VIEWS of the little-used City Union Railway which has been touted as having potential as a Glasgow version of New York’s iconic Highline urban park.

The line runs from near Bellgrove in the East End, over Gallowgate and London Road, across the Clyde and west to the Shields Road area.

Glasgow City Council’s St Enoch District Regeneration Framework states: “The City Union Railway crossing Glasgow’s oldest area is in itself a fantastic piece of industrial heritage. It is currently irregularly used for freight trains and not electrified.”

In a section titled “St. Enoch Highline”, the framework lists “three possible scenarios” for the viaduct:

— It keeps the current function: “In this case the left-over space on the wider section of the viaduct between Cleland Street [in the Gorbals] and Bridgegate can become a local pedestrian connection, combined with play spaces and urban farmland.”

— The railway disappears: “In this case a true linear park can be made that stretches from Dennistoun to the Gorbals.”

— It gets upgraded to become the ‘Crossrail’ connecting Central Station and Queen Street Station, with all available space used track.

The framework’s action plan states: “Whilst acutely aware of the potential for the City Union line to fulfil a strategically important role in the urban rail network, scope to optimise the partially redundant rail viaduct from the Gorbals, across the Clyde, to the Merchant City was flagged up by many consultees as an exciting opportunity to emulate the success of the Highline concept in New York and elsewhere.”