The City Administration Committee have recently been asked to approve the funding for the Clyde Metro project: £12.5 million, to be exact, to assist in the progress of the plans which were proposed three years ago by the Connectivity Commission. The 30-year project has the aim to connect more than 1.5 million passengers to employment, education and health services across Glasgow.
While the previous plans included a direct express link with no stops between Glasgow Central Station and Glasgow Airport, the route is no longer going ahead. While it would have been nice to have such a hassle-free journey to the airport, the plan has been scrapped due to “feasibility reasons”.
Councillor Saqib Ahmed said: “Have any meetings taken place between Renfrewshire Council and Glasgow City Council to determine the plans for the Glasgow Airport rail link?”
In response, Councillor Aitken said: “The original Glasgow Airport access project which had money allocated to it ten years ago was deemed a regional project but jointly led by Renfrewshire Council and Glasgow City Council. That project has now been superseded and has been incorporated into the wider Clyde Metro project.”
“It would have extracted value from Inverclyde. The plan as it was set out to have a fixed link run between Glasgow Central Station and the airport with no other stops would actually have removed capacity at Central Station to the extent that it would have impacted on train services to other parts of the city region and Inverclyde in particular.
“It would have had a detrimental impact on their local economy. A decision was made at that time that was not a feasible project. At the same, the connectivity commission had produced its report which had put forward fairly detailed plans for a new metro system which would link up our public transport modes and have the airport as one of the key hubs that could be served.”