4 January 2006

SPT Announces Glasgow Airport Rail Link Bill Submission Date

SPT - the organisation promoting the Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) - will submit its Private Bill promoting the building of a rail link between Glasgow Central and Glasgow Airport to the Scottish Parliament next week.

The Bill will be submitted to the Private Bills Unit (PBU) of the Scottish Parliament on Monday 9 January. Once the PBU satisfied that the Bill is ready to proceed, it will be "introduced" to Parliament.

SPT Chair, Cllr Alistair Watson said; "This is a great start to the New Year and we are delighted that this major transport project for the west of Scotland is taking a significant step closer to becoming reality.

"SPT continues to play an important role in delivering strategic projects that expand rail infrastructure in Strathclyde, supporting one of the Scottish Executive's key transport policies. We are confident that we have produced a proposal that will deliver real economic, environmental and transport benefits to people living in the region.

"Over the past year and a half we have been working closely with a variety of groups, ranging from representatives of local leagues that play football on St James Playing Fields to local residents in Paisley. Through talking with these groups, and others, we have learned a lot about their concerns and this has been very helpful in drafting the Bill that will be submitted to Parliament next week.

"Renfrewshire Council's support for the airport rail link is welcome news and we will continue to liaise closely with all groups throughout the Parliamentary process and beyond."

Following the introduction of the Private Bill to the Scottish Parliament, an official objection period will begin and objectors will have 60 days to register their concerns.

The proposal is to upgrade 9km (5.4 miles) of existing track between Shields Junction and Paisley Gilmour Street station and to lay 1.9km (1.2miles) of new track between Paisley St James station and Glasgow Airport. The new track will cross St James Park and the M8. The upgrade of the Shields Junction to Paisley Gilmour Street section will also enable more services to be developed for the Ayrshire and Inverclyde routes.

SPT's formal public consultation into the Glasgow Airport Rail Link ran from 1 November 2004 to 28 February 2005 - there was a total of 1638 formal responses. In addition, 284 people attended public meetings and focus groups and 917 people visited the exhibition stands at various locations in Glasgow and Renfrewshire.

The consultation has seen more that 20,000 information leaflets distributed to homes and businesses along the route of the proposed link. A further 15,000 leaflets were distributed on local train services. A series of public exhibitions and meetings have been held and a website has also been created.

The consultation continues. SPT will be talking to businesses, local people and other affected groups throughout the passage of the Bill in Parliament, in the lead up and throughout the construction period and afterwards. Liaison groups and forums will be set up to allow community groups and individuals to speak to SPT and the contractors.

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

The Department for Transport estimates that passenger numbers at Glasgow Airport are predicted to almost double, from 8.2million a year in 2003, to over 15 million passengers a year in 2030. Airport owner, BAA Scotland's latest forecasts are even higher and indicate that passenger numbers could rise as high as 24 million by 2030. At present, 95% of these passengers travelling to Glasgow Airport do so by road.

The rail link will provide more travel choice for airport users and establish a sustainable transport link Glasgow Airport, which is a major employer and one of the biggest wealth generators in the region. It will increase the rail opportunities for travellers using Paisley Gilmour Street station. The link will also benefit the tourist industry. According to Roger Tym & Partners, Glasgow Airport Rail Link could help bring 52,500 additional UK and overseas visitors and contribute towards £10m in additional visitor expenditure every year to Glasgow, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde. In addition, the link would support the Glasgow City region's conference sector business, worth an estimated £115m annually.

Once the bill is introduced, it will be available to view on the Scottish Parliament's website.

SPT is not responsible for the content of external sites.

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