A ride on Glasgow’s new Subway trains

Thursday 18th January 2024

Sneaking into service just before Christmas with no first journey fanfare, ribbon cutting ceremony or any prior notice at all was the first of Glasgow Subway’s new Stadler built four coach trains.

The 17 trains were ordered by SPT way back in 2016 with the first being delivered in 2019 but their unique build with a bespoke construction necessary for the Subway’s unusual, narrower than the norm, four foot gauge and low height twisty curved tunnels has led to the need for extensive testing before entry into service has been possible.

This has been taking place and still continues during the night and before and after the Subway’s rather limited operating hours on Sundays (10:00-18:00).

Only two of the new trains are currently running in service on the Outer Circle and while I was in Glasgow on Tuesday I tracked them down and took a ride around the system to see what they offer compared to the Metro-Cammell three coach trains, running since 1980, they’re replacing.

Photo courtesy SPT

The new trains are capable of automatic operation and are part of a £288.7 million modernisation project for the 125 year old underground system which will also see half height platform doors introduced at stations in due course to facilitate driverless operation.

The four coaches have walk through interiors with all seats positioned longitudinally including space at either end in the front and rear coach for a wheelchair making them longer than the middle two coaches.

This is a very welcome development for the Subway but is somewhat academic for the foreseeable future as the Subway isn’t accessible with only two of the 15 stations (Govan and St Enoch) currently able to accommodate wheelchair users.

It’s also noteworthy the trains don’t feature Stadler’s protruding level boarding ‘step’ as on its trains purchased by Greater Anglia and Merseyrail.

Another omission is the lack of any interior audio visual displays announcing the next station. There are illuminated screens on the panels between the coaches with scrolling displays, including one showing the system’s network map.

I’m surprised this doesn’t track and identify the train’s location coupled with an audio announcement. Still, on the upside passengers are spared the See it; Say it; Sorted rigmarole.

There are two emergency contact units in each coach which I assume connect you to the control room.

A screen is currently blacked out giving privacy to the driver in the cab but the plan is to remove these to allow passengers to see out of the end of the train (DLR style) once the system moves to automatic operation and the cab is removed.

One oddity is a four second delay once the audible warning the train doors are about to open and them actually opening.

I’m sure this will be adjusted although it’s strange it hadn’t been spotted in the four years of testing. It adds up to a minute extra journey time on a circuit of the system.

White lights either sides of the doors flash while they’re closing.

The new trains are much brighter to travel in compared to the ones they’re replacing…

…. with each coach having a long bench seat for eight people …

… and a smaller end section after the doors at each end for two people…

… giving seating for 24. As mentioned above, the end coaches in addition to the foregoing, also have the wheelchair area which has two tip seats.

The smaller size than the UK standard four feet eight inches gauge is certainly noticeable on the Glasgow Subway particularly when the trains are busy where there’s not much room for standing passengers, although there are roof height grab rails to hold on to.

And there’s also an intention to display commercial advertising despite the restricted size.

The Subway’s multi million pound modernisation project also includes a new signalling system, new control centre and station upgrades including St Enoch and Hillhead which have already been completed.

While others with a central platform, which make even the Northern Line’s Clapham North or Clapham Common platform look spacious, have been given a bright makeover.

When you’re used to the London Underground, Overground or Elizabeth line it almost feels like you’re travelling on a toy railway but the new trains definitely make it feel like a modern and bright toy railway.

The new trains are a very welcome development for the Glasgow Subway. They’re fitted with air conditioning making that a first for deep level underground trains in the UK – as it will be if SPT progresses its plans for driverless operation and remove the cabs.

And the new moquette‘s very nice too.

Roger French

Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS and this Su will include a special extra blog: “LNER are taking us all for fools”

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36 thoughts on “A ride on Glasgow’s new Subway trains”

  1. Given the narrowness of the trains and platforms I doubt it would be safe to even allow wheelchair on them even if the stations were accessible

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    1. The busier stations were rebuilt in 1970s with two new separate platforms built at some (e.g. Govan, Partick). They have fencing as seen in Rogers second picture. Or one new platform with the existing island platform used for other direction (e.g. Ibrox and Hillhead). The later type now has glass screens on side not served and live rails have prominent lettering presumably as a safety measure to prevent people who had the inclination to jump across as a dare or just take a few minutes longer to get to their destination.

