@ryanlaird6447 "it's the buses and the roads are the problem" is missing the fact that you can use trains to reduce car trips and reduce road congestion. It's not a zero-sum game here.
Very interesting. I've done similar walks myself. Your correspondents are right in that this has been talked about for years with no progress, but in the past improvements and reopenings have occurred in the system, notably the Argyle Line under the city from Partick to Rutherglen via reopened stations, and the low platforms at Central. But also via Maryhill, to Paisley Canal, to Whifflet, to Drumgelloch and onwards to Edinburgh, and most recently to Larkhall. Lots of inew intermediate stations too, and more electrification, recently to Barrhead and soon East Kilbride. The problem is that consultations come up with huge, expensive and impractical projects that never get off the ground. I recall a proposal for a vast underground central station to replace Central and Queen Street, but also schemes like the one you give the map for, incorporating amongst other things an additional underground eastern circle that can't justify its costing, and other lines requirnig demolition or tunnelling, duplicating the existing system. The naysayers you quote have had a field day demolishing these ideas. What is needed is a single simple starter project to get the whole thing going. The best one I've seen is for a new light rail (on-street or in open country) linking the remote Castlemilk estate (which is very badly served by buses, leading to difficulty getting to jobs) using the western arm of the Cathcart circle, then the City Union line as far as the old junction for St Enoch, then down to a terminus near Argyle Street. This has to be light rail because of the gradients. The problem is that this would mean rebuilding an old railway bridge at great expense. Why not divert this from Pollokshields West via an extisting line then round a new curve to West Street, and then use the City Union? This would terminate nearly as centrally as now, and provide possible interchanges at Cathcart, Pollokshields East and West Street (new platforms). This ciould be done without disrupting services on other lines - existing services from Newton and Neilston would all go via Mount Florida. (The proposal also included light rail from Paisley Canal but much of this line is single and could not support light rail frequency at the moment.) My point is that if one scheme was completed and proved successful - as almost all such schemes are - then that might give the green light to other schemes in the area - like revisiting the Airport Link, and addressing the problem of no connection between Central and Queen Street - an easy walk, but difficult with luggage or for the infirm, and the bus service goes round the houses. Perhaps the right rail system could extend to Central and then Queen Sreet, at street level using back streets?
I used to live in a block of flats on Bell Street that would have been demolished to build the additional spur joining to High Street at Collegelands. Got a great deal when I bought the place due to the threat of compulsory purchase which fortunately never happened!
The sad thing is it would be relatively easy to electrify the city union line and add a couple of stations for the north south link. And a Glasgow airport link from close to Paisley Gilmour could be reinstated as there is still an old track bed in situ. It can be clearly viewed from Google maps.
This crossrail is included in a concept of Clyde Metro. I think they could solve this much cheaper than they currently plan with revival of a link through Kelvinbridge. They could use the turn from Neilston line to City Union and then don't turn to the city centre, but continue moving towards Springburn and Milngavie having West Street the main point of entry to the city centre. Then they connect the whole city - East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, East, North, even Paisley and airport to the subway ring with a convenient fast transit. The only thing they need is a small turn to City Union and renovation and elictrification of this line itself
I remember people talking about this back in the 1980s 👵🏻. This is more like the London Overground than the Elizabeth Line in that it uses bits of underused and disused track to link areas outside the centre. Glasgow is actually the home of the 0G crossrail with the North Clyde Line which you travelled on, originally the Glasgow City & District Railway which opened in 1886; and the Argyle Line, originally the Glasgow Central Railway which opened in 1894.
All this makes absolute sense and I can't see anyone disagreeing, now what is it not being done? All the money for infrastructure goes to London, or Edinburgh, Glasgow needs money invested into it , they want to stop cars going into the city, well have more and better public transport!
I always felt that Glasgow subway was too focussed on the west and south of the city, probably driven by the ship building industry. I love the idea of making it into a figure of 8, taking in the east and north of the city. Probably East Kilbride and Cumbernauld are just too far, but Shettleston, Baillieston, Coatbridge, Bishopbriggs and Springburn are possible.
Hi fella this line will eventually get electric trains but it is one of the most difficult to do there are gas pipes and electricity cables close to the line which would need moving before this can happen.
