A £4 MILLION funding boost for Edinburgh Trams and the Glasgow Subway has been announced by Transport Scotland.

The money will be shared between the two systems to help deal with measures put in place as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

It comes after a similar £9m package announced in July expired at the end of last month.

The most recent support will be available until the end of the year.

Transport Secretary Michael Matheson said: "The Glasgow Subway and Edinburgh Trams continue to provide key connections within our two biggest cities.

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"The services provide essential capacity and link with bus, rail and park and ride facilities.

"Over the six-month period from July we will now have provided up to £13m of financial support to operators to enable services to continue.

"Any restrictions on these services could have placed unsustainable demands on other modes, especially bus, and so this funding will assist capacity across all public transport."

The package was secured after talks between Transport Scotland, the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) - which runs the Subway network - and Transport for Edinburgh.

Matheson thanked those working in the light rail sector during the pandemic, adding: "These services have allowed our key workers and others who needed to travel for essential journeys to do so during very challenging circumstances.

"The Subway and trams will help our wider society and economy recover as we go through the next phases of this pandemic."

"We will continue to monitor the demand, capacity and costs of support across all transport modes."

Edinburgh Trams chairman Martin Dean said: "The additional funding being offered from Transport Scotland is welcome news, especially as we navigate the challenges of fresh restrictions in the area.

"The ongoing financial support allows us to continue to operate our services for anyone who relies on the city's tramway to make essential journeys.

"We are grateful to Transport for Edinburgh for leading on these negotiations on behalf of our organisation."

Patrick Harvie (below), the Scottish Greens co-leader who has been campaigning for more cash to help the Subway, welcomed today's announcement. 

The National: MSP Patrick Harvie

The MSP said the service is "such an important part" of the city and shows why public transport should be prioritised. He called for more action to secure its future.

He went on: “I am grateful that the Transport Secretary has finally listened to the more than 1500 people who have backed my campaign to save the subway and made this important funding available.

“Given the probability of the pandemic lasting for months to come it seems likely that further financial support will be required. The Scottish Government must recognise the importance of publicly owned public transport to our city and ensure that talks on future funding begin now.

“The people of Glasgow have shown we are willing to fight for our subway, but it would be unacceptable if we were left in the position of having to beg for essential funding every few months.”