Glasgow Central Station to partially reopen after devastating Union Street blaze

The station has been closed since Sunday, March 8, following the significant fire which caused the partial collapse of a building on Union Street.

In a statement on Tuesday, ScotRail have now announced the partial reopening of some platforms on Wednesday.

The news follows The Scotsman revealing last week plans for this if the fire ruins posed a continued threat the station,

Passengers will access the station via the low-level entrances and the Hope Street carriage driveway, which is normally used during special events.

After a handover of the site from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on Thursday, March 12, Glasgow City Council established an exclusion zone around the fire damaged building.

It is understood this cordon will continue to cover the upper part of Central Station, including the Union Street, Gordon Street and Hope Street entrances.

From the start of service on Wednesday, the following services will operate:

• Ayr and Glasgow Central – a half hourly service, calling at all stations between Paisley Gilmour Street – Kilwinning (Johnstone / Milliken Park / Howwood / Lochwinnoch / Glengarnock / Dalry).
• Gourock and Glasgow Central – an hourly service, calling at all stations.
• Wemyss Bay and Glasgow Central – an hourly service, calling at all stations.
• Kilmarnock and Glasgow Central – a half hourly service, calling at all stations (integrated with normal Carlisle/South Ayrshire services).
• East Kilbride and Glasgow Central – a half hourly service.
• Lanark and Glasgow Central – an hourly service.

Only the western edge of the concourse, south from platform seven, will be re-opened, with the main part of the concourse north from there remaining in the exclusion zone and out of bounds to passengers.

Avanti West Coast will also run trains from Glasgow Central on Wednesday and the intercity operator will operate one train per hour between London Euston and Glasgow Central. Caledonian Sleeper services will also resume from Glasgow Central Station on Wednesday.

The operator will also operate one train per hour between London Euston and Motherwell/Edinburgh where onward connections to Glasgow Central low-level are available with ScotRail.

TransPennine Express have said its services between Glasgow Central and Carlisle would remain suspended until further notice because of the limited number of platforms being available at Glasgow Central.

Booked passengers can travel with other train operators.

CrossCountry services will continue to start and terminate at Edinburgh until further notice.

A ScotRail spokesperson has confirmed the station will look different, with facilities and shops closed, and barriers and signage marking the exclusion zone.

Colleagues will be on hand to support passengers.

A significant amount of work is being carried out ahead of reopening, including inspections, cleaning, repairs and operational checks.

There will be changes to the timetable as a result of the reduced capacity of the station, and passengers are asked to check journeys with their operator before travelling.

Ross Moran, route director at Network Rail Scotland: “We’re grateful for the patience and understanding shown by passengers, businesses and the wider community over this past week. This has been an exceptionally challenging situation for everyone affected and I want to thank all those involved who have worked tirelessly to get us to the point where we can safely welcome people back to the station.

“While temporary arrangements will remain in place for a little while longer, we want to reassure customers that our focus is on keeping them moving safely as services return. We’ll carry on working closely with all operators and partners to restore full access as soon as it is safe to do so.”