Very cool seeing you talk about a long meandered topic, I dont think west street needs a station, given subway hasnt done anything, but I think something around glasgow cross and the gorbals would be very useful, funny spotting my car in this video as well, I might have missed you by an hour or two when you filmed. West Street itself is weird, as the road is a deadend by the station, due to an accident with a school bus I think it was. The whole gorbals area has really done well to pull itself out of the gutter as well
I'm not sold on it. Fix the existing North Clyde network infrastructure - reinstate the double line from Westerton to Mingavie to return the line to a robust 4 trains an hour, reinstate the double line from Dalreoch to Balloch and fix the junction at Craigendoran so you can do parallel moves, then double the line from Airbles to Hamilton and then you can deliver more reliable services and then consider CrossRail as a money pit.
Crossrail would allow folk from the south-west of Scotland to get the train to points north of Glasgow without having to walk or get the bus between Central and Queen Street. But the powers that be don't seem to be too enthusiastic about actually building it.
Great video. Glasgow had so many lines to tunnels etc that many proper circular routes could have easily been created. Speculative building on those lines and stations was a disgrace. Look up NLS maps.
All the transport funds have traditionally been spent ona massive road building programme and electrification of the regional and intercity trains, Scotland has not invested in inner city rails since the argyll line was reopened in the 80s
As a small boy I travelled by train on many Scottish and a few English Railways. Many of these routes especially the ones in Scotland I travelled on are now closed and destroyed. I believe England to have suffered the same. However,when you have a 'Transport Minister,' who was chairman of the largest construction company in The UK with the majority of Government Contracts for new roads ? In the sixties and seventies lines could not be closed fast enough. Indeed,one former railwayman who had inside knowledge of the civil service concerned has put in print some of the appetite for mass closure.
elictrification is within a City Deal. All parts of Greater Glasgow are contributing to its economy. Making links faster is a good start, it is backed by Scotrail, not SPT. Clyde Metro project needs separate funding and it is under Case of Investment currently. This crossrail is one of the two main parts of the proposed system. Meanwhile links are electrified like the East Kilbride one. Argyle line is blocked as far as I know by the height of the tunnels, it needs carriages of lower height, though compliant with platform level to be accessible. Should be next on the list defo
I genuinely do not see how Glasgow cross rail could not be a benefit to the city. A rail link to connect southwest Scotland communities to Glasgow and the east of Scotland. It would also add a finishing flair to Gorbals and Laurieston. All I can suspect is that the powers that be do not thinking highly enough of Glasgow to be deserving of such a scheme.
@@mattevans4377 The route is already mainly in place. Has been so for over 100 years. Local Gov have flogged off key partsfor development of course. A fairly common practice over sixty years.
Fire time that I heard about the glasgow airport line was sometime in 2003/04 & since then the whole idea of it has been discussed many times only to reject the idea. Either way there's plenty of places that have or had a train station at them once like the botanic gardens & a building that was once a station before getting demolished near the peoples plaice, all of which these lines could easily be brought back into use.
The link would really only serve for longer distance journeys, i.e. East Coast / Central Belt to Ayrshire & Inverclyde - but im unsure on how large that demand is. One of the problems around the conversation in years gone by on the project is that the vast majority of passengers on the lines into Glasgow are looking to go to Central or Queen Street. That's where their jobs are, where their weekend destinations are and really where all the events are. A real "Glasgow Crossrail" would be a tunnel under the city that connects the major stations and the lines that feed into them - the cost of which would of course be astronomical. With these proposals, you would essentially be taking away capacity on lines from Ayrshire & Inverclyde (Central) & Midlands / Edinburgh (Queen St) - to funnel passengers into a station at Glasgow Cross. That's not where the majority want to go, it's too far out from the central business district. If the Glasgow Airport Rail Link had gone ahead then I could see the project having more legs - i.e. services from GLA Airport to Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen etc. That's not to say there is not a use for the City Union line for passengers - maybe as part of the future Glasgow metro plans (like utilising the Paisley Canal line and heading onto the network north of the Clyde?). There's definitely potential for it to be used, I just don't know if the current proposals serve the best interests of the passengers they would be looking to target.
