The driver-free train due to arrive ...
DRIVERLESS trains are set to take to the tracks of Glasgow’s Subway system within the next four years.
The latest state of the art trains and carriages will be part of the first major overhaul of the underground system in more than 30 years.
Making the official announcement yesterday, the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) said the trains will be smoother, quieter and will be equipped with dedicated facilities for wheelchair users at the city’s St Enoch and Govan stations.
SPT chief executive Gordon Maclennan said: ‘This is a real opportunity for SPT and for the people of Glasgow.’
The Department of Transport has released the first set of images of how the new trains and carriages will look when building work has finished.
SPT has awarded the £200million contract to carry out the work to a consortium that includes Hitachi-owned Ansaldo and Swiss firm Stadler.
The SPT hopes to provide a more frequent service with trains that will have the ability to run for longer hours throughout the day. It is aiming to roll out the new fleet, which will operate without drivers, by 2020. Pas- sengers will be able to look out of both ends of the train as it travels down the tracks, providing a full view of the latest signalling and control system.
The gangways between the carriages will be open to make the maximum possible use of the space.
The trains have been designed to be the same length as those that are currently in use, but will consist of four carriages instead of the three-carriage trains that are in use at present.
Screen doors are expected to be installed to improve safety on a number of platforms, in a system similar to that currently in use on some London Underground lines.
SPT chairman Jonathan Finlay said: ‘The new rolling stock will provide the travelling public with a much improved journey experience and the system will be more flexible in terms of frequency and availability.’
The announcement has been cautiously received by trades union Unite amid fears over how the 33 drivers that currently work on the Subway will be redeployed.
The Glasgow Subway – originally known as the Glasgow District Subway – is the third oldest underground metro system in the world and was opened in December 1896.
The last major modernisation project of the system was carried out between 1977 and 1980.
By the 1970s the use of the Subway had declined significantly, partly due to dockyard closures and the demolition of tenements south of the Clyde.
By 1977 cracks were being to appear at stations, while tunnels were also deteriorating. The line was officially reopened by the Queen in November 1979 but did not reopen to passengers until the following year.
The trains’ orange livery led to the Subway being nicknamed The Clockwork Orange, although most trains have since been replaced with a new livery of carmine and cream with a thin orange band.
Though the number of passengers using the service has dropped in recent years, 13million people still travel on the Glasgow Subway every year.