Glasgow Subway Discussion

[reb0118]

Next time you're going to do the Subway, bring a few mates and do a 'Sub Crawl.'

Sounds good.

 

[Strathclyder]

The rebar for one of the new canopies at St. Enoch has appeared:

 

[Taunton]

The rebar for one of the new canopies at St. Enoch has appeared:

Good to see some work taking place on the station surface buildings.

Back in the 1970s I worked for a year in the architect's office in Glasgow which did the redesign/rebuilding of the bulk of the stations. They were all effectively done by one guy, who had a draughtswoman (unusual then) as an assistant. I have to say, looking at the buildings nowadays I really do regard them as the nadir of architectural design, dull and dark, and just plain brick boxes with few windows etc. The old ones had got very dilapidated but they had character, a surprising number of entrances were effectively the ground floor flat in a tenement building (like Cessnock remains), and at more than one of them all the rest of the tenement building all around had been demolished and just the ground floor bit for the Subway entrance remained, with a temporary roof. Given the fares at the time, which were something like 8p, 10p or 12p dependent on distance, with booking offices, ticket collection, etc, I had this idea of doing away with them completely and just having a turnstile you put a 10p coin into. No, not accepted.

 

[Strathclyder]

^^ Ibrox has already had work done on it's surface building:

Not the prettiest refurbishment in the world....

 

[Strathclyder]

Glasgow Subway reopens after man fell under train

The Glasgow Subway network reopens after services were suspended when a man fell under a train at Bridge Street station.

The incident happened at about 17:30. British Transport Police, the fire and rescue service and two ambulances were at the scene.

The subway is operated by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport.

The man has been taken to the Southern General Hospital but his condition is not known.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-29888976
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

One of St. Enoch's new canopies is in place.

Taken yesterday:

 

[Strathclyder]

Bump....

Two bidders are apparently in the running for the contract to provide the new driverless trains:

A DRAMATIC view of *Scotland’s only underground railway awaits passengers aboard new driverless trains on the Glasgow Subway – popularly known as the “Clockwork *Orange”.

The new fleet is about to be ordered as part of the service’s biggest upgrade for 35 years.

Without drivers’ cabs, passengers will be able to see along the tunnel at both ends of the new trains.

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is in the final stages of its five-year quest for a new fleet as part of the £300 million overhaul.

Two shortlisted groups are competing for a contract worth about £200m to build the trains and automated signalling, with a decision due in the next few months. The trains, which will have wi-fi, are expected to run by 2020 – the year before the Subway’s 125th birthday.

Both of the bidders have supplied driverless trains to other metros which have passenger seating and windows at either end.

However, they will have to provide a unique version for Glasgow, because the six-mile circular system’s gauge – the distance between the rails – is 20cm narrower than standard. It was set by rail firms who built the world’s third oldest subway (after London and Budapest) to stop rivals running their trains on it.

Italian firm Ansaldo, which built driverless trains for the Copenhagen metro, is understood to have teamed up with Swiss company Stadler Rail for the Subway work. UK engineering giant Babcock has confirmed its involvement.

Its rivals are believed to be Spain’s CAF, which built Edin*burgh’s trams, and France’s Thales, which helped construct the driverless SkyTrain network in Vancouver.

A transport expert said windows at each end of trains were popular with passengers on the driverless Docklands Light Railway (DLR) in London. Simon Johnston, editor of Tramways & Urban Transit magazine, said: “To be able to sit and look out at the front and back makes for a more dramatic journey.

“On the DLR, these seats are the ones which are always occupied first.”

SPT has not decided whether to have train staff on board, for instance, to assist passengers in emergencies.

Mr Johnston said: “There’s rarely no staff on trains – most *systems tend to have someone on board.”

SPT proposed the upgrade in 2010 to make the ageing system more reliable and enable trains to run more frequently than every four minutes. Trains on some systems built by the bidders can run one and a half minutes apart.

To increase safety, screens will be built along platforms, as they are on some London Underground lines. These open only when a train has stopped.

The Subway’s 15 stations, which handle 13 million passengers a year, are already in the process of being overhauled.

An SPT spokeswoman said: “We are progressing with two bidders through the final stages of the procurement of new bespoke trains, automated signalling, control room and associated system improvements, such as platform screen doors.

“We will provide a recommendation on the award of the contract – and commencement of delivery – to our partnership board later this year.”

The bidding firms declined to comment.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/driverless-cabs-plan-for-glasgow-subway-1-3676761

 

[tranzitjim]

Will there be any extra items placed to enable expansion of the network later?

What is the mood in respect to the other eastern circle they want to do?