I'm not sure this is really necessary TBH. I live in Edinburgh and of course there are several different rail lines for getting into Glasgow so I have a choice of what lines to use. For example if I want to go to Paisley, I can just get the Shotts line and change at Central. I think the transport priority should be reducing bus fares and bringing the buses under public control like they've done in Greater Manchester. There is of course always scope to improve integration with the subway for example although arguably this is only the case at Partick and to a lesser extent at Glasgow Queen Street/Buchanan Street.
I don't think that the alleged 15mph speed limit on the City Union Line would impair its suitability for a Crossrail Route. That is given the locality of Stations to be serviced.
I would love to see this happen. The roads are clogged and buses are simply not the answer because of the jams. I think that a rail connection between St Enoch's and Central would be a good idea connecting all the services. Unfortunately you need private money to build this and I'm not sure if the residents of Glasgow would support this!
Perhaps Glasgow could have had its own Crossrail but I don’t think it will ever happen. But the Glasgow Subway could have extended to other areas around Glasgow including extending it to Glasgow Airport.
The fastest way to west street would have been to alight at queens street and get on the underground straight to west street, would have been less then ten mins
I do remember the Scottish government bought the land required for it from a local business man. Then it got canned and said businessman bought it back for peanuts. Might be wrong.
I really don't understand why this isn't in progress, even stages to spread the cost. The hard work is already done, the bridge and rail infrastructure is already there and maintained, it just needs brought up to spec and stations added/refurbished. It blows my mind at how stupid glasgow has been over the years with transport links. Getting rid of alot of railway lines, the M74 is a great example, that extension should have been done in the 60s. Can you imagine how good the road and rail links were if they were just done when they were supposed to be done, too many doo gooders and people with purse strings out there. The original road plan for glasgow was great but they only completed a fraction of it and thats partly the reason the M8 is rammed at rush hour, if it was just completed when it was supposed to it would be much easier. There is also a rail line that runs from argyle street low level all the way up the west end upto Botanic gardens, not sure how far the line goes before there is something built in its way but there isn't any rail links up that side. The whole glasgow airport rail link is another absolute farce, the railway line runs right past it, albeit there is a motorway to contend with but surely something can be done there, especially if the whole persona is to get people out of cars, why would they, public transport links in glasgow is shite too many key places don't have any.
It is in progress, as part of Clyde Metro. The line to Botanic gardens is currently a dead end, as the tunnel ends in Botanic Gardens and there has to be a brand new tunnel to link it to any other line. It is under Cast of Investment, but I personally think they should stick to Subway for West End and city centre, just having a transit at West Steeet
Not wanting to rain on your parade but all of the benefits have been grossly exaggerated. A 'crossrail' service was run by Scotrail a few years ago from Ayr to Edinburgh, via Glasgow Central. Why was it discontinued? Erm, probably because passenger numbers doing the crossrail bit were pretty low. I'm very much in favour of line re-openings but some just aren't worth the candle!
What are the "more advanced nations"? Surely not authoritarian China or Saudi Arabia where it's easy and cheap to build flashy subways and trains an skyscrapers. Britain should compare itself with countries or states of similar size, population and economy, like France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Japan and California, and British cities should compare themselves with ones of similar demographic and economic dimensions, like Stockholm, Vienna, Paris, Bordeaux, Lisbon etc. Most cities similar in size to Glasgow have a rail link to their airport. Glasgow doesn't. Helsinki recently built and opened a new tram line of 15mi/25km..... EARLY and UNDER BUDGET 🤯 Paris is expanding its rail network like there's no tomorrow. Spain puts Britain and California to shame with its high speed rail network. So does Italy and of course France. By the time Britain and California finish building their HSR, if they ever do, Japan will have already completed its Maglev line. And so on. Most cities similar in size to Glasgow have a rail link to their airport. Glasgow doesn't. For some interesting reason, infrastructure in 🇬🇧🇨🇦🇺🇸🇦🇺🇳🇿 seems to be the most expensive and slow to be built.
I think Glasgow has had more than enough money spent on it, there is the rest of Scotland outside the Central Belt. We desperately needing some money spent on our ageing and highly dangerous infrastructure. Our lives matter too..
@@threesixnine369six we not blind or stupid, we can see all the money getting spent in Glasgow such as your whilst people die here on our dangerous infrastructure, enjoy your electric trains on your newly electrified routes..
