Glasgow Central station
Encyclopedia
Glasgow Central is the larger of the two present main-line railway terminals in Glasgow
, the largest city in Scotland
. The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway
on 31 July 1879 and is currently managed by Network Rail
. It is the northern terminus of the West Coast Main Line
.
The station serves all of the Greater Glasgow
conurbation's southern suburbs and towns, and the Ayrshire
and Clyde coasts, and is the terminus for all inter-city services between Glasgow and destinations in England
. There is also a limited service to Edinburgh
, however the city's second main line terminus - Glasgow Queen Street - remains the principal station for services to the capital.
Glasgow Central is the busiest railway station in Scotland and the second busiest in Britain outside London, after Birmingham New Street. According to Network Rail, over 38 million people use it annually, 80% of whom are passengers. The station is protected as a category A listed building.
, had eight platforms and was linked to Bridge Street station by a railway bridge over Argyle Street
and a four-track railway bridge, built by Sir William Arrol, which crossed the Clyde to the south.
The station was soon congested. In 1890, a temporary solution of widening the bridge over Argyle Street and inserting a ninth platform on Argyle Street bridge was completed. It was also initially intended to increase Bridge Street station to eight through lines and to increase Central station to 15 platforms.
, authorised on 10 August 1888 and opened on 10 August 1896. The Glasgow Central Railway was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1890. Services ran from and from the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway
in the west through to and via Tollcross
through to , Newton
, and other Caledonian Railway destinations to the east of Glasgow.
Between 1901 and 1905 the original station was rebuilt. The station was extended over the top of Argyle Street, and thirteen platforms were built. An additional eight-track bridge was built over the Clyde, and the original bridge was raised by 30 inches (0.75 m). Bridge Street station was then closed.
Also during the 1901-1905 rebuild a series of sidings was created at the end of Platforms 11 and 12 on the bridge over the River Clyde. These were named West Bank Siding, Mid Bank Siding and East Bank Siding. A dock siding - No. 14 Dock was created at the south end of Platform 13.
Central Station has a spacious concourse containing shops, catering outlets, ticket offices and a travel centre. It is fronted by the Central Hotel
on Gordon Street, designed by Robert Rowand Anderson
. The station building
also houses a long line of shops and bars down the Union Street side. The undercroft of the station is not open to the general public: it houses private car-parking and utility functions for both the station itself and the adjoining Central Hotel.
The station's famous architectural features are the large glass-walled bridge that takes the station building over Argyle Street, nicknamed as the "Hielanman's Umbrella" (Highlandman's Umbrella) by locals because it was used as a gathering place for visiting Highlanders
; and the former ticket offices / platform and train-destination information building. This was a large oval building, with the booking office on the ground floor and the train information display for passengers on large printed cloth destination boards placed behind large windows on the first floor by a team of two men. Underneath the "Umbrella" is a bustling array of shops and bars, as well as the "Arches" nightclub, theatre, gallery and restaurant complex.
_central_station,_glasgow.jpg)
Central Station is fronted by the Central Hotel
on Gordon Street. Adjoining onto the station concourse, it was one of Glasgow's most prestigious hotels in its heyday. Famous guests included Frank Sinatra
and Winston Churchill
.
It was originally designed by Robert Rowand Anderson
, in 'Queen Anne style
'; he also furnished the public rooms. The hotel was completed in 1883, but was extended along with the station in 1901–1906. The hotel extension was designed by James Miller
and it opened on 15 April 1907.
The world's first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to the Central Hotel in the station, on 24 May 1927 by John Logie Baird
. The hotel was sold by British Rail in the 1980s, and passed through the hands of various private operators until its most recent owner, the Real Hotel Group, went into administration in February 2009, and the hotel subsequently closed amid concerns of asbestos
contamination and structural deterioration.
In June 2009, it was revealed that a new company had acquired the hotel building, and plans to refurbish and rebrand it as the Glasgow Grand Central Hotel were revealed. The refurbished hotel re-opened in September 2010.
was replaced with an electro-pneumatic power-operated box based on the Westinghouse
system. Work started in October 1907 and it opened on 5 April 1908. It was built directly over the River Clyde, sitting between the two river bridges, above the level of the tracks. Inside was a frame of 374 miniature levers, making it the longest power frame ever built in Great Britain.
