Glasgow-Edinburgh Collaboration

Glasgow and Edinburgh played a large part in Scotland’s exceptional inward investment performance in 2006. Only the (more-populous) London and South East England out-performed Scotland in terms of the numbers of projects attracted to the UK. Financial and business services were the most common investments into Scotland. Read more…

Maglev seems to be the idea that won’t go away these days. The Sunday Herald’s Ken Symon ponders the possibilities for a new Glasgow-Edinburgh link: read more…

The following week’s Sunday Herald reinforced their view that a fast link was one of the most important transport projects for Scotland’s economy. Read more…

More recent articles on maglev…

The Sunday Herald.

Preparatory work has started for the creation of Glasgow’s Airport Rail Link (GARL). Read more…

Work has begun on the rail project to re-connect Airdrie and Bathgate. When complete, this line will create a fourth rail corridor between Glasgow and Edinburgh, will open up access to the two cities to towns who currently do not have a direct rail link, and - even in the early stages of the project - will enhance existing connections to between Bathgate, Livingston and Edinburgh. Read more…

Celebrated Scottish entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Tom Farmer is interviewed in the latest edition of Edinburgh’s Capital Review. His comment on collaboration between Glasgow and Edinburgh is that it “will prove to be the greatest initiative of recent times”. Read more…

Since the process of Glasgow-Edinburgh collaboration was initiated, many high profile business people, academics and commentators have spoken out in favour of the concept. Here are just a few:

“it is reasonable to assume that Scotland’s future success depends on the success of its urban core”
(Professor Edward Glaeser, Department of Economics, Harvard and contributor to “New Wealth for Old Nations: Scotland’s Economic Prospects” (2005))

“If Edinburgh and Glasgow can get their acts together, it could become the UK’s second most important region after London.”
(Sir Terry Farrell, intnerationally-reknowned architect, to the Scottish Parliament (2004))

“BAK Basel Economics’ report on Metropolitan Edinburgh said that, in order to catch up
with competitors, Edinburgh “should collaborate more with Glasgow”
(reported in the Edinburgh Evening News, 25/6/06)

“at some point, not too far off, who a city is collaborating with will be as important as who it is competing against.”
Professor Stuart Gulliver, Professor of City Development, University of Glasgow

“the cities’ strength is that they are so different, so complementary - imagine San Francisco and Chicago relocated 45 miles apart! The potential is vast….”
(Malcolm Fraser, Scottish Architect of the Year 2002/03, 2003/04)