People must understand that Scotland is limited in what it can do with money they get from Westminster. Scotland does not have the power to borrow. Westminster is the issue because Scotland has to put money towards for HS2 when it does not even come o Scotland.
As far as transport goes, no one does . The Tories used to but not with the morons you have there now and forget about Reform. They do not want to spend money on anything if you read their manifesto whilst Labour and LibDems always get their sums wrong when it comes to infrastructure.
If i was beyond unimaginably wealthy, I'd absolutely fund for comprehensive public transport across Scotland
Considering how much they are spending on a small bit of the M8, sounds like a great deal.
With that whole uinion dispute, I remember all of that happening arriving in Edinburgh, where I needed a Helensburgh train. The first was cut back to Bathgate, and the second was cancelled outright. I was actually going to Balloch, but because many of them were cancelled, I eventually just got picked up from Dumbarton. It did have a happy ending however, because I had a through ticket from London Kings Cross to Balloch, and when I claimed delay repay, I did end up getting the every penny of the £60 ticket refunded, even if ScotRail initially referred it to LNER, who probably told ScotRail it was definately their fault that I had a 1 hour train delay.
In general, I definately think that Crossrail Glasgow would be a worthwhile scheme, provided they mainly got additional trains to run on it rather than replacing trains that currently run into Central or Queen Street. The main weakness of the scheme however is that it can't provide a direct link from Glasgow Central to Queen Street. The way to do that would perhaps be by a completely new deep level allignment, which also then extended north and joined the northern network, and then south under the Clyde to join up with the southern network. That could in turn allow trains from say Paisley to Stirling, or other routes that could cross Glasgow not terminate there. Obviously though, that would cost far too much money, more money than any Scottish government would spend without the strongest ever business case
For me the Glasgow Airport link feels like a higher priority and that's gone nowherre. Good pronunciation of Drumgelloch!
Let’s be honest by the time the government build the Glasgow airport link humans will cease to be anymore
not sure if it is of higher priority, it adds nothing in convenience compared to bus 500. It won't be cheaper, won't be more frequent, won't be faster either. Connecting South with West end and north is way more important. Also, using City Union line you can access Paisley and construct a turn to Airport, which will be cheaper than the whole new line via QEUH
A fleet of free buses from gilmour street to the airport would do the job
@@istvan_m there’s buses within airports that take longer than gilmour st to Glasgow airport. Subsidise some buses and the billion saved could maybe save people being slaughtered on the a9 or have us country filth get to our local town more than twice an hour
Glasgow Cross rail with trains stopping at ALL stations on route would be perfection!
Awesome to see you back doing a Glasgow video. Sadly crossrail in Glasgow has been talked about as long as I can remember, it’s sadly highly unlikely anytime soon though we can dream.
I was down in the Gorbals a couple of weeks ago, and even from about 6 months ago the progress was amazing. Great to see an area that was a ropey s@&thole when I used to have to walk through it at night being turned into a thriving modern community.
Keep up the great work!
Talked about ! There is more enthusiasm for railway land for 'Devolopment Opportunity ' for any thing BUT Railways in Glasgow. I am seventy.this has been talked about since the 1950s when there were still Scottish Railwaymen who were occasionaly listened to. Shuttting St Enoch instead of Queen St (HighLevel)Madness.From St Enoch one could go all points of the compass as well as cross the river.
The City Union line is still in use, although it is only used for freight or empty rolling stock moves today. It's not up to passenger standard so would need to be upgraded but the core is already there.
Probably would be brought up to code with a few weekend rail replacement works
@@andrewvannan1714 No, it's not electrified for a start. A rail tour a few years ago is the only passenger-carrying service to run over that bridge in many years. It will take years and many many millions.
@@brianconnelly7823 yeah everyone knows that railway track btwn bellgrove and the court etc is non electric, everyone knows that...
Ace to see a new video, have been following the CrossRail initiative for years, since when I stayed in Queens Park....
You're spot on about a new rail link the Gorbals would really help boost the areas economy. Compared to how it looked 10 years ago it's come such a long way since then and a rail link like this would have really helped!
