I NOTE that the mooted Glasgow Airport rail/tram airport link has come in for renewed criticism (“Airport rail link would be poor use of public money”, November 18), although Transport Minister Humza Yousaf remains in favour of a scheme (“Airport link could still go ahead, claims upbeat Yousaf”, The Herald, November 200). The proposal for the rail link was from the outset trite, expensive and doomed. It was typically unimaginative, unambitious and needs a total rethink. Strangely, the exciting monorail proposal has not been mentioned.
In 2016 you revealed that engineer brothers Jim and John Beckett had proposed a monorail link to the airport. This appeared to be very well worth considering to anyone wanting to see Glasgow establish something noteworthy and original. Monorail is a well-tried concept in many countries and would certainly add to Glasgow’s reputation, attraction and efficiency, tarnished a long time ago by the regrettable scrapping of our world-famous 126-mile tram network, just when trams were gaining in popularity elsewhere.
The brothers’ proposal envisaged that the monorail, in addition to serving the airport efficiently, would stop at Renfrew, Braehead, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Riverside Museum and the SECC before terminating at Glasgow Central station. All these stopping points would serve considerably more of the general public, commuters and tourists than Paisley Gilmour Street.
To go ahead with the airport rail link would be a pro rata equivalent in cost and lack of imagination to the HS2 project at a critical time when innovative new rail systems are coming on stream with far greater potential for fast transport. You reported recently that Richard Branson is working on a Hyperloop with a projected London to Scotland times of 45 minutes and also an Edinburgh University team is shortlisted for a near-supersonic train with projected time of Edinburgh to London in 35 minutes. Neither of these systems is unheard of or unworkable.
Perhaps here Scotland can show a lead. Monorail would demonstrate that Glasgow is a city of vision, planning for the future and not stuck in the 19th century.
Nigel Dewar Gibb,
15 Kirklee Road, Glasgow.
THE Glasgow Airport Access Project (Gaap) proposal has once again been raised with the publication of the Jacobs report.
In my opinion no financial or economic solutions have been presented which are even reasonably acceptable. Having had a long interest in the project I shudder at the already huge amounts of public monies which have been spent and wasted.
Is it time for a totally fresh approach to the problem with a completely different mindset? Routes previously suggested via the new Govan Hospital, Braehead and wherever after that could be considered and the final link to the airport provided thereafter in a phased financial programme.
I claim no technical expertise but do have an open mind on the project. I did suggest to the former Strathclyde Regional Council roads department and with the support of Malcolm Waugh in the late 1980s the route now known as the Glasgow Southern Orbital Route which I consider to have now become a huge success.
Ian S Hutchison,
39 Hazelwood Avenue,
Newton Mearns.
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