Glasgow Central Signalling
Centre, located in the "vee" of Bridge Street Junction, opened on 2 January 1961. It replaced signal boxes at Central Station, Bridge Street Junction, Eglinton Street Junction and Eglinton Street Station. When initially opened it was capable of handling 1,000 routes.
The new signalling centre was needed for three reasons:
In addition to the removal of the east river bridge, the scissor crossovers through the station, the Cathcart Engine siding, East Bank Siding, Mid Bank Siding and No. 14 Dock were removed. The West Bank Siding was numbered as Platform 11a.
Glasgow Central Signalling Centre closed on 27 December 2008, when its area of control was transferred to the new West of Scotland Signalling Centre (WSSC) at Cowlairs
. The NX panel is to be preserved. The station is currently signalled by two Westinghouse Westlock Interlocking
s which are controlled via a GE
MCS control system.
began to appear on the high-level platforms early 1960s. Firstly came 6.25 kV AC Overhead power lines
from the Cathcart Circle Line electrification scheme, which started on 29 May 1962. During this period, the old 1879 bridge over the River Clyde was removed and the railway lines were rearranged.
This was followed by the 25 kV AC overhead-power-lines electrification of the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
and the Inverclyde Line
to Gourock and Wemyss Bay, completed in 1967; and the WCML
northern electrification scheme in 1974. Part of the Cathcart Circle was upgraded to 25 kV AC supply in 1974, to provide a diversionary route; the whole of the Cathcart Circle route was later upgraded to that supply.
Plans exist to electrify other routes, such as the Whifflet Line
, as part of a scheme to improve rail services in Scotland.
system well before their withdrawal on 3 October 1964 under the "Beeching Axe
". The trams themselves had been replaced by buses by 1962.
of the Glasgow suburban railway network. It consisted of a single island platform
, numbered as Platforms 14 and 15 (later renumbered to 16 and 17 respectively when the project to re-signal and add two additional platforms to the higher level took place in 2008).
Initially services were provided by Class 303
and Class 314
units. The latter were built specifically for this service. Following the withdrawal of the Class 303 units, the service is, , provided by Class 318
and Class 334 "Juniper"
units.
Class 320
units were intended to be used on the route, but due to the position of the driver's monitors for checking doors, this proved impossible. Therefore, these units are restricted to the North Clyde Line
.
to burst its banks at the closed Kelvinbridge station
, with the water making its way through the disused tunnels to and the Low-Level station, which was completely submerged by the resultant flash flood. It was closed for many months while repairs were made.
In August 2002, torrential rain flooded out the low-level stations from through to for a number of weeks. Most services were routed to the high-level platforms, or to Queen Street station
. The 2002 Glasgow floods
had a number of other effects, causing a cryptospiridium outbreak in Glasgow's water supply.
The high-level station's facilities were substantially redeveloped in the mid-1980s. The old ticket office / train information building was replaced in 1985 by an all-new Travel Centre adjacent to the Gordon Street entrance. By 1986 a large electro-mechanical destination board at the end of the platforms, with a smaller repeater board at the western side of the concourse, had replaced the former manually operated train-information boards. The old booking office / train information building was retained and redeveloped into shops, eateries and an upstairs bar/restaurant, and the station was re-floored in marble.
During this redevelopment the manned ticket barriers at Platforms 1 to 8 were removed, and the yellow ticket automatic barriers were removed from Platforms 9 to 13 (now 15).
In 1998, a five-year renovation programme was initiated by Railtrack
, which saw the station completely re-roofed and internally refurbished by Bovis Lend Lease
. The 1980s vintage mechanical destination boards were replaced with modern electromechanical pixel style information signage; this was later replaced around 2005 with an LED-style destination board. The final improvement, the upgrading of the upstairs restaurant area, was completed in 2005.
are being installed at Glasgow Central and three other city-centre stations in 2011 as part of a crackdown on fare-dodging to increase ticket revenue. This follows barriers being erected at Queen Street Station in 2004 ending ScotRail's "open stations" policy, under which staffed and previous yellow ticket automatic barriers had been scrapped during the 1980s to encourage more passengers; tickets were checked on trains instead. Currently, ScotRail is finalising negotiations with Network Rail over the project.
CrossCountry
Operate services on the CrossCountry route
via the East Coast Main Line
to Birmingham and onwards to the West Country and the South Coast, as extensions to the services to .