As a Glasgow resident I do agree that reviving the Glasgow Crossrail link would be a great idea. As pointed out in the video, the railway line is basically already there, although currently only used for moving rolling stock about, so in terms of an infrastructure project this would be relatively low cost. The rail line to Glasgow Airport is also long past due. I use Glasgow Airport a lot, when travelling on business, and it’s ridiculous that driving and paying loads for parking is usually my only realistic option.
Really cool you have covered this. It's the first I'm learning of it, and I think it's a great line idea.
The other necessity is a chord linking westward to Queen Street LowLevel. This would give huge operational flexibility.
I love watching your videos. So much interesting information, and very entertaining and funny
Thank you very much! :)
Really loved this. The more Glesga content the better! :)
Glasgow Crossrail should have been built years ago. The Scottish Government has done next to nothing on transport in Glasgow. I think there was also a Crossrail plan linking Glasgow Queen Street and Glasgow Central (both Low Level)
Glasgow has the second most train station in the UK only after London
Glasgow transport links via train are very good it's the buses and roads are the problem
Where is the money for all the things they ‘should have done’? Westminster would never fund it and Scotland has so much other stuff to fund like social services. Not a lot of money for trains in Glasgow floating around
But there hasn't been any real expansion of the railways or Subway for decades - this can't be put down to just the fact that transport has to compete for resources with other essential services. That is true of any city or region. The tunnels are already built and could be recommissioned for Glasgow Crossrail. The issue is mismanagement and lack of drive rather than money per se. Newcastle opened the Tyne and Wear Metro (a type of light rail/tube 'crossrail') despite the same demands of resourcing and social services etc. Lack of investment in the railways or Subway expansion hasn't meant social services improving as a result
The Plan for the Glasgow Metro yes should’ve been done years ago, the only issue with that is funding, we do not have the money to construct it on our own as of now, we need a multi factor of entities to help build this, including all councils involved, SPT, the Scottish Government, and The UK Government. Google the Clyde metro plan it’s ver fascinating but would take long to build fully,
@@ryanlaird6447 "it's the buses and the roads are the problem" is missing the fact that you can use trains to reduce car trips and reduce road congestion. It's not a zero-sum game here.
Very interesting. I've done similar walks myself. Your correspondents are right in that this has been talked about for years with no progress, but in the past improvements and reopenings have occurred in the system, notably the Argyle Line under the city from Partick to Rutherglen via reopened stations, and the low platforms at Central. But also via Maryhill, to Paisley Canal, to Whifflet, to Drumgelloch and onwards to Edinburgh, and most recently to Larkhall. Lots of inew intermediate stations too, and more electrification, recently to Barrhead and soon East Kilbride.
The problem is that consultations come up with huge, expensive and impractical projects that never get off the ground. I recall a proposal for a vast underground central station to replace Central and Queen Street, but also schemes like the one you give the map for, incorporating amongst other things an additional underground eastern circle that can't justify its costing, and other lines requirnig demolition or tunnelling, duplicating the existing system. The naysayers you quote have had a field day demolishing these ideas.
What is needed is a single simple starter project to get the whole thing going. The best one I've seen is for a new light rail (on-street or in open country) linking the remote Castlemilk estate (which is very badly served by buses, leading to difficulty getting to jobs) using the western arm of the Cathcart circle, then the City Union line as far as the old junction for St Enoch, then down to a terminus near Argyle Street. This has to be light rail because of the gradients. The problem is that this would mean rebuilding an old railway bridge at great expense. Why not divert this from Pollokshields West via an extisting line then round a new curve to West Street, and then use the City Union? This would terminate nearly as centrally as now, and provide possible interchanges at Cathcart, Pollokshields East and West Street (new platforms). This ciould be done without disrupting services on other lines - existing services from Newton and Neilston would all go via Mount Florida. (The proposal also included light rail from Paisley Canal but much of this line is single and could not support light rail frequency at the moment.)
My point is that if one scheme was completed and proved successful - as almost all such schemes are - then that might give the green light to other schemes in the area - like revisiting the Airport Link, and addressing the problem of no connection between Central and Queen Street - an easy walk, but difficult with luggage or for the infirm, and the bus service goes round the houses. Perhaps the right rail system could extend to Central and then Queen Sreet, at street level using back streets?
I have been screeching about this for 25+ year, ever since I learned about the disused line as a wean
I used to live in a block of flats on Bell Street that would have been demolished to build the additional spur joining to High Street at Collegelands.
