GLASGOW | Subway and Urban Rail

[makita09]

Originally Posted by geogregor

It must take ages for passengers to embark/disembark via only one front door. Why so many British cities outside London opt for such configuration?

It doesn't really take that long.

In my city Brighton, the doors are like this. Only at a few stops in the city centre is there a significant delay - and its not caused only by the single door. Most of the delay is people buying tickets from the driver- seriously one old granny can take as long to buy a ticket as it would take the entire bus to disembark. Thankfully they don't need to buy tickets any more but you can see my point. Well over half the travellers in my city use advance-purchase tickets, but you still buy from the driver in cash and this is the primary cause of any waiting at the bus stops.

[Kolothos]

Some routes in Glasgow could definitely do with them. The 44 route is especially brimmed in the rush hours. On many occasions, I've found myself having to push through a big pack of people who are all standing at the front of the bus (nobody ever moves up to the back to stand), and it's often hard to differentiate between the queue of people waiting to get off, and the people who are standing, which leaves you running down the bus to catch the doors before the driver shuts them!

I'm not sure how busy the buses are in Brighton, but certain routes in Glasgow can get very busy, often beyond capacity in the mornings, and the inclusion of a second set of doors would help things a lot. Glasgow should be announcing a smart card for public transport soon, so that will help the cause for double door buses.

[geogregor]

Originally Posted by makita09

It doesn't really take that long.

In my city Brighton, the doors are like this. Only at a few stops in the city centre is there a significant delay - and its not caused only by the single door. Most of the delay is people buying tickets from the driver- seriously one old granny can take as long to buy a ticket as it would take the entire bus to disembark. Thankfully they don't need to buy tickets any more but you can see my point. Well over half the travellers in my city use advance-purchase tickets, but you still buy from the driver in cash and this is the primary cause of any waiting at the bus stops.

I have used buses in Edinburgh once or twice and even when they were shorter than the triple axis one form the picture above there were still significant delays caused by the mess at the busy stops. Embarking and disembarking caused clashes of two opposite queues of passengers.
Such buses on the busy city routes are pure madness.

[Kolothos]

I totally agree with that. I use the buses enough to know this! I take the 45 or the 57 every morning, and even getting off at Bridge Street Subway during the rush hour, where nobody tends to board a northbound bus, is annoying, having to push through the standing passengers to get to the front.

Even worse on that one day a week where I transfer to Central Low Level to get a westbound train to Exhibition Centre. Madness!

And it's no better on the trains! On my line - the South Western Line - we're still using these awful Sprinters which are configured for more long distance journeys (like the West Highland Line), and as such don't have the door configuration to deal with high density urban movements. These trains are packed well beyond capacity in the mornings. You'll seldom find a place to stand let alone a place to sit in these things.

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwbphotos/7379581204/

The line is to be electrified before 2020, but hopefully in the mean time, we get some of these cascaded down for when the Edinburgh-Glasgow line is electrified:

[Kolothos]

Glasgow Central Station

The larger of Glasgow's two terminal stations, Glasgow Central is the busiest railway station in the UK outside of London. 25 million passengers used the station last year, slightly more than Birmingham New Street.

It's locally known as simply 'Central' (If you want a return ticket from Mount Florida, you'd say ''Ah'l huv a return tae Central fae Mount Florida please'' to the ticky), and in the context of urban rail travel within Greater Glasgow and West Central Scotland, it is the main terminus for electric and diesel services to the south, but it also has platforms on the east/west orientated underground Argyle Line, with electric services to the east and west of Greater Glasgow.

It is also the northern terminus of the WCML among other things. All in all, the station has 16 platforms, with a short walk to the Subway station at St. Enoch Square.

With HS2 services coming in the next few decades, and a future high speed rail link to Edinburgh in the pipeline, Glasgow Central may be expanded to serve high speed rail, but the more favoured location at the moment is a new east facing station at High Street.

[Chris99]

Originally Posted by Kolothos

image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwbphotos/7379581204/

The line is to be electrified before 2020, but hopefully in the mean time, we get some of these cascaded down for when the Edinburgh-Glasgow line is electrified:

Great thread. Worth mentioning that there are 4 Edinburgh-Glasgow lines, 2 of which are already electrified.

[Kolothos]

Thanks mate, good to see some more GMA presence in the thread, I've been quietly updating this for a while now.

By 'Edinburgh-Glasgow line', I mean the main express route via Falkirk.

But yes, it is worth mentioning that there are three other lines!

[Kolothos]

Rolling stock - Class 314

The Glasgow variant of British Rail's then third generation of standard suburban rolling stock. They were originally brought in to work the reopened underground line between Partick and Newton via Central (the Argyle Line), and now operate predominantly on the Cathcart Circle Line, the Inverclyde Line, and as of December of this year, the Paisley Canal Line.

The original 'Trans-Clyde' branded livery, electric trains in Glasgow were traditionally blue before the SPT orange came into force across all transport modes.
image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickriver.com/photos/emdjt42/7028825053/

314 in the 'Strathclyde Transport' livery of the 90s.
image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwbphotos/6679552215/

In the 'SPT rail' livery of the 00s. Currently being replainted as part of a refurb project. Many 314s still carry this livery though.


