Airport News
Proposed Glasgow Airport rail link reaches end of the line
Mon, 21 Sep, 2009
Glasgow Airport's planned rail link has been scrapped by the Scottish Parliament as it looks to make budget cuts.
Finance secretary John Swinney said the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) had reluctantly decided to cancel the project in order to ensure the country's capital budget remained sustainable for future years.
The £395 million rail link formed part of the bid document that won Glasgow the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games but it is believed the city's host status will not be affected by the announcement.
Swinney told the Scottish Parliament that the move was a financial necessity.
"The Scottish Government's departmental expenditure – the money over which we have direct control – will reduce in real terms by 0.9 per cent compared with this year," he said.
The move will mean that the 1,000 jobs that were to be created by the project in Glasgow and the west of Scotland will now be lost.
With nearly nine million travellers passing through it each year, Glasgow Airport is Scotland's busiest terminal.