Clyde Metro
A council-led Clyde Metro Team is supporting the development of the mass transit scheme following its emergence as a key recommendation from Transport Scotland's second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). Published in December 2022, STPR2 outlines the Scottish Government's transport investment priorities for the next 20 years (2022-2042).
The council team was initially set-up following a Connectivity Commission recommendation that a metro proposal should be progressed. Glasgow City Region Cabinet paused the City Deal funded Airport Access Project and tasked the team with developing a Feasibility Study on a wider regional metro opportunity.
The team, which played a key role in Clyde Metro's inclusion in STPR2, has focused on the transit plan's transformative potential and has now transitioned into the wider project delivery team alongside partner organisations, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) and Transport Scotland.
Clyde Metro is:
- A fully integrated mass transit public transport system which could include a variety of modes.
- A multi-billion pound long-term investment programme.
- Will be transformational in nature - more than just a transport project.
- Will support regeneration and investment across the West of Scotland.
- Will help tackle social exclusion by improving access to healthcare, education and employment opportunities, especially for those in underserved areas.
- Will support people living in low car ownership areas and where dependency on public transport is higher.
- Will provide high-quality public transport links to key hubs and unserved or underserved areas.
- Will encourage fewer car journeys, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and freeing up rail capacity for longer-distance journeys.
- Is a combination of infrastructure / services and complementary measures.
- Is regional in scale, extent, and impact.
Clyde Metro is also included in the statutory National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) which is the Scottish Government's long-term spatial strategy for Scotland. Clyde Metro is one of eighteen identified developments considered to be of national importance that will help deliver the strategy.
The mass transit project also forms a key part of various regional and local strategies, including SPT's statutory Regional Transport Strategy and the council's Transport Strategy, both of which provide a strategic alignment and strong basis for delivering Clyde Metro.
Clyde Metro is a huge project. Consequently, several workstreams need to be developed and approved to demonstrate the need and value of delivering a project of this scale.
In November 2023 it was announced that SPT would act as the lead partner for development of the Case for Investment (CFI) for Clyde Metro.
The CFI will set out the Programme Level Business Case and arrangements for initial delivery phases. It will also incorporate assessments of how to improve sustainable transport access to Glasgow Airport and other key transport hubs.
The council, acting as a representative for Glasgow City Region, is supporting SPT to deliver the CFI - focusing on the wider transformational programme opportunities, whilst Transport Scotland is acting in a project assurance role.
With the scope of the Glasgow Airport Access Project now incorporated within a wider metro opportunity, approved City Deal business case funds of £12.155m have been reallocated to support development of the CFI. You can read more about this in an update report that was presented to our Economy & Transport Committee in March 2024.
Work on the CFI is being taken forward in two key stages. When complete (by early-2027) Clyde Metro can be progressed onto future stages. Tasks would include detailed appraisal, engineering design, making the financial case for funding and ultimately the delivery of future lines or routes.
For more information and updates on the scope and progress of the CFI process, you can visit SPT's Clyde Metro microsite.
Clyde Metro Updates:
- Clyde Metro: Progress Update to SPT's Partnership (14 March 2025)
- Clyde Metro: Update to SPT's Partnership (13 December 2024)
- Clyde Metro: Progress Update to Glasgow City Region Cabinet (5 November 2024)
- Clyde Metro: Update to Economy, Housing, Transport and Regeneration Committee (5 March 2024)
- Clyde Metro: Update to SPT's Strategy and Programmes Committee (8 Novemver 2023)
- Clyde Metro: Update to Economy, Housing, Transport and Regeneration Committee (7 March 2023)
- Metro Feasibility Study: Update to ESCR Committee (1 Feb 2022)
- Metro Feasibility Study: Update to Glasgow City Region Cabinet (6 April 2021)
- Metro Feasibility Study: Update to Glasgow City Region Cabinet (6 October 2020)
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