Edinburgh Trams and Glasgow Subway to share £4m funding

A £4m funding boost for Edinburgh Trams and the Glasgow Subway has been announced by Transport Scotland.

The money will be shared between the two systems to help deal with measures put in place as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It comes after a similar £9m package announced in July expired at the end of last month.

The most recent support will be available until the end of the year.

Transport secretary Michael Matheson said: “The Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams continue to provide key connections within our two biggest cities.

“The services provide essential capacity and link with bus, rail and park and ride facilities.

“Over the six-month period from July we will now have provided up to £13m of financial support to operators to enable services to continue.

“Any restrictions on these services could have placed unsustainable demands on other modes, especially bus, and so this funding will assist capacity across all public transport.”

The package was secured after talks between Transport Scotland, the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) – which runs the Subway network – and Transport for Edinburgh.

Matheson thanked those working in the light rail sector during the pandemic, adding: “These services have allowed our key workers and others who needed to travel for essential journeys to do so during very challenging circumstances.

“The Subway and trams will help our wider society and economy recover as we go through the next phases of this pandemic.”

“We will continue to monitor the demand, capacity and costs of support across all transport modes.”

Edinburgh Trams chairman Martin Dean said: “The additional funding being offered from Transport Scotland is welcome news, especially as we navigate the challenges of fresh restrictions in the area.

“The ongoing financial support allows us to continue to operate our services for anyone who relies on the city’s tramway to make essential journeys.

“We are grateful to Transport for Edinburgh for leading on these negotiations on behalf of our organisation.”

Last week, SPT chairman Martin Bartos wrote to Matheson calling for an increase in funding for the partnership.

He said: “People are the lifeblood of Scotland’s largest city and the Subway is a vital part of its circulation.

“The underground system continues to support key workers, those who cannot work from home and people on essential journeys in getting around the city in a safe and efficient way.

“We know from our data that during this pandemic we are particularly serving journeys to/from Govan station – the nearest link to Scotland’s largest hospital.

“Without an increase in Scottish Government support for the Subway, there could be long-term knock-on implications for all SPT services.”