Got a great deal when I bought the place due to the threat of compulsory purchase which fortunately never happened!
The sad thing is it would be relatively easy to electrify the city union line and add a couple of stations for the north south link. And a Glasgow airport link from close to Paisley Gilmour could be reinstated as there is still an old track bed in situ. It can be clearly viewed from Google maps.
Thanks for the tour and the history!
Is it not more of a Glasgow "Thameslink", reviving and reutilizing existing lines? - CLYDELINK???
If you are looking for a London equivalent, it is more like the Overground.
Trans-Clyde !!!!
This crossrail is included in a concept of Clyde Metro. I think they could solve this much cheaper than they currently plan with revival of a link through Kelvinbridge. They could use the turn from Neilston line to City Union and then don't turn to the city centre, but continue moving towards Springburn and Milngavie having West Street the main point of entry to the city centre. Then they connect the whole city - East Renfrewshire, East Dunbartonshire, East, North, even Paisley and airport to the subway ring with a convenient fast transit. The only thing they need is a small turn to City Union and renovation and elictrification of this line itself
I remember people talking about this back in the 1980s 👵🏻.
This is more like the London Overground than the Elizabeth Line in that it uses bits of underused and disused track to link areas outside the centre.
Glasgow is actually the home of the 0G crossrail with the North Clyde Line which you travelled on, originally the Glasgow City & District Railway which opened in 1886; and the Argyle Line, originally the Glasgow Central Railway which opened in 1894.
If it ever happens, extend it to edinburgh.
I'd like to see SPT relaunched with its colours used on Glasgow railways and buses. The Subway must be expanded and Crossrail built
All this makes absolute sense and I can't see anyone disagreeing, now what is it not being done? All the money for infrastructure goes to London, or Edinburgh, Glasgow needs money invested into it , they want to stop cars going into the city, well have more and better public transport!
Transportation and infrastructure out with the cities should be the priority for state funds
I always felt that Glasgow subway was too focussed on the west and south of the city, probably driven by the ship building industry. I love the idea of making it into a figure of 8, taking in the east and north of the city. Probably East Kilbride and Cumbernauld are just too far, but Shettleston, Baillieston, Coatbridge, Bishopbriggs and Springburn are possible.
Hi fella this line will eventually get electric trains but it is one of the most difficult to do there are gas pipes and electricity cables close to the line which would need moving before this can happen.
Very cool seeing you talk about a long meandered topic, I dont think west street needs a station, given subway hasnt done anything, but I think something around glasgow cross and the gorbals would be very useful, funny spotting my car in this video as well, I might have missed you by an hour or two when you filmed.
West Street itself is weird, as the road is a deadend by the station, due to an accident with a school bus I think it was.
The whole gorbals area has really done well to pull itself out of the gutter as well
Further to 4:23, maybe that musician could partially fund this and we could call it Crossrail (Taylor's Version).
I'm not sold on it. Fix the existing North Clyde network infrastructure - reinstate the double line from Westerton to Mingavie to return the line to a robust 4 trains an hour, reinstate the double line from Dalreoch to Balloch and fix the junction at Craigendoran so you can do parallel moves, then double the line from Airbles to Hamilton and then you can deliver more reliable services and then consider CrossRail as a money pit.
Crossrail would allow folk from the south-west of Scotland to get the train to points north of Glasgow without having to walk or get the bus between Central and Queen Street. But the powers that be don't seem to be too enthusiastic about actually building it.
Great video. Glasgow had so many lines to tunnels etc that many proper circular routes could have easily been created. Speculative building on those lines and stations was a disgrace. Look up NLS maps.
All the transport funds have traditionally been spent ona massive road building programme and electrification of the regional and intercity trains, Scotland has not invested in inner city rails since the argyll line was reopened in the 80s
As a small boy I travelled by train on many Scottish and a few English Railways. Many of these routes especially the ones in Scotland I travelled on are now closed and destroyed. I believe England to have suffered the same.
