A nation on the move – between transport strikes

New roads and public transport woes saw car use soar, while Concorde drew crowds, writes David Mclean

It was a nation on the move that was continuously threatening to grind to a halt, as strike action erupted up and down the country over the course of the decade.

Politically, the 1970s was a tumultuous period in the history of Scotland and the UK; marked by persistent strikes and social upheaval. Strikes affected a wide range of public services and the transport sector was among the worst hit, with everyone from rail workers to bus conductors entering into labour disputes before the close of the 1970s.

While transport disruption affected millions, the country was steadily becoming less dependent on public transport than in previous decades. The private car accounted for more than 60 per cent of all passenger miles travelled in Scotland in 1970. Key sections of the M8 motorway linking Edinburgh and Glasgow were completed in the 1970s, and Glasgow’s inner ring road opened in 1972.In the wake of Dr Beeching’s cuts in the 1960s, Scotland’s railway network had shrunk considerably and the casualties of the cuts were now in the process of being swept away.

The ripping up of the railways meant the disappearance of a number of Scotland’s great stations. In Edinburgh, the once bustling Princes Street Station was demolished, while the loss in 1976 of Glasgow’s grand St Enoch Station and hotel provoked an outcry from heritage groups.

Air travel was on the increase in this decade, and the advent of cheap package holidays abroad had a profound impact on how and where Scots chose to spend their valuable annual leave during the summer months.

One of the great aeronautical feats of the age was undoubtedly Concorde. Capable of crossing the Atlantic in around three hours, the iconic supersonic passenger jet spent much of its early years at Prestwick Airport.

The perfect base for transatlantic air travel, the Ayrshire airport was a training facility for Concorde pilots in the 1970s and a National Air Traffic Control Centre was opened to cover Scottish airspace.

Large crowds would often gather at Prestwick’s observation deck to witness the spectacle of the legendary jet taking off and landing.