Question reference: S6W-03559
- Asked by: Paul Sweeney, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
- Date lodged: 6 October 2021
-
Current status: Answered by Graeme Dey on 2 November 2021
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the debate on motion S6M-01293 (A Net Zero Nation) on 21 September 2021, whether it will provide a substantive response to the comments raised regarding for what reason no new railway lines have been constructed in Glasgow in the last 15 years.
Answer
Glasgow already benefits from an extensive rail network. With a total of 155 stations in the Glasgow City Region it is the busiest suburban rail network in Britain outside London. Therefore the focus of investment has very properly been on the development of that network, which has benefited from substantial improvements as part of the more than £9bn invested in rail infrastructure in Scotland since 2007.
These investments have included extensive electrification of routes into Glasgow and substantial new, emission free train fleets serving those routes. Glasgow Queen Street has been rebuilt and transformed, Glasgow Central capacity has benefited from an additional platform, and in 2019, a new station opened at Robroyston to provide local residents with a sustainable travel option.
Further rail enhancements, in Glasgow and more widely across the country, are planned as part of the Decarbonisation Action Plan ( Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan (transport.gov.scot) ) with our future transport investment decisions directed by the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). That review will conclude this winter, with publication of recommendations for investment and will be followed by the appropriate statutory consultation period.