However,when you have a 'Transport Minister,' who was chairman of the largest construction company in The UK with the majority of Government Contracts for new roads ? In the sixties and seventies lines could not be closed fast enough. Indeed,one former railwayman who had inside knowledge of the civil service concerned has put in print some of the appetite for mass closure.
elictrification is within a City Deal. All parts of Greater Glasgow are contributing to its economy. Making links faster is a good start, it is backed by Scotrail, not SPT. Clyde Metro project needs separate funding and it is under Case of Investment currently. This crossrail is one of the two main parts of the proposed system. Meanwhile links are electrified like the East Kilbride one. Argyle line is blocked as far as I know by the height of the tunnels, it needs carriages of lower height, though compliant with platform level to be accessible. Should be next on the list defo
I genuinely do not see how Glasgow cross rail could not be a benefit to the city. A rail link to connect southwest Scotland communities to Glasgow and the east of Scotland. It would also add a finishing flair to Gorbals and Laurieston. All I can suspect is that the powers that be do not thinking highly enough of Glasgow to be deserving of such a scheme.
Could Scotland not use their devolved powers to build it?
@@mattevans4377if the construction of holyrood parliament or Edinburgh trams are anything to go by, brace yourself for a loooooooong wait. 😢
@@Evemeister12 They both got built though, right? Obviously better if it was built quickly, but silver linings and all that
@@mattevans4377 The route is already mainly in place. Has been so for over 100 years.
Local Gov have flogged off key partsfor development of course. A fairly common practice over sixty years.
Fire time that I heard about the glasgow airport line was sometime in 2003/04 & since then the whole idea of it has been discussed many times only to reject the idea.
Either way there's plenty of places that have or had a train station at them once like the botanic gardens & a building that was once a station before getting demolished near the peoples plaice, all of which these lines could easily be brought back into use.
The link would really only serve for longer distance journeys, i.e. East Coast / Central Belt to Ayrshire & Inverclyde - but im unsure on how large that demand is.
One of the problems around the conversation in years gone by on the project is that the vast majority of passengers on the lines into Glasgow are looking to go to Central or Queen Street. That's where their jobs are, where their weekend destinations are and really where all the events are. A real "Glasgow Crossrail" would be a tunnel under the city that connects the major stations and the lines that feed into them - the cost of which would of course be astronomical.
With these proposals, you would essentially be taking away capacity on lines from Ayrshire & Inverclyde (Central) & Midlands / Edinburgh (Queen St) - to funnel passengers into a station at Glasgow Cross. That's not where the majority want to go, it's too far out from the central business district.
If the Glasgow Airport Rail Link had gone ahead then I could see the project having more legs - i.e. services from GLA Airport to Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen etc.
That's not to say there is not a use for the City Union line for passengers - maybe as part of the future Glasgow metro plans (like utilising the Paisley Canal line and heading onto the network north of the Clyde?). There's definitely potential for it to be used, I just don't know if the current proposals serve the best interests of the passengers they would be looking to target.
I'm not sure this is really necessary TBH. I live in Edinburgh and of course there are several different rail lines for getting into Glasgow so I have a choice of what lines to use. For example if I want to go to Paisley, I can just get the Shotts line and change at Central. I think the transport priority should be reducing bus fares and bringing the buses under public control like they've done in Greater Manchester. There is of course always scope to improve integration with the subway for example although arguably this is only the case at Partick and to a lesser extent at Glasgow Queen Street/Buchanan Street.
You can also interchange at Central / St Enoch. It doesn't take that long to walk between the two, and lots of people do it.
I don't think that the alleged 15mph speed limit on the City Union Line would impair its suitability for a Crossrail Route. That is given the locality of Stations to be serviced.
I would love to see this happen. The roads are clogged and buses are simply not the answer because of the jams. I think that a rail connection between St Enoch's and Central would be a good idea connecting all the services. Unfortunately you need private money to build this and I'm not sure if the residents of Glasgow would support this!
The other concern is will scotrail have enough trains to run on the line?
Perhaps Glasgow could have had its own Crossrail but I don’t think it will ever happen. But the Glasgow Subway could have extended to other areas around Glasgow including extending it to Glasgow Airport.
Glasgow has got a crossrail, the City Union.
The fastest way to west street would have been to alight at queens street and get on the underground straight to west street, would have been less then ten mins
I know Glasgow absolutely it need Glasgow airport railink
I do remember the Scottish government bought the land required for it from a local business man. Then it got canned and said businessman bought it back for peanuts. Might be wrong.