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  2. This is complete injustice to wheelchair users that cannot use the vast majority of stations. While the new trains are welcome, Wheelchair users have certainly not been at the forefront (or even near) of this whole redevelopment project. Glasgow needs to seriously rethink their approach to serving the disabled community. Sorry for my rant.

    Kartik J

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    2. So what do you suggest they can *realistically* do? Because if you want to go for the “wheelchair access or nothing” approach of some of the more militant campaigners, you’ll get nothing: it’ll be closed down.

      As someone who varies between being able to walk some distance unaided on my good days but having to use a wheelchair for everything on my bad days, I won’t thank you at all if that is the end result.

      It irritates me immensely when self-appointed loudmouths purport to speak for the entire disabled community so they can push their own agenda. Please don’t be one of them.

      A. Nony Mouse

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      1. I don’t intend to be a ‘self-appointed loudmouth’. I get it that rebuilding the whole line is impossible, but it would make sense if some of the pot of money was allocated to adding lifts to some stations (one or two) that don’t already have. I am definitely not a militant campaigner and if you would have read, I did say that I was just having a rant as it was annoying, but it doesn’t mean that I am unable to think practically and acknowledge the situation with the Glasgow Subway. Nobody wants it to shut down as that is unreasonable.

        Kartik J

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    3. Fair point regarding wheelchair users. However there is not enough space for wheelchair users on the actual train in question. These underground lines can not be widened easily that is why its does look like they have wheelchair space on the trains

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  3. Ahh, my beloved Clockwork Orange, always a pleasure to travel on. I look forward to travelling on the new trains on a system which is immaculately clean with no litter on trains. This is in no small part due to drivers doing walk round checks usually at Govan during two minute hesitation on 24 minute lap that enables 4. 6 or 8 minute headways

    I buy a Central Scotland Rover (valid all day till end of March) which is valid on the subway, you just go to friendly Booking Office staff who issue a free day ticket. All stations have visible staff and have to be manned due to regulations post Kings Cross.
    It totally underground but there is internet reception when trains stop at stations, preventing irritating use of phones.

    Despite its deminutive size the subway carries hordes of students to Hillhead and fans to Ibrox that will be able to make use of the wheelchair spaces. It’s a vital component of Strathclydes excellent easy to use rail system that I use.

    I don’t use Glasgows buses because there’s no map, no timetables, multiplicity of operators, no fares info at stops, pedestrianised streets and the final deterent a travelcard with 78 zones.

    The subway travel bliss for years to come , even when travelling with Rangers supporters who jump up and down in what’s called Bouncy, Bouncy.

    John Nicholas

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    1. I appear to have posted new thought in reply to your question. The system also has depot access from both directions in the form of a triangle since 1970s so turn round and don’t always go in the same direction another reason they need doors on both sides.

      John Nicholas

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      1. That may well be deliberate, to even out the wear on the wheels by turning the trains round.

        I know London Underground used to do this with their Circle Line trains (I don’t know if they still do). In the early evening, one train on the anti-clockwise circle was timetabled to run from Tower Hill to Whitechapel to reverse, then back to Hammersmith via the north side of the Circle. Over time, each train would do this working and thus be turned around.

        Malc M

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    2. Because on every single circuit, there’s one station that isn’t an island platform, so it needs both side doors.

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  5. You’re right about it feeling like a toy railway. That’s what it felt to me when I used it some years ago.

    I felt a bit the same when first using Queensland Rail’s trains in the Brisbane area which are narrow gauge.

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  6. “First deep level air conditioned trains in this country” Are there any other deep level trains in that country?! (love the blog, by thee way)

    Roger Patenall

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  7. In the 1970s when I was an Air Ticket Clerk for Thos Cook & Son Ltd I was entitled to free standby air trips within the UK. I used this privilege to visit Glasgow to ride the Subway there. On this excursion the Subway driver permitted me to ride with him for part of the journey. The old trains had two power sources: traction current from the live rail and the lighting came from strips along the sides of the tunnels.

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  8. They don’t make trains like they used to! When I visited the Glasgow Subway in the early 1970s, on an Omnibus Society Presidential Weekend, the original 1896 rolling stock was still in use. The trains had been converted to electric traction (from cable hauled) in the 1930s and were being kept running by using parts salvaged from the electric trams after the system closed in 1962. At the time of my visit, there was no connection between the outer circle and inner circle tracks nor any other tracks. The trains just followed each other round the circles from start of service to end of service each day and were left parked in a line overnight.