East Coast
Operate one train per day to via Edinburgh.
First ScotRail
Operate services to Scottish destinations including , , , , , and , as well as the Caledonian Sleeper
service to London Euston
.
First TransPennine Express
Operate service to Manchester Airport via .
Virgin Trains
Operate services to and via , and , using Super Voyagers
and Pendolinos
on the West Coast Main Line
.
A taxi rank is to the north of the station, while buses operate from the adjacent streets. St Enoch
and Buchanan Street
Subway
stations are within a few minutes' walk of the station.
SPT
operates a bus service to and the Buchanan bus station
; this bus is numbered 398.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, the largest city in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The station was opened by the Caledonian Railway
Caledonian Railway
The Caledonian Railway was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century and it was absorbed almost a century later into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway, in the 1923 railway grouping, by means of the Railways Act 1921...
on 31 July 1879 and is currently managed by Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
. It is the northern terminus of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
.
The station serves all of the Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow
Greater Glasgow is an urban settlement in Scotland consisting of all localities which are physically attached to the city of Glasgow, forming with it a single contiguous urban area...
conurbation's southern suburbs and towns, and the Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
and Clyde coasts, and is the terminus for all inter-city services between Glasgow and destinations in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. There is also a limited service to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, however the city's second main line terminus - Glasgow Queen Street - remains the principal station for services to the capital.
Glasgow Central is the busiest railway station in Scotland and the second busiest in Britain outside London, after Birmingham New Street. According to Network Rail, over 38 million people use it annually, 80% of whom are passengers. The station is protected as a category A listed building.
Original station
The original station, opened on 1 August 1879 on the north bank of the River ClydeRiver Clyde
The River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, had eight platforms and was linked to Bridge Street station by a railway bridge over Argyle Street
Argyle Street, Glasgow
Argyle Street is a major thoroughfare in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland.With Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street, Argyle Street forms the main shopping artery in the city centre...
and a four-track railway bridge, built by Sir William Arrol, which crossed the Clyde to the south.
The station was soon congested. In 1890, a temporary solution of widening the bridge over Argyle Street and inserting a ninth platform on Argyle Street bridge was completed. It was also initially intended to increase Bridge Street station to eight through lines and to increase Central station to 15 platforms.
Low-level station
The low-level platforms were originally a separate station, and were added to serve the underground Glasgow Central RailwayGlasgow Central Railway
The Glasgow Central Railway was a railway that ran from Maryhill in the north west of Glasgow through the West End and City Centre to Rutherglen and Newton to the south east of the city.- Early days :...
, authorised on 10 August 1888 and opened on 10 August 1896. The Glasgow Central Railway was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1890. Services ran from and from the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway
Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway
- Early days :The Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway was authorised in 1891, and opened in stages between 26 November 1894 and 1 October 1896.On 16 August 1909 the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway was absorbed into the Caledonian Railway...
in the west through to and via Tollcross
Tollcross railway station
Tollcross was a railway station in the east end of Glasgow. It was opened by the Caledonian Railway as Tollcross on 1 February 1897.It was closed to passengers on 5 October 1964.-Sources:*...
through to , Newton
Newton (South Lanarkshire) railway station
Newton railway station is a railway station located between the town of Cambuslang and the village of Newton in South Lanarkshire, Greater Glasgow, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail on the Argyle and Cathcart Circle Lines.-History:...
, and other Caledonian Railway destinations to the east of Glasgow.
The 1901–1905 station rebuild
By 1900 the station was again found to be too small, passenger numbers per annum on the high-level station having increased by 5.156 million since the first extension was completed in 1890. Passenger usage per annum in 1899 was 16.841 million on the high-level station and 6.416 million on the low-level station, a total of 23.257 million. The station is on two levels: the High-Level station at the same level as Gordon Street, which bridges over Argyle Street, and the underground Low-Level station.Between 1901 and 1905 the original station was rebuilt. The station was extended over the top of Argyle Street, and thirteen platforms were built. An additional eight-track bridge was built over the Clyde, and the original bridge was raised by 30 inches (0.75 m). Bridge Street station was then closed.
Also during the 1901-1905 rebuild a series of sidings was created at the end of Platforms 11 and 12 on the bridge over the River Clyde. These were named West Bank Siding, Mid Bank Siding and East Bank Siding. A dock siding - No. 14 Dock was created at the south end of Platform 13.