All the money was given to Edinburgh to build the trams
Sadly correct
I really don't understand why this isn't in progress, even stages to spread the cost. The hard work is already done, the bridge and rail infrastructure is already there and maintained, it just needs brought up to spec and stations added/refurbished. It blows my mind at how stupid glasgow has been over the years with transport links. Getting rid of alot of railway lines, the M74 is a great example, that extension should have been done in the 60s. Can you imagine how good the road and rail links were if they were just done when they were supposed to be done, too many doo gooders and people with purse strings out there. The original road plan for glasgow was great but they only completed a fraction of it and thats partly the reason the M8 is rammed at rush hour, if it was just completed when it was supposed to it would be much easier. There is also a rail line that runs from argyle street low level all the way up the west end upto Botanic gardens, not sure how far the line goes before there is something built in its way but there isn't any rail links up that side. The whole glasgow airport rail link is another absolute farce, the railway line runs right past it, albeit there is a motorway to contend with but surely something can be done there, especially if the whole persona is to get people out of cars, why would they, public transport links in glasgow is shite too many key places don't have any.
It is in progress, as part of Clyde Metro. The line to Botanic gardens is currently a dead end, as the tunnel ends in Botanic Gardens and there has to be a brand new tunnel to link it to any other line. It is under Cast of Investment, but I personally think they should stick to Subway for West End and city centre, just having a transit at West Steeet
👌🏼
Not wanting to rain on your parade but all of the benefits have been grossly exaggerated. A 'crossrail' service was run by Scotrail a few years ago from Ayr to Edinburgh, via Glasgow Central. Why was it discontinued? Erm, probably because passenger numbers doing the crossrail bit were pretty low. I'm very much in favour of line re-openings but some just aren't worth the candle!
Trains Station 🚉
The UK is completely skint and Scotland by extension, also. Contrast the UK with more advanced nations.
What are the "more advanced nations"? Surely not authoritarian China or Saudi Arabia where it's easy and cheap to build flashy subways and trains an skyscrapers.
Britain should compare itself with countries or states of similar size, population and economy, like France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Japan and California, and British cities should compare themselves with ones of similar demographic and economic dimensions, like Stockholm, Vienna, Paris, Bordeaux, Lisbon etc.
Most cities similar in size to Glasgow have a rail link to their airport. Glasgow doesn't.
Helsinki recently built and opened a new tram line of 15mi/25km..... EARLY and UNDER BUDGET 🤯
Paris is expanding its rail network like there's no tomorrow.
Spain puts Britain and California to shame with its high speed rail network. So does Italy and of course France.
By the time Britain and California finish building their HSR, if they ever do, Japan will have already completed its Maglev line. And so on.
Most cities similar in size to Glasgow have a rail link to their airport. Glasgow doesn't.
For some interesting reason, infrastructure in 🇬🇧🇨🇦🇺🇸🇦🇺🇳🇿 seems to be the most expensive and slow to be built.
I think Glasgow has had more than enough money spent on it, there is the rest of Scotland outside the Central Belt. We desperately needing some money spent on our ageing and highly dangerous infrastructure. Our lives matter too..
That's not how it works though. Also don't think Glasgow is like London or something, because it's definitely not.
@@threesixnine369six we not blind or stupid, we can see all the money getting spent in Glasgow such as your whilst people die here on our dangerous infrastructure, enjoy your electric trains on your newly electrified routes..
what did you do at university?
People must understand that Scotland is limited in what it can do with money they get from Westminster. Scotland does not have the power to borrow. Westminster is the issue because Scotland has to put money towards for HS2 when it does not even come o Scotland.
There's no money for anything these days.
Thats been ignored by Labour for as long as lve lived in Glasgow and now the snp ignore it.
But yeah, that speed limit:
ruclips.net/video/L9Z6mU3XvFQ/видео.htmlsi=uQse1neCQVmOF6Mn
SNP dont do anything for scotland
As far as transport goes, no one does . The Tories used to but not with the morons you have there now and forget about Reform. They do not want to spend money on anything if you read their manifesto whilst Labour and LibDems always get their sums wrong when it comes to infrastructure.
Fishnet trains , shocking,
No. They've been mulling it over for nearly sixty years. Cheeky? FFS
It won't happen, because it's a project in search of a purpose.
No