page_title: Glasgow Subway
section_title: Modernisation (1977–1980)
hierarchical_section_title: Glasgow Subway / History / Modernisation (1977–1980)
caption_attribution_description: English: Partick subway station Español: Estación de metro de Partick, Glasgow, Escocia Norsk bokmål: Partick undergrunnsstasjon
context_page_description: The Glasgow Subway is an underground medium-capacity rail system line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. It is also one of the very few railways in the world with a track running gauge of 4 ft. Formerly a cable railway, the subway was later electrified, but its two circular tracks were never expanded. The line was originally known as the Glasgow District Subway, but was later renamed Glasgow Subway Railway. It was so called when taken over by the Glasgow Corporation who renamed it the Glasgow Underground in 1936. Despite this rebranding, many Glaswegians continued to refer to the network as "the Subway". In 2003 the name "Subway" was officially readopted by its operator, the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. A £40,000 study examining the feasibility of an expansion into the city's south side was conducted in 2005 while a further commitment from Labour in 2007 to extend to the East End was also to no avail.
context_section_description: By the 1970s, use of the Subway had declined significantly. This was caused partly by the closure of some of the dockyards and by widescale demolition of tenements south of the River Clyde. The original carriages, mostly dating back to 1896, were still in use, though adapted for electric traction in 1935. Breakdowns were becoming increasingly frequent; because trains could only be removed from the tracks to the depot by crane, a single inoperable train could cause major delays. The future of the Subway became a major issue for the Greater Glasgow Passenger Transport Executive (GGPTE), which took over responsibility for the line from Glasgow Corporation in the late 1960s. In January 1974 GGPTE announced a modernisation programme would be undertaken. The original plan would have seen trains continue to run on the system, with one of the two circles continuing to run while the other was upgraded. However this idea was abandoned as expert advice suggested a safety risk.
  On 24 March 1977, cracks were noticed in the roof of Govan Cross station, leading to suspension of services until 2 May. The service resumed with only four trains per circle. On 21 May 1977, the system was shut down eight days prematurely for a major refurbishment and modernisation; the date was brought forward because of the appearance of more cracks in the Govan Cross roof. Badly deteriorated tunnels were repaired; stations were rebuilt and enlarged, with additional platforms at Buchanan Street, Partick, Govan, Ibrox, Hillhead and St Enoch. The entrance to Kelvinbridge was reversed, with a new entrance and car park built at South Woodside Road, an escalator to Great Western Road and stairs down to the west end of the platform; the former entrance and stairway at the east end became an emergency exit, and the lift was withdrawn from service. Merkland Street station was closed; a new station to the north was built at Partick to provide an interchange with the North Clyde Line of the suburban rail system. The site of Merkland Street can be noticed by the characteristic hump and the larger-diameter tunnel with both tracks. Many fittings from Merkland Street were used to build a replica pre-modernisation station at the Glasgow Museum of Transport (which closed in 2010, moving to Riverside Museum ) and contained three preserved cars.
  A further interchange via moving walkway was installed between Buchanan Street station and Queen Street mainline station as part of the modernisation.
  In August 1977, all redundant fittings and equipment from the old system were sold at a public sale at Broomloan Works. During the 1977–1980 modernisation, two Clayton battery locomotives were used by the contractors Taylor Woodrow to haul construction trains.
  Heavier track was installed although still at the unique 4 ft (1,219 mm) gauge, the original Broomloan Depot was modernised and equipped with connecting tracks with points to replace the crane transfer, and a new electrical supply from Westinghouse Electric Corporation was installed. A new ticketing system, provided by Crouzet, with passenger-operated ticket vending machines and automatic turnstile barriers, replaced the old, perforated cinema-style tickets and conductors. The post-1980 yellow tickets have since been replaced by a newer system, issuing magnetic stripe card tickets.
  The modernised system uses automatic train operation with the driver only responsible for closing the doors pressing a "start" button in normal operation.
  While the system was closed a replacement bus service was introduced by GGPTE in a bid to retain customers. Service 66 covered the inner circle route, while service 99 covered the route taken by the outer circle.
caption: Partick subway station
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