Glasgow’s public transport is having a renaissance. Its subway system may be the third oldest in the world, but after a host of brand new trains last year it’s firmly in the modern era. And it’s only about to get swankier, as driverless trains are expected to land in the city next year.
The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), AKA the people in charge of Glasgow’s public transport, announced the move in a recent report. It said that the wider modernisation project is in its ‘final stages’ and that it expects the driverless subway cars to be operational in the latter half of 2026.
So far, the scheme has seen swish new carriages designed to minimise the underground’s famous ‘shoogle’ (it’s historically been a very wobbly service) and maximise space for passengers. Glass screens have also been added to several stations for safety, and most stations on the circular line have had minor refurbs.
All that’s left now is to upgrade some infrastructure, which includes introducing new signalling that should make way for self-driving trains. The report stated that ‘detailed planning work has been carried out’ to ensure that the shift is smooth.
The new trains will be phased in slowly. Officials noted in their report that ‘whilst our new system will be capable of Unattended Train Operation, there may be a requirement for some staff presence within the system beyond this point’.
The hard bit is getting all of the new tech to work together. The SPT said that ‘this stage was always expected to be the most complex phase of delivery’, and that it could take longer than anticipated to get all of the pieces to click together cleanly and safely.
‘We recognise how challenging this transition will be, especially as a first of its kind in the UK’, the report concluded.
A city-wide trial will also see 1,000 Glaswegians given free access to all public transport for six weeks next year to see if it increases usage. Between that and the upgrades to the underground network, we could be entering a new age for getting around Scotland’s largest city.
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