Central Station has a spacious concourse containing shops, catering outlets, ticket offices and a travel centre. It is fronted by the Central Hotel
Central Hotel (Glasgow)
The Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow is a large 4-star hotel in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland....
on Gordon Street, designed by Robert Rowand Anderson
Robert Rowand Anderson
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson RSA was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his main work was small churches in the 'First Pointed' style that is characteristic of...
. The station building
Station building
A station building, also known as a head house, is the main building of a passenger train station. It is typically used principally to provide services to passengers.A station building is not to be confused with the station itself...
also houses a long line of shops and bars down the Union Street side. The undercroft of the station is not open to the general public: it houses private car-parking and utility functions for both the station itself and the adjoining Central Hotel.
The station's famous architectural features are the large glass-walled bridge that takes the station building over Argyle Street, nicknamed as the "Hielanman's Umbrella" (Highlandman's Umbrella) by locals because it was used as a gathering place for visiting Highlanders
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
; and the former ticket offices / platform and train-destination information building. This was a large oval building, with the booking office on the ground floor and the train information display for passengers on large printed cloth destination boards placed behind large windows on the first floor by a team of two men. Underneath the "Umbrella" is a bustling array of shops and bars, as well as the "Arches" nightclub, theatre, gallery and restaurant complex.
The Central Hotel
Central Hotel (Glasgow)
The Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow is a large 4-star hotel in the centre of Glasgow, Scotland....
on Gordon Street. Adjoining onto the station concourse, it was one of Glasgow's most prestigious hotels in its heyday. Famous guests included Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
.
It was originally designed by Robert Rowand Anderson
Robert Rowand Anderson
Sir Robert Rowand Anderson RSA was a Scottish Victorian architect. Anderson trained in the office of George Gilbert Scott in London before setting up his own practice in Edinburgh in 1860. During the 1860s his main work was small churches in the 'First Pointed' style that is characteristic of...
, in 'Queen Anne style
Queen Anne Style architecture
The Queen Anne Style in Britain means either the English Baroque architectural style roughly of the reign of Queen Anne , or a revived form that was popular in the last quarter of the 19th century and the early decades of the 20th century...
'; he also furnished the public rooms. The hotel was completed in 1883, but was extended along with the station in 1901–1906. The hotel extension was designed by James Miller
James Miller (architect)
James Miller was a Scottish architect and artist. He is noted for his many buildings in Glasgow and for his Scottish railway stations. Among these are the heavily American-influenced Union Bank building at 110-20 St Vincent Street; his 1901-1905 extensions to Glasgow Central railway station; and...
and it opened on 15 April 1907.
The world's first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to the Central Hotel in the station, on 24 May 1927 by John Logie Baird
John Logie Baird
John Logie Baird FRSE was a Scottish engineer and inventor of the world's first practical, publicly demonstrated television system, and also the world's first fully electronic colour television tube...
. The hotel was sold by British Rail in the 1980s, and passed through the hands of various private operators until its most recent owner, the Real Hotel Group, went into administration in February 2009, and the hotel subsequently closed amid concerns of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
contamination and structural deterioration.
In June 2009, it was revealed that a new company had acquired the hotel building, and plans to refurbish and rebrand it as the Glasgow Grand Central Hotel were revealed. The refurbished hotel re-opened in September 2010.
Signalling
The original 1889 signal boxSignal box
On a rail transport system, signalling control is the process by which control is exercised over train movements by way of railway signals and block systems to ensure that trains operate safely, over the correct route and to the proper timetable...
was replaced with an electro-pneumatic power-operated box based on the Westinghouse
Westinghouse Rail Systems
Westinghouse Rail Systems Ltd is a British supplier of railway signalling and control equipment to the rail industry worldwide. Its head office is in Chippenham, Wiltshire, where it manufactures a variety of mechanical and electrical/electronic railway signalling equipment...
system. Work started in October 1907 and it opened on 5 April 1908. It was built directly over the River Clyde, sitting between the two river bridges, above the level of the tracks. Inside was a frame of 374 miniature levers, making it the longest power frame ever built in Great Britain.
Glasgow Central Signalling
Railway signalling
Railway signalling is a system used to control railway traffic safely, essentially to prevent trains from colliding. Being guided by fixed rails, trains are uniquely susceptible to collision; furthermore, trains cannot stop quickly, and frequently operate at speeds that do not enable them to stop...