    For OS visit, we were taken in a fleet of new Leyland Atlanteans to Govan Cross Station for 2200 on a Friday night where we boarded the first train to come off service. This acted as our private train so we were able to take our time travelling round the circle, including stopping under the Clyde to show us the tight clearances. There was an opportunity to for a short ride on the “footplate” alongside the driver. At the end of our loop, we drew up behind all the other trains which were now parked up for the night. We then had to walk through all of them to exit through the front of the first train and down to track level before climbing up stairs to workshops above. Here we were given a demonstration of lifting one of the train cars up into the workshop from the tracks below using an overhead crane. This was the procedure that had to be used every time a car needed attention. All in all, it was a very interesting beginning to an excellent weekend of bus activities.

    Paul Dudfield

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    2. Thanks for recalling the detail of that night….only remembered the incredible lifting of the carriage up into the workshops, and I don’t think we got back to our hotels and in bed until about 0200. But much prefer travel on the “ghastly privatised buses” as Glasgow subway train too claustrophobic for my liking

      Terence Uden

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  9. It’s not the track gauge that makes the trains small but the loading gauge – I’m sure that there are 3′ or 3’6″ gauge railways that are bigger than our full-size trains, perhaps in the US or South Africa.

    Riding the old Subway was a delight. Passengers in the front carriage exited via the driver’s cab (I think the driver collected their tickets, too). Many carriages still had lattice gates and light bulbs rather than sliding doors and strip lights. Apart from there being windows, it was almost pure City & South London – a very shoogly! There were also little control cabins on the station headwalls with fearsome-looking (and open) knife switches to cut off the current. When the first Subway exhibit opened at the Kelvin Hall transport museum there were complaints: “Where’s the smell?”

    Andrew Kleissner

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  10. I love this system, such a shame that it never expanded to serve other parts of Glasgow. I guess this was partly because the Corporation had a huge tramway system and therefore didn’t think there was a need to expand the subway. With the benefit of hindsight Glasgow would be much better off today as even more people could ignore the ghastly privatised buses.

    Peter Brown

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    1. You’re correct about the historical extensive tramway system, but the greater Glasgow area has (I believe) the largest suburban railway in the UK outside of London with around 186 railway stations, the vast majority of which are on electrified lines (with more in progress towards no doubt 100% coverage). With many of these stations just a few minutes apart this is the “real” city metro, with the Subway playing a supporting role.

      I guess there are still some pockets of/around the city which could have benefited from a Subway expansion and perhaps the upcoming “Clyde Metro” will address some of that, albeit it’s early stages with no definite plans yet.

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      1. Thanks for that update. I did a Google search as not very familiar with the suburban rail network and found this map including the subway. Noting I couldn’t find anything so useful on SPT’s website.

        [OC] [Diagram] Greater Glasgow and Strathclyde commuter rail network
        byu/roadierunway12 inTransitDiagrams

        My next question is, is the suburban rail network branded as a cohesive system (say like Merseyrail), or is it just Scotrail?

        Perhaps SPT should be running it, allocating line names, letters, or numbers and thus creating a Strathclyde Metro.

        Peter Brown

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        1. The glasgow area suburban rail used to be branded up as SPT- originally in “Strathclyde Red” (a colour any normal person would describe as “orange”), and latterly in cream & maroon. The services were run by ScotRail (under British Rail, then private operators) but funded and specified by SPT. However when the Scottish Government took over the responsibility for branding the ScotRail operation the SPT area services were included in the new branding.

          Al

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  14. Mum took me on the auld shoogle for the first time around 1959, I was just a wee boy but loved the smell,noise and whole experience. My next shot on board was in 2022. Sixty plus years later. What a joy, reminded me of good times I had with my mum and as a schoolboy in Glasgow. I attended Kent Road School, which is long since gone. Great memories.

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  15. Would be go if you could do the West Berkshire Council Transport Services DRT and upload it before February but obviously you won’t 🙄

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  16. Thank you Roger for not being tempted to use the ‘Clockwork Orange’ supposed nickname. Nobody in Glasgow other than tourists, guidebooks and tabloid papers ever calls their Subway this… CRINGE!

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    1. True. Clockwork Orange is toe curling and so outdated. With grey the prime colour of the new trains perhaps the term will be dropped for good…..and not before time.
      ,

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