Refurbished Scotrail liveried 314. After Transport Scotland took up the SPT franchise, they have applied a uniform brand identity to all of Scotland's railway lines, even Glasgow's metro-like inner-suburban lines.

pre-refurb interior:


The 314s natural successor is the 380. The 380 is designed not as a train for inner-suburban movements like the 314, but for longer journeys, and as such lacks the metro/tube-style seating arrangement.
image hosted on flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dwbphotos/8006792148/
image hosted on flickr

[Kolothos]

Rolling Stock - Class 334

Until the introduction of the 380s, the 334 was the newest EMU in the Strathclyde Transport area.


These are built by Alstom, and are found working the North Clyde Line between Helensburgh, in Argyll & Bute, and Edinburgh Waverley, via Queen Street LL and the Airdrie to Bathgate link.


They were the last trains to be introduced into the SPT area rail network before Transport Scotland took over the network, thus incorporating it into a new Scotland-wide railway network.

[sds]

I remember when the 334s were rolled out. We had them on the Lanark/Milngavie line for the longest time, as direct replacements for the old 303s. What a step up.

The Lanark line has gone a step back, now primarily running with refurbed class 314s.

[Kolothos]

I prefer the 314s. Wider doorways and more standing room is a big plus during the rush hour, especially when compared to the 318s and 320s.

Transport Scotland really need to invest in lightweight ubran trains for Glasgow, it's just not good enough seeing a big ugly 318 take ages to slow to a stop in Central LL..

More bus stuff. The SPT in the past few years, have subsidised some bus routes, which would otherwise be in danger of being axed by private operators. So there are some SPT bus services in Glasgow. This particular bus is run by Henderson Travel on behalf of the SPT. Hopefully the introduction of quality bus contracts in the future will see all bus services running with this sort of livery.

image hosted on flickr

Henderson 261 nsf by Wigan Airways, on Flickr

[Minato ku]

Still one door by bus.

[Kolothos]

Yep, still single entry/exit.

[sds]

Originally Posted by Kolothos

I prefer the 314s. Wider doorways and more standing room is a big plus during the rush hour, especially when compared to the 318s and 320s.

Oh, hang on, I mean Lanark/Minlgavie inherited a bunch of 318s.

The Lanark commute is a long one, though. It requires lots of seats, which is what the 318s in their current configuration have I guess. I thought the 334s had the same 6/aisle/4 seat configuration, but perhaps I'm wrong. So the 318s presumably increase capacity without altering timetabling; the difference is that the 334s were new and more comfortable/reliable than the refurbed 318s.

[Kolothos]

Kelvinbridge - Subway


The deepest station on the line, and the one with the widest island platform. That picture is now somewhat dated, as the station now carries the new SPT branding and font.

This station is very well used, as it provides close proximity to the eastern half of Glasgow Universities campus (the education and engineering schools are located close by), as well as the high density tenement area of the Woodlands and Woodside.

[Kolothos]

Argyle Street - Argyle Line (Underground)
North entrance
image hosted on flickr

Concourse
image hosted on flickr

Escalators to ticket gates and passenger tunnel
image hosted on flickr

Ticket gates

Escalators to platform level (Eastbound/Westbound)

Platform level

[Kolothos]

Partick - Subway

Ongoing modernisation works in Partick. From the Glasgow Subway thread on the GMA forum:

Originally Posted by Jamandell (d69)

Here you go!

[Kolothos]

Originally Posted by Minato ku

Still one door by bus.

Right enough though, I did see a double decker McGill's bus with a centre exit. I don't know if it was operating, but I'd imagine they'd have to.

But it's more a case of McGill's buying an ex-London bus without bothering to reconfigure it to single door operation, like how First do.

It was one of these (although not this exact one, which has only the single door).
image hosted on flickr


And City Sprinter run one of these on their 38 route.
image hosted on flickr

[Kolothos]

A nice wee article explaining the modernisation programme of the Subway. Plenty of information in here. Especially with regards to future unmanned operation of trains.

http://www.therailengineer.com/2012/...orange-reborn/

Exciting times lay ahead for our wee Subway!

[Kolothos]

Quite a busy news day for Glasgow's public transport.

First off, proposals to allow buses to run down the pedestrianised Argyle Street, with the aim of reducing journey times, and relieving congestion in other parts of the city centre:
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/b...8925n.19583193

And that first announcement just so happens to coincide with this. Fresh proposals to extend the Fastlink/BRT/pre-metro/whatever-link to the East End, with options to run to the Commonwealth Games venues, Clyde Gateway and Alexandra Parade train station.

Current timetable on Fastlinks development:
Union St. to SECC - 2014
Union St. to New South Glasgow Hospital - 2015
extension to Braehead and Renfrew - 2015
http://www.spt.co.uk/documents/latest/rtp041212.pdf

The Cumbernauld line is set to be electrified, and rerouted away from it's current terminus at Queen Street, to run underground via Springburn towards a new terminus at Hyndland. This effectively creates a new Low Level line for Glasgow. Here's the plans on the GCC planning website.
http://pdfserver3c.glasgowcitycounci...f&pageCount=14

And, finally, Subway to get some expensive screens to display ads.. New retail unit at Hillhead has been announced, being the first to be put into place... And some news regarding procurement of new trains, etc.
http://www.spt.co.uk/documents/latest/rtp041212.pdf