Glasgow Subway rolling stock | |
---|---|
In service | 1980–present |
Manufacturer | Metro-Cammell (Original Batch) Hunslet-Barclay TPL (Trailer Cars) |
Built at | Washwood Heath, Birmingham, England |
Constructed | 1977–1979 (Original Batch) 1992 (8 trailer cars) |
Entered service | 1980 |
Refurbished | 1993–1995 (power cars), 2007 (trailer cars), 2012 |
Number built | 41 cars |
Number in service | 36 cars |
Number scrapped | 1 car |
Formation | 3 car |
Fleet numbers | Power cars: 101–133 Trailer cars: 201–208 |
Capacity | 112 seats, 165 standing |
Operators | SPT |
Depots | Broomloan Depot |
Lines served | Glasgow Subway |
Specifications | |
Car length | 12.58 m (41 ft 3+1⁄4 in) |
Width | 2.34 m (7 ft 8+1⁄8 in) |
Height | 2.65 m (8 ft 8+3⁄8 in) |
Floor height | 695 mm (2 ft 3+1⁄3 in) |
Doors | 4 per car (2 per side) |
Wheel diameter | 688 mm (2 ft 3+1⁄8 in) |
Maximum speed | 54 km/h (34 mph) |
Weight | 20 tonnes (19.7 long tons; 22.0 short tons) per car |
Electric system(s) | 600 V DC third rail |
Current collector(s) | Contact shoe |
Track gauge | 4 ft (1,219 mm) narrow gauge |
The Glasgow Subway rolling stock serves the Glasgow Subway, the third-oldest underground metro system in the world. The Subway is currently on the second generation of rolling stock, with a third-generation which entered service on 11 December 2023.[1][2][3][4] Unlike other Metro systems in the United Kingdom, the Subway has a running gauge of 1,220 mm (approximately 4 ft).[5][6]
The first rolling stock was largely built in 1896,[7] with additional trailer carriages added over the following 17 years. This rolling stock was converted from cable to electric traction in 1935 and finally withdrawn from service in 1977 upon the closure of the railway for modernisation.[8][9][10]
The first 33 cars of the current rolling stock was built by Metro-Cammell, Washwood Heath between 1977 and 1979.[11][12] Eight additional trailer cars were built in 1992.[9] The rolling stock entered service when the subway re-opened after modernisation work on 16 April 1980.[10] The original 33 were refurbished by ABB at Derby Litchurch Lane Works between 1993 and 1995.[13]
Originally after the 1977–1980 modernisation the trains carried a light orange livery with a white stripe and stylised 'Trans-Clyde' branding.[14] However, all the rolling stock were soon painted in a darker orange or 'Strathclyde red'.,[15] with a black window surround. This livery was also used on SPTE buses and on suburban and commuter trains operated by ScotRail within the Strathclyde region. Various minor adjustments to the livery were made, including new SPT branding. The trains were given a totally new livery in 2006 when they were painted 'Cream & Carmine'.[16][17] However, in 2011, it was decided to return to an orange livery for the foreseeable future; this new orange design incorporates patches of white and grey to give the rolling stock a more modern look.[15][18]
Some trains carry special liveries for advertising. These are normally found on the middle carriage of a train. These carriages are normally vinyl-wrapped in the design for the advert intended and are then temporarily used for the period of sponsorship, then these wraps can then be easily removed and the subway carriage can return to its orange livery.[17]
Vehicle 122 was withdrawn in October 2015 and stripped of usable equipment in order to provide spare parts for the remaining fleet.[19] Following the introduction of the new rolling stock a decision was made not to repair three faulty vehicles, these being 115 (Last operated 27/03/2023), 127 (Last operated 18/06/2023) and 131 (Last Operated 04/08/2023)[20] with 131 in March 2024 being the first of the fleet to be scrapped [21]
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) unveiled a £280M contract with Stadler and Ansaldo STS in 2016 for modernisation of the Subway, including new rolling stock and signalling.[1][2][22][23] Trains were initially expected to enter service in 2020.[3][4]
Seventeen units were built by Stadler Rail at their factory in Altenrhein in eastern Switzerland. Trains feature the potential for driverless operation, an open-gangway design, space for wheelchairs, and compatibility with platform screen doors.[22][23] The new trains are the same length and size as the current trains, but are made up of 4 carriages rather than the previous 3.[22][23]
The new trains were first shown to the public at InnoTrans in Berlin in 2018.[22][23][24] The first was delivered in May 2019.[25] First testing on the subway took place on 5 December 2021[26] which involved a test run to Govan Station and recovery by a depot loco due to struggles to fit the rolling stock in the existing infrastructure.[26] The trains entered service on 11 December 2023,[27] initially running on weekday afternoons only. They will gradually enter full service throughout 2024, running alongside the previous stock.[28]