Glasgow Subway rolling stock

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Glasgow Subway rolling stock
Glasgow Subway Stadler unit at West Street 160624 (53794657782).jpg
A third-generation Glasgow Subway Stadler unit at West Street
Glasgow-Subway-Inside-Stadler-P1790177.jpg
Interior of third generation Glasgow Subway train
In service11 December 2023–present
Manufacturer Stadler Rail
AssemblyStadler Altenrhein AG
Built at Altenrhein, Switzerland
Family name METRO
Entered service2023–2024
Number built17
Number in service16
Formation4 car
Fleet numbers301–317
Operators SPT
DepotsBroomloan Depot
Lines served Glasgow Subway
Specifications
Train length39.51 m (129 ft 7+12 in)
Width2,309 mm (7 ft 6+78 in)
Height2,642 mm (8 ft 8 in)
Floor height695 mm (2 ft 3+13 in)
Doors12 per set (6 per side)
Wheel diameter540 mm (1 ft 9+14 in)
Wheelbase 1,650 mm (5 ft 5 in)
Maximum speed58 km/h (36 mph)
Electric system(s) 600 V DC   third rail
Current collector(s) Contact shoe
UIC classification Bo'Bo'+2'+2'+Bo'Bo'
Track gauge 4 ft (1,219 mm) narrow gauge
Notes/references
[1]

The Glasgow Subway rolling stock serves the Glasgow Subway, the third-oldest underground metro system in the world. The Subway is currently on the third generation of rolling stock, which entered service on 11 December 2023. [2] [3] [4] [5] Unlike other Metro systems in the United Kingdom, the Subway has a running gauge of 1,220 mm (approximately 4 ft). [6] [7]

Contents

First generation (1896–1977)

The first rolling stock was largely built in 1896, [8] 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 This rolling stock was converted from cable to electric traction in 1935 and finally withdrawn from service in 1977 upon the closure of the railway for modernisation. [9] [10] [11]

Second generation (1980–2024)

The first 33 cars of the next generation of rolling stock were built by Metro-Cammell, Washwood Heath between 1977 and 1979. [12] [13] Eight additional trailer cars were built in 1992. [10] The rolling stock entered service when the subway re-opened after modernisation work on 16 April 1980. [11] The original 33 were refurbished by ABB at Derby Litchurch Lane Works between 1993 and 1995. [14]

Livery

Originally after the 1977–1980 modernisation the trains carried a light orange livery with a white stripe and stylised 'Trans-Clyde' branding. [15] However, all the rolling stock were soon painted in a darker orange or 'Strathclyde red'., [16] 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'. [17] [18] 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. [16] [19]

Some trains carried special liveries for advertising. These were normally found on the middle carriage of a train. These carriages were normally vinyl-wrapped in the design for the advert intended and were then temporarily used for the period of sponsorship, then these wraps could be easily removed and the subway carriage could return to its orange livery. [18]

Withdrawal

Video: Cars 106, 207 and 120 depart Govan after the final passenger service of second-generation stock in June 2024

Car 122 was withdrawn in October 2015 and stripped of usable equipment in order to provide spare parts for the remaining fleet, being scrapped soon after. [20]

Following the introduction of the Third Generation rolling stock in December 2023 full withdrawal of the fleet commenced with cars 115, 127 and 131. All three cars had been out of service awaiting repairs for some time before being officially withdrawn. [21] As withdrawal continued, scrapping of the cars commenced in April 2024. [22]

Upon withdrawal car 128 was preserved by Glasgow's Riverside Museum, owners of three First Generation subway cars. 128 was moved on display during June 2024. [23]

The final day of operation for the second generation stock was June 28 2024 with cars 106, 207 and 120 performing the final service for inner, And 119, 203 and 103 performing the last for outer operated by the type. [24] In July 2024, SPT announced that old Subway carriages would be given away to charities or sold off for £5,000, potentially to be re-used as glamping pods or other buildings. Any remaining units after August 2024 would then be scrapped. [25] In November 2024, it was announced that a substantial number of second generation cars have been salvaged although some cars were already scrapped. [26]

Fleet List

Key:ScrappedPreserved/Further use
Fleet numberNotes

Sourced from [27] except where noted.

101Scrapped during 2024
102Scrapped during 2024
103Scrapped during 2024
104Scrapped during 2024
105Stored, Springburn Works
106Stored, Springburn Works
107Purchased by social media celebrity Francis Bourgeois, Northumbria Rail, Northumberland
108Scrapped during 2024
109Scrapped during 2024
110Stored, Springburn Works
111Stored, Springburn Works
112Stored, RSS Wishaw
113Scrapped during 2024
114Scrapped during 2024
115Scrapped during 2024
116Scrapped during 2024
117Beatroute Arts community centre, Glasgow. The last second generation vehicle to be removed from the Subway infrastructure.
118Stored, Springburn Works
119Scrapped during 2024
120Hutchesons Grammar School, Glasgow
121Stored, Springburn Works
122Scrapped during 2017
123Scrapped during 2024
124Ivy in the park, Glasgow. Planned to be used as an outdoor classroom.
125Stored, Springburn Works
126Privately owned, Cambridgeshire
127Scrapped during 2024
128Riverside Musuem, Glasgow
129Privately owned. Northumbria Rail, Northumberland
130Stored, Springburn Works
131Scrapped during 2024
132Scrapped during 2024
133Stored, Springburn Works
201Scrapped during 2024
202Stored, Springburn Works
203Scrapped during 2024
204Stored, Springburn Works
205Scrapped during 2024
206Stored, Springburn Works
207Stored, Springburn Works
208Scrapped during 2024

Third generation (2023–)

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) unveiled a £280 million contract with Stadler and Ansaldo STS in 2016 for modernisation of the Subway, including new rolling stock and signalling. [2] [3] [28] [29] Trains were initially expected to enter service in 2020. [4] [5]

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. [28] [29] The new trains are the same length and size as the current trains, but are made up of four carriages rather than the previous three. [28] [29]

The new trains were first shown to the public at InnoTrans in Berlin in September 2018. [28] [29] [30] The first was delivered in May 2019. [31] First testing on the subway took place on 5 December 2021, [32] which involved a test run to Govan Station and recovery by a depot locomotive due to struggles to fit the rolling stock in the existing infrastructure. [32] The trains entered service on 11 December 2023, [33] initially running on weekday afternoons only. The trains entered full service in June 2024 previously running alongside the prior generation. The third generation are now the only rolling stock on the network since the withdrawal of the second generation on 28 June 2024. [34]

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