1 November 2004

Glasgow Airport Rail Link public consultation launched

Nicol Stephen, Minister for Transport, and Councillor Alistair Watson, Chair of Strathclyde Passenger Transport, officially launch the public consultation into the £140 million Glasgow Airport Rail Link at 12.30pm on Monday 1 November at Glasgow Central Station.

The public consultation runs for 12 weeks, closing on 11 February 2005. The consultation involves distributing over 20,000 information leaflets to homes and business along the route of the proposed link. A seat drop is also being done on local train services. A series of public exhibitions and meetings are being held and a website has also been set up.

Passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport are predicted to virtually double, from 8.2 million passengers a year in 2003, to over 15 million passengers a year in 2030. At the moment, 95% of these passengers travel to the airport by road. The M8 is currently at capacity and cannot cope with the predicted growth.

The Rail Link is vital to alleviate congestion on the M8 and will help to contribute to the continued growth of Glasgow Airport, which employs 15,000 people and is one of the biggest wealth generators in the west of Scotland.

Consultants have been investigating the feasibility of building a direct rail link to Glasgow Airport for some 15 years and a preferred route has been identified, which mainly follows existing rail lines.

The proposal is to upgrade 9 km (5.4 miles) of existing track between Shields Junction and Paisley Gilmour Street Station and to lay 2 km (1.2 miles) of new track between Paisley St James Station and Glasgow Airport. The new track will cross St James Park and the M8.

Nicol Stephen, Minister for Transport, said: "The recent Scottish budget underlined our commitment to investing in major public transport improvements such as a new direct rail link to Glasgow airport. Today's consultation shows we are making progress to deliver these.

"The recent Scottish Budget means by 2007/08 we will have £1.4 billion a year to spend. By investing in new infrastructure projects, we can make a real difference for the thousands of passengers who stand to benefit."

Councillor Alistair Watson said: "The Glasgow Airport Rail Link is vital to prevent traffic on the M8 grinding to a halt completely. Taken together with the Crossrail Project, it also has the potential to close a gap in the rail network and open up Ayrshire for businesses and commuters.

"SPT is very keen to give everyone the chance to have their say. The public meetings and exhibitions are being advertised in local papers and on local radio. Information packs are available on request and I will be talking face-to-face with those residents and businesses that are directly affected by the Link. There is a clear democratic process to go through to deliver this major infrastructure project and I want as many people as possible to take part.

"The preferred route would lead to the loss of some of the playing fields at St James Park. We realise this is a big concern for many people living in Paisley but we are working closely with Renfrewshire Council and the local community to find a solution to this."

The Link is expected to generate a range of economic benefits for Glasgow, for the Paisley area and for the west of Scotland as a whole:

• Large scale infrastructure investments are seen as a vote of confidence in an area and can generate private investment
• Businesses benefit from reduced congestion
• Improved transport links open up new job markets
• A fast, reliable, rail link to the airport makes Glasgow a more attractive tourist destination.

ends

Notes to editors

A number of options have been looked at for crossing the M8 and St James Park.

Tunnelling under the Park
Ground conditions under the Park are poor. The deep foundations under the M8, and the location of the Airport buildings, also makes tunnelling difficult. An underground airport station would also be needed. The cost of the tunnel and the underground station would be three times as much as a surface link. Tunnelling costs around £100,000 per metre!

Surface Option A
This option is the most westerly and would bypass St James Park. Unfortunately, this option is the most expensive and least attractive, due to the cost of construction, and also has a high impact on the environment.

Surface Option B
This would run along the edge of St James Park, next to the M8 before crossing the A726 to the south of St James Interchange and the western end of St James Avenue. Under this option people would lose their homes. It is more difficult to build so it is more expensive. The journey time on the Rail Link would also be longer.

Surface Option C
The third option is a more easterly option, crossing Greenock Road on the east of the Park, then carrying on through Murray Street industrial estate. This route would have a significant impact on Greenock Road and would mean demolishing people's homes. The angle of this route also limits where the station can be positioned at the airport.

Surface Option D - the preferred route
This route runs through the Murray Street industrial area before crossing the A726, going though the centre of the St James Park, before bridging the M8 at its lowest point, just beyond the corner of the playing fields. This option has the least impact on people's homes. It is cost effective. It is more straightforward to build so there is less likelihood of costs ballooning. The angle of the route allows more flexibility on where to site the airport station.