Channel Tunnel engineers unveil plans for high-speed monorail to Glasgow Airport

[MarkyT]

Could a Glasgow local explain why just building a modern subway/metro would be so difficult there? As much as I love the history and years of service of the subway,its an historical relic that unless rebored to take conventional/accessable stock is a non-starter.

The subway to be fully modernised soon with new trains and signalling. Platform to train interface is level I think but I don't know the extent of lift provision to street level.

If I understand it correctly, the main problem with the Sydney monorail was that it operated as a single loop in one direction only so a 'wrong way' trip took much longer than necessary. That design also made it harder to extend the system, much like it's proving difficult to extend the Glasgow subway.

The one possible 'easy' extension would be a westerly one via the Broomloan depot access ramps. A branch or network of branches to QE hospital, Renfrew and the airport might be possible alongside the Paisley lines and freight sidings branching therefrom, and trains could make a clockwise loop on the outer circle through the city centre without any track changes on the existing network at all. Heavy rail interchange would be available at Partick, Buchanan St / Queen St, St Enoch / Central and Cardonald.

The big question is could the extra trains and passengers be accommodated on the outer circle? I've no idea as to how close to maximum capacity the subway is.

 

[talltim]

Reading the thread title I had visions of a very long tunnel the length of England (and a bit of Scotland)...

 

[gsnedders]

The big question is could the extra trains and passengers be accommodated on the outer circle? I've no idea as to how close to maximum capacity the subway is.

Currently at peak it operates near capacity (signal blocks are station-to-station). Given it's moving to absolute block signalling, AIUI, that should alleviate some of that.

 

[59CosG95]

In other news, the ring came off my pudding can!

 

[miami]

In other news, the ring came off my pudding can!

Already done, post 1 and 2

Reading the thread title I had visions of a very long tunnel the length of England (and a bit of Scotland)...

Yes, I had pictures of a maglev monorail from Ebbsfleet up the central reservation of the M25/M1/M6/M74.

Alas not to be.

Monorails do seem to be on the decline, at least in the West - Seatle's is in a sorry state, Sydney's was completely removed.

Daegu, Mumbai and Chongqing do enact some hope in the wider world though, and some cities you don't even notice you're on a monorail (I've been on the ones in KL and Singapore without even realising it)

 

[MarkyT]

Currently at peak it operates near capacity (signal blocks are station-to-station). Given it's moving to absolute block signalling, AIUI, that should alleviate some of that.

A CBTC (communications based train control) solution from Ansaldo STS (A Hitachi Company) with full UTO (unattended train operation) proposed.

https://youtu.be/oz0XAWAMTlQ

For the Glasgow project, Ansaldo are working in consortium with Stadler who will build the new trains.

http://www.stadlerrail.com/en/meta/...r-wins-first-contract-supply-trains-unattend/

 

[asylumxl]

While we are talking about schemes that are unlikely to happen, I propose a loop to Glasgow Airport on a future high speed Edinburgh-Glasgow line [emoji38] .

 

[clc]

While we are talking about schemes that are unlikely to happen, I propose a loop to Glasgow Airport on a future high speed Edinburgh-Glasgow line [emoji38] .

Perhaps more feasible is a link from the HSR line to Edinburgh Airport (well, the Gateway station). Such a link would form part of the intercity network and speed up Glasgow to Dundee/Aberdeen journeys.

 

[mark-h]

While we are talking about schemes that are unlikely to happen, I propose a loop to Glasgow Airport on a future high speed Edinburgh-Glasgow line [emoji38] .

By then the new central Scotland airport will have opened