Glasgow Fastlink extension planned

Plans to extend the Fastlink bus project within Glasgow city centre have been agreed by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and Glasgow City Council. The £3.14m package of works was announced by the Minister for Transport and Islands, Derek MacKay, at the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) UK conference held in Glasgow recently.

This latest stage of the project is expected to deliver further journey time savings for Fastlink services and most other bus services operating in the city centre. It will see a simplification of the junction at Union Street and Argyle Street. With more than 180 buses per hour and tens of thousands passengers per day, Union Street is set to receive state of the art passengers facilities, real time information and widened footpaths along with upgraded street lighting. Consultation on the next stage of Fastlink, including planning and design will begin in January 2016 with works expected to be completed by 2017. The initial development of the Fastlink project, which is now running, incorporates enhanced bus priority and passenger facilities over an 8km route from Glasgow city centre through Govan to the Queen Elizabeth University (QEU) Hospital.

Derek MacKay said, ‘Any measure which makes public transport a more attractive option is to be commended and I welcome this opportunity to recognise the work completed on Fastlink to date as it moves into its next phase. This key project has come a long way and a great deal has been achieved, with even more to come. I look forward to the full benefits of the scheme being realised when the city centre elements of Fastlink are delivered in 2017, bringing additional benefits to passengers along the way.’