The Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) is a proposed rail link which will link Glasgow Central station to Glasgow International Airport. The link is due for completion in late 2008, early 2009 and will see 4 trains an hour operate between the two stations via Paisley Gilmour Street railway station. The Heilanmans Umbrella Inside Glasgow Central, looking south east across the main concourse Inside Glasgow Central, looking north east across the main concourse Glasgow Central Station is the larger of the two main-line railway stations in Glasgow, Scotland. ... Glasgow International Airport (IATA: GLA, ICAO: EGPF), located 8 miles (13 km) west of Glasgow, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew, is the largest international airport in Scotland, and fifth largest in the UK in terms of annual passenger throughput. ... 2008 (MMVIII) will be a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2009 (MMIX) will be a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Paisley Gilmour Street railway station is located in the centre of the town of Paisley, Scotland. ...

The Route

GARL will run from the reconstructed Platform 11a at Glasgow Central on the Ayrshire Coast Line & Inverclyde line via Cardonald, Hillington East and Hillington West to Paisley Gilmour Street railway station. There, the line will separate from the Ayrshire Coast Line and run past Paisley St James railway station before branching-off the Inverclyde line onto a new purpose-built route which will see the line pass over the M8 Motorway into the airport station which will be situated close to the Main Terminal Building at Glasgow International Airport. The Ayrshire Coast Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network. ... Inverclyde (Inbhir Chluaidh in Gaelic) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. ... Cardonald is a suburb of the Scottish city of Glasgow. ... M8 refers to: Messier 8, the Lagoon Nebula, a diffuse nebula and a messier object in the Sagittarius constellation. ... Motorway mark in Europe. ...

Construction of the link

Construction of the rail link is expected to start once the Scottish Parliament gives the go-ahead for the link. The consultation process within the Scottish Parliament should end before the end of 2006 and the link is expected to receive the backing of Members of the Scottish Parliament. For the link to thrive, a reconstruction of Glasgow Central needs to take place. This will see the existing Platform 11a, which is currently only occupied at peak-times, be lengthened into the main train-shed at Central. The new Platform 11a will run parallel to where Platform 11 is today meaning that the current in-station parking facilities will have to be moved (these are the current plans for Glasgow Central as stated in the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) document presented to the Scottish Parliament). For the national legislative body up to 1707, see Parliament of Scotland. ... Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) (Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba (BPA) in Gaelic) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. ... A Class 156 train in SPT livery at Glasgow Central station The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is a public body which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating regional transport, and especially the public transport system, in the Strathclyde area of western Scotland. ...

The Ayrshire and Inverclyde lines are very busy with Passenger and freight traffic. GARL would only add to this congestion, but to alleviate any problems a third track will be installed between Shields Junction (the main depot for trains running on the SPT network) and Arkleston Junction, North of Paisley. Ayrshire (Siorrachd Inbhir Àir in Scottish Gaelic) was a county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. ... Paisley is: the name of several towns, including Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland (the original Paisley) Paisley, Florida, United States Paisley, Oregon, United States the name of a textile pattern or motif, often referred to as Paisley (design). ...

The most controversial proposal in the scheme is to build the line through playing fields in the Paisley St. James area and into Glasgow International Airport. After much discussion, SPT have assured local residents that once the line is built, the playing fields will be returned to original use, with even better facilities such as under-soil drainage and new changing rooms. Using a one-piece bridge design, GARL will cross the M8 and into the Airport. This type of bridge is being used to cause minimal disruption to traffic during the construction process.

Rolling Stock

First ScotRail currently uses British Rail Class 334 and British Rail Class 318 EMU trains on the Ayrshire and Inverclyde lines. In the proposals drawn up by SPT now Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, British Rail Class 334 units are shown to work the route. However, speculation surrounds actual rolling stock plans for GARL with the likelihood of First ScotRail using 4-car EMUs rather than the traditional 3-car of the 318 or 334 units. First ScotRail currently uses 4-car Class 322 units on its Glasgow Central/Edinburgh Waverley railway station to North Berwick service. First ScotRail is the brand under which First Group PLC runs its railway franchise to operate all domestic passenger services within Scotland, as well as the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London, England. ... Class 334s 334016 and 334010 at Gourock on 28 May 2006. ... The British Rail Class 318 is an electric multiple unit train, which operates exclusively in the SPT network in West Central Scotland. ... A Class 156 train in SPT livery at Glasgow Central station The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is a public body which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating regional transport, and especially the public transport system, in the Strathclyde area of western Scotland. ... Speculation involves the buying, holding, and selling of stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, collectibles, real estate, derivatives or any valuable financial instrument to profit from fluctuations in its price as opposed to buying it for use or for income via methods such as dividends or interest. ... First ScotRail is the brand under which First Group PLC runs its railway franchise to operate all domestic passenger services within Scotland, as well as the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London, England. ... Class 322, no. ... Waverley Station, from the Scott Monument. ... North Berwick is a small Scottish seaside town in East Lothian, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, about 25 miles east of Edinburgh. ...

External Links

• GARL Committee at the Scottish Parliament