14 December 1896: the Glasgow Subway opens to passengers

On this day in 1896 the Glasgow Subway, the world's third underground metro system, opened to passengers.

Glasgow Subway train arriving in a station
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Glasgow's shipyards were once some of the busiest in the world, with the heart of the industry in the district of Govan on the banks of the River Clyde. Their success mean the city expanded rapidly, and by the 1890s the population had hit 700,000. To get this army of workers around, Glasgow embarked on a huge infrastructure project, the District Railway.

The Glasgow Subway, as it is now officially known, opened on this day in 1896 – before Paris, Berlin and even New York. It is the third oldest in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Still today it is the only heavy-rail underground metro system in the British Isles outside the capital, and the only one that operates completely underground. It is a 6.5-mile loop with twin tracks that allow trains to run both clockwise and anti-clockwise through its 15 stations.

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