Glasgow Central station

The original station, opened on 1 August 1879[9] on the north bank of the River Clyde, 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.[4] The station was built over the site of Grahamston village, whose central street (Alston Street) was demolished to make way for the station platform.[10]

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.[4][11] It was also initially intended to increase Bridge Street station to eight through lines and to increase Central station to 13 platforms.[4]

The low-level platforms were originally a two island separate station, and were added to serve the underground Glasgow Central Railway, authorised on 10 August 1888 and opened on 10 August 1896.[4][12] The Glasgow Central Railway was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1890.[4][12] Services ran from Maryhill Central and from the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway in the west through to Rutherglen and via Tollcross through to Carmyle, Newton, and other Caledonian Railway destinations to the east of Glasgow. Other stations include Cambuslang & Motherwell.

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.[11] 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.[11] 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.[4] The station was extended over the top of Argyle Street, and thirteen platforms were built.[4] An additional eight-track bridge, the Caledonian Railway Bridge, was built over the Clyde,[4] and the original bridge was raised by 30 inches (0.75 m).[13] Bridge Street station was then closed.[4]

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.[14]

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, except through regular official tours,[15] and houses private car-parking and utility functions for the station 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 the 'Hielanman's Umbrella' (Highlandman's Umbrella)[4] because it was used as a meeting place for highlanders living in the city;[16] and the former ticket office and 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" are a number of shops and bars. The former nightclub, theatre, gallery and restaurant complex, The Arches, was also located below the station.

View of Central station from 5th floor of Radisson SAS hotel, with the distinctive facade of the Hielanman's Umbrella and Argyle Street passing under it in the centre, May 2009

The Gordon Street entrance of Central Station, with The Central Hotel above it

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.

It was originally designed by Robert Rowand Anderson, in 'Queen Anne style'; he also furnished the public rooms.[17] The hotel was completed in 1883, but was extended along with the station in 1901–1906.[17] The hotel extension was designed by James Miller and it opened on 15 April 1907.[17]

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.[18] 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, a new company acquired the hotel building, and worked to refurbish and rebrand it as the Glasgow Grand Central Hotel.[19] The refurbished hotel re-opened in September 2010.[20] In 2021 it was refurbished by IHG Hotels & Resorts and rebranded voco Grand Central Hotel.

The Edwardian-era Booking Office and train information building

The original 1889 signal box was replaced with an electro-pneumatic power-operated box based on the Westinghouse system.[21] Work started in October 1907 and it opened on 5 April 1908.[21] It was built directly over the River Clyde, sitting between the two river bridges, above the level of the tracks.[21] Inside was a frame of 374 miniature levers, making it the longest power frame ever built in Great Britain.[14][22]

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.[22] When initially opened it was capable of handling 1,000 routes.[22]

The new signalling centre was needed for three reasons:

• The 1907 power signal box was worn out;
• The original 1879 bridge over the River Clyde 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 Lines, and subsequently the Gourock and Wemyss Bay services and the West Coast Main Line.[22]

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 Interlockings which are controlled via an Alstom MCS control system.

Roof construction and railway clock

Overhead power lines began to appear on the high-level platforms in the early 1960s under British Railways. Firstly came 6.25 kV AC overhead power lines from the Cathcart Circle Line electrification scheme, which started on 29 May 1962.[23][24] During this period, the old 1879 bridge over the River Clyde was removed and the railway lines were rearranged.[22]

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.[23] The WCML northern electrification scheme started on 6 May 1974. Part of the Cathcart Circle was upgraded to 25 kV AC supply in 1974, to provide a diversionary route;[24] the whole of the Cathcart Circle route was later upgraded to that supply.[24]

Plans to electrify other routes, such as the Whifflet Line, as part of a scheme to improve rail services in Scotland were completed in November 2014.

There are three ticket halls. Two are operated by ScotRail (main concourse and Argyle Street entrance) and the third is a travel centre run by Avanti West Coast at the Gordon Street entrance. Avanti West Coast also operate a dedicated customer lounge next to Platform 1 and a First Class lounge.

As of 2019, Glasgow Central is served by six train-operating companies.

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.

SPT operates a bus service to Glasgow Queen Street and Buchanan bus station; this bus is numbered 398.

Caledonian Sleeper

1tpd to London Euston (Sunday to Friday)

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Motherwell		CrossCountry Cross Country Network		Terminus
Motherwell or Carlisle		Avanti West Coast West Coast Main Line		Terminus
Motherwell		London North Eastern Railway East Coast Main Line		Terminus