Centre, located in the "vee" of Bridge Street Junction, opened on 2 January 1961. It replaced signal boxes at Central Station, Bridge Street Junction, Eglinton Street Junction and Eglinton Street Station. When initially opened it was capable of handling 1,000 routes.
The new signalling centre was needed for three reasons:
- The 1907 power signal box was worn out;
- The original 1879 bridge over the River ClydeRiver ClydeThe River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
was coming to the end of its useful life, and it was more effective to use the newer (1904) bridge to handle all the traffic, with the lines signalled bi-directionally; - Electrification of the Cathcart Circle LinesCathcart Circle LinesThe Cathcart Circle Lines form a suburban railway route linking Glasgow to Cathcart via a circular line, with branches to Newton and Neilston. All of the routes serve Glasgow's southern suburbs, i.e. on the south bank of the River Clyde...
, and subsequently the Gourock and Wemyss Bay services and the West Coast Main Line.
In addition to the removal of the east river bridge, the scissor crossovers through the station, the Cathcart Engine siding, East Bank Siding, Mid Bank Siding and No. 14 Dock were removed. The West Bank Siding was numbered as Platform 11a.
Glasgow Central Signalling Centre closed on 27 December 2008, when its area of control was transferred to the new West of Scotland Signalling Centre (WSSC) at Cowlairs
Cowlairs
Cowlairs is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow, part of the wider Springburn district of the city. It is situated north of the River Clyde. Cowlairs F.C. represented the area...
. The NX panel is to be preserved. The station is currently signalled by two Westinghouse Westlock Interlocking
Westlock Interlocking
WESTLOCK Interlocking is a Solid State Interlocking product by Westinghouse Rail Systems.Westlock builds on many of the features that made SSI popular in the United Kingdom. This includes re-use of SSI's programming language and its external hardware....
s which are controlled via a GE
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
MCS control system.
Railway electrification
Overhead power linesRailway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
began to appear on the high-level platforms early 1960s. Firstly came 6.25 kV AC Overhead power lines
Railway electrification in Great Britain
Railway electrification in Great Britain started towards of the 19th century. A great range of voltages have been used in the intervening period using both overhead lines and third rails, however the most common standard for mainline services is now 25 kV AC using overhead lines and the...
from the Cathcart Circle Line electrification scheme, which started on 29 May 1962. During this period, the old 1879 bridge over the River Clyde was removed and the railway lines were rearranged.
This was followed by the 25 kV AC overhead-power-lines electrification of the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway
The Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway company was formed in 1837 to provide a railway link between Glasgow and Paisley, Scotland. It was promoted jointly by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway and the Glasgow, Paisley, Kilmarnock and Ayr Railway....
and the Inverclyde Line
Inverclyde Line
The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde, terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay, where it connects to Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services...
to Gourock and Wemyss Bay, completed in 1967; and the WCML
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
northern electrification scheme in 1974. Part of the Cathcart Circle was upgraded to 25 kV AC supply in 1974, to provide a diversionary route; the whole of the Cathcart Circle route was later upgraded to that supply.
Plans exist to electrify other routes, such as the Whifflet Line
Whifflet Line
The Whifflet Line is one of the lines within the Strathclyde suburban rail network in Scotland.- History :The line was built between 1863 and 1865 as the Rutherglen and Coatbridge Railway, part of the Caledonian Railway. It opened to goods traffic in September 1865 and to passengers in August...
, as part of a scheme to improve rail services in Scotland.
Low-level station
Closure
Services through the Low-Level station, initially generous, had been greatly reduced due to competition with the extensive and efficient tramTram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
system well before their withdrawal on 3 October 1964 under the "Beeching Axe
Beeching Axe
The Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
". The trams themselves had been replaced by buses by 1962.
Re-opening
In 1979, part of the low-level line was electrified and the Low-Level station was re-opened as the Argyle LineArgyle Line
The Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. It connects the Lanarkshire towns of Lanark, Larkhall and Motherwell to West Dunbartonshire via central Glasgow using sub-surface running...
of the Glasgow suburban railway network. It consisted of a single island platform
Island platform
An island platform is a station layout arrangement where a single platform is positioned between two tracks within a railway station, tram stop or transitway interchange...
