Photo by maanskyn
I'm old enough to remember being dragged along to George Square in the late 1970s to have a look at the new subway car. SPT had put a single carriage on display there, in order to wow the Glaswegian throngs at how modern the "new" subway was going to be.
And wowed we were. I recall my dad wondering how the plants would stay upright on a shoogly train. You don't remember there being plants on the underground carriages? That's cos there weren't - they were just there to spruce up the display train cos otherwise it would be half a million people looking at a row of seats!
Oh, and how everyone (including strangers) laughed when it was pointed out to dad he was trying out the seat designated for the elderly and infirm. You don't see the word "infirm" being used much anymore, do you?
Apart from a wee paint job here and there, the Glasgow Subway - incidentally, it has NEVER been called the "Clockwork Orange" by any Glaswegian despite what journalists continue to write - has hardly been touched. Until now.
The Scottish Government have announced plans to act as guarantors as SPT modernise the subway. Smartcards are to be introduced, disabled access - or should that be infirm access? - will be enhanced, and the trains are to become driverless with signalling enhancements.
I've been saying for years that the government missed a trick when they introduced travel entitlement cards a couple of years ago. With a bit of extra money they could have become smartcards for everyone in the country, being used on all public transport throughout Scotland. As it is, I hope they extend the Subway smartcards to Glasgow's buses and the local Scotrail trains.
But joined-up thinking isn't exactly a bureaucrat's strong point.
This story also gives me an excuse to show this video again, as a student tries to beat the subway train between Buchanan Street and St Enoch:
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