Engineering consultancy Cowi has been appointed by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) to develop proposals to introduce step‑free access at two of the busiest stations on the Glasgow Subway.
The work will focus on Buchanan Street and Hillhead stations, where engineers must contend with confined underground spaces, ageing infrastructure and the challenge of keeping services running while construction takes place. Cowi will provide multidisciplinary engineering input, including technical assessment, design advice and constructability studies to help shape how lifts and associated infrastructure could be integrated into the historic stations.
A specialist team has been assembled to support the programme: BDP as architect, D2E as lift consultant, Jensen Hughes on fire engineering, Mima Group on access and inclusion, GHD for pedestrian modelling and Malcolm Hughes Land Surveyors undertaking detailed site surveys.
Buchanan Street is a key interchange in the city centre, linking the Subway with national rail and bus services and serving one of the UK’s busiest shopping districts. Hillhead serves the West End, including the University of Glasgow and nearby hospitals, making it a vital access point for students, patients and residents. SPT and project partners say step‑free access at these stations could widen public transport use and bring social and economic benefits across the city.
Introducing lifts to the Glasgow Subway, Scotland’s only underground rail network, presents notable technical and operational constraints. Many of the system’s stations were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and were not designed for modern accessibility requirements. Any scheme must therefore balance engineering feasibility, passenger experience and whole‑life cost while meeting fire safety and evacuation standards.
SPT has previously identified accessibility improvements as a priority across its network and this appointment follows wider policy and legal pressures to improve access to public transport for disabled and older passengers. However, no final design, timescale or budget for works at Buchanan Street and Hillhead has yet been published; COWI’s brief is to produce technically robust, deliverable options that SPT can consider as it moves towards detailed design and funding decisions.
Cowi has experience of complex transport projects in the UK and internationally and says it will work with SPT and the project team to develop solutions that account for structural, operational and safety requirements. The immediate next steps will involve detailed surveys, technical assessments and stakeholder engagement to define feasible options for delivering step‑free access at the two stations.
Stuart Haddow, project manager, tunnels at Cowi UK & Ireland said: “Delivering step-free access in a century-old underground system is not simply a matter of installing lifts. It requires a deep understanding of structural constraints, passenger flows, safety requirements and long-term asset performance. Our role is to bring together these technical considerations into practical, buildable solutions that support SPT’s ambitions for a more inclusive and future-ready transport network.
“Projects like this demonstrate how engineering can directly improve everyday lives. By helping SPT overcome the technical challenges of retrofitting accessibility into an operational metro system, we are supporting a transformation that will make Glasgow’s transport network more equitable, resilient and more sustainable. And installing lifts at Hillhead and Buchanan Street stations would significantly improve social inclusion, mobility and economic participation in Glasgow, enabling disabled people, older residents, parents with prams and travellers with luggage to use the Subway independently.”
SPT infrastructure asset engineer Graeme Cameron said: “As part of our on-going efforts to optimise accessibility within the constraints of the Subway system, we are excited to begin this scope with Cowi to further explore options to try to overcome the technical challenges associated with establishing step-free access to the Outer Circle platforms at two of our busiest stations.”
Like what you’ve read? To receive New Civil Engineer’s daily and weekly newsletters click here.