, numbered as Platforms 14 and 15 (later renumbered to 16 and 17 respectively when the project to re-signal and add two additional platforms to the higher level took place in 2008).
Initially services were provided by Class 303
British Rail Class 303
The British Rail Class 303 electric multiple units, also known as "Blue Train" units, were introduced in 1960 for the electrification of the North Clyde and the Cathcart Circle lines in Strathclyde...
and Class 314
British Rail Class 314
British Rail Class 314 alternating current electric multiple units were built by BREL at York works in 1979. They were the third variety of British Rail's then-standard 1972 design for suburban EMUs, which eventually encompassed 755 vehicles and five classes...
units. The latter were built specifically for this service. Following the withdrawal of the Class 303 units, the service is, , provided by Class 318
British Rail Class 318
The British Rail Class 318 is an electric multiple unit train, which operates exclusively in the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport network in West Central Scotland. The units were introduced fully on 29 September 1986 as part of the electrification of the Ayrshire Coast Line between and...
and Class 334 "Juniper"
British Rail Class 334
The British Rail Class 334 is a suburban electric multiple unit built by Alstom in Birmingham. They are part of the Juniper family of trains along with Classes 458 and 460. They were built for SPT/ScotRail outer suburban services in Glasgow, UK. They later became part of First ScotRail/SPT fleet...
units.
Class 320
British Rail Class 320
The British Rail Class 320 is an alternating current electric multiple unit train found on the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport rail network in Central Scotland, and is used exclusively on the North Clyde Line between Helensburgh and Airdrie, North Lanarkshire via Glasgow Queen Street...
units were intended to be used on the route, but due to the position of the driver's monitors for checking doors, this proved impossible. Therefore, these units are restricted to the North Clyde Line
North Clyde Line
The North Clyde Line is a suburban railway in West Central Scotland. The route is operated by First ScotRail, on behalf of Transport Scotland...
.
- Further details of services can be found in the Argyle LineArgyle LineThe Argyle Line is a suburban railway located in West Central Scotland. It connects the Lanarkshire towns of Lanark, Larkhall and Motherwell to West Dunbartonshire via central Glasgow using sub-surface running...
article.
Flooding of the Low-Level line
Over the Christmas festive period of 1994, on 11 December, torrential rain caused the River KelvinRiver Kelvin
The Kelvin rises on watershed of Scotland on the moor south east of the village of Banton, east of Kilsyth - . At almost 22 miles long, it initially flows south to Dullatur Bog where it falls into a man made trench and takes a ninety degree turn flowing west along the northern boundary of the bog...
to burst its banks at the closed Kelvinbridge station
Kelvinbridge railway station
Kelvinbridge was a railway station for the Kelvinbridge area in the West End of Glasgow, close to Kelvinbridge subway station on the Glasgow Subway.-Chronology:This station was opened on 10 August 1896....
, with the water making its way through the disused tunnels to and the Low-Level station, which was completely submerged by the resultant flash flood. It was closed for many months while repairs were made.
In August 2002, torrential rain flooded out the low-level stations from through to for a number of weeks. Most services were routed to the high-level platforms, or to Queen Street station
Glasgow Queen Street railway station
Glasgow Queen Street is a railway station in Glasgow, Scotland, the smaller of the city's two main line railway termini and the third-busiest station in Scotland. It is between George Street to the south and Cathedral Street Bridge to the north, at the northern end of Queen Street adjacent to...
. The 2002 Glasgow floods
2002 Glasgow floods
The 2002 Glasgow floods were a series of Flash floods that occurred after Thunderstorms in the Scottish Lowlands in late July and early August 2002. The heaviest rainfall fell on the night of Tuesday 30 July 2002....
had a number of other effects, causing a cryptospiridium outbreak in Glasgow's water supply.
1980s redevelopment
During this redevelopment the manned ticket barriers at Platforms 1 to 8 were removed, and the yellow ticket automatic barriers were removed from Platforms 9 to 13 (now 15).
1998–2005 refurbishment
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
, which saw the station completely re-roofed and internally refurbished by Bovis Lend Lease
Bovis Lend Lease
Lend Lease Project Management & Construction is the international project management and construction division of Lend Lease Group.-History:...
. The 1980s vintage mechanical destination boards were replaced with modern electromechanical pixel style information signage; this was later replaced around 2005 with an LED-style destination board. The final improvement, the upgrading of the upstairs restaurant area, was completed in 2005.
2009/10 expansion
In order to accommodate the cancelled Glasgow Airport Rail Link plans, the platforms were renumbered. Platform 11a (the previous West Bank Siding, on the bridge over the Clyde) was renumbered 12, whilst 12 & 13 were renumbered 14 & 15 respectively. In September 2009 the former platform-level car park and passenger drop-off area was taken out of use and the platform over the Clyde (recently renumbered 12) was removed. Two new platforms were created between 11 and 14, being brought into use in May 2010. There are no plans to replace indoor parking or passenger drop-off within Central station. The existing multi-storey parking facility on Oswald Street and on-street parking surrounding Central station remain, with passenger drop-off having moved to surrounding streets.Barriers
Automatic ticket barriersTurnstile
A turnstile, also called a baffle gate, is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. It can also be made so as to enforce one-way traffic of people, and in addition, it can restrict passage only to people who insert a coin, a ticket, a pass, or similar...
are being installed at Glasgow Central and three other city-centre stations in 2011 as part of a crackdown on fare-dodging to increase ticket revenue. This follows barriers being erected at Queen Street Station in 2004 ending ScotRail's "open stations" policy, under which staffed and previous yellow ticket automatic barriers had been scrapped during the 1980s to encourage more passengers; tickets were checked on trains instead. Currently, ScotRail is finalising negotiations with Network Rail over the project.
Services
In 2010, Glasgow Central was served by five train-operating companies.CrossCountry
Operate services on the CrossCountry route
CrossCountry Network Map
CrossCountry is a train operating company that has operated Great Britain’s Cross Country rail franchise since 11 November 2007.The basic routes are:There are also extensions to the normal service pattern:*to Penzance from Plymouth...
via the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
to Birmingham and onwards to the West Country and the South Coast, as extensions to the services to .
East Coast
Operate one train per day to via Edinburgh.
First ScotRail
Operate services to Scottish destinations including , , , , , and , as well as the Caledonian Sleeper
Caledonian Sleeper
The Caledonian Sleeper is a sleeper train service operated by First ScotRail and one of only two remaining sleeper services running on the railways of Great Britain, the other being the Night Riviera....
service to London Euston
Euston railway station
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London . It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line...
.
First TransPennine Express
Operate service to Manchester Airport via .
Virgin Trains
Operate services to and via , and , using Super Voyagers
British Rail Class 221
The Class 221 Super Voyager is a class of British diesel-electric multiple-unit express trains built by Bombardier Transportation between 2001 and 2002, entering service on 12 April 2002....
and Pendolinos
British Rail Class 390
The Class 390 Pendolino is a type of train used in Great Britain. They are electric multiple units using Fiat's tilting train pendolino technology and built by Alstom. Fifty-three 9-car units were originally built for Virgin Trains from 2001 to 2004 for operation on the West Coast Main Line , with...
on the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
.
A taxi rank is to the north of the station, while buses operate from the adjacent streets. St Enoch
St Enoch subway station
St Enoch subway station is the first station on the north of the River Clyde on the Glasgow Subway. It is located in Glasgow city centre, Scotland...
and Buchanan Street
Buchanan Street subway station
Buchanan Street subway station is a station on the Glasgow Subway in Scotland. It serves Buchanan Street, which is popular with shoppers. Close to Buchanan Bus Station and providing interchange with Glasgow Queen Street railway station via a travelator, it is the busiest station on the Subway, with...
Subway
Glasgow Subway
The Glasgow Subway is an underground metro line in Glasgow, Scotland. Opened on 14 December 1896, it is the third-oldest underground metro system in the world after the London Underground and the Budapest Metro. Formerly a cable railway, the Subway was later electrified, but its twin circular lines...
stations are within a few minutes' walk of the station.
SPT
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport
The Strathclyde Partnership for Transport is a public body which is responsible for planning and co-ordinating regional transport, and especially the public transport system, in the Strathclyde area of western Scotland...
operates a bus service to and the Buchanan bus station
Buchanan bus station
Buchanan Bus Station is the main bus terminus in Glasgow, Scotland.The bus station is the terminus for journeys between the city and other towns in United Kingdom and international journeys. It was originally built in 1977, close to the former site of Buchanan Street railway station which was...
; this bus is numbered 398.