A MAJOR UK city, home to the third oldest subway system in the world, is set to get driverless trains next year.
Glasgow will be getting driverless subway trains in the second half of 2026, according to The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).
The new driverless trains will be introduced in Glasgow slowly, with officials noting in a report that “whilst our new system will be capable of Unattended Train Operation, there may be a requirement for some staff presence within the system beyond this point”.
The move to driverless trains in Glasgow will be the first of its kind in the UK.
The only other similar train system is the DLR in London – while not having train drivers, they do still have ‘Train Captain’s onboard.
In addition to the driverless trains, Glasgow’s public transport more widely has undergone a number of other projects.
Read more on travel inspo
These include implementing more glass screens at a number of stations for safety.
And most stations on the circular line have had refurbishments.
There are also a few projects that still need to be carried out including introducing new signalling.
A report from June revealed that the subway modernisation in Glasgow is the “most significant investment and improvement programme to be undertaken in the Subway within the last 45 years”.
The report also listed a number of other areas that will undergo improvements, including the introduction of a new ticketing system.
Glasgow is planning on becoming the first city in Scotland to trial a free public transport scheme as well.
The scheme will start in early 2026 and involve around 1,000 people, who will get free public transport for six weeks.
This means travellers will get unlimited travel on trains, buses and the subway network.
The aim of the scheme is to see whether more people take up public transport, rather than opting to drive.
Currently, fares to travel on Glasgow’s transport network range from around £3.60 to £5.90.
This week, rail operator Lumo also announced that it is extending its London Euston to Edinburgh route to Glasgow.
Passengers will be able to use two northbound services each weekday and one southbound service.
There will then be one service in each direction at the weekend.
And tickets for the route with the low-cost operator will cost from £33.10 between London and Glasgow.
In other rail news, here’s the first look at the new Great British Railways trains being rolled out across the UK.
Plus, popular UK seaside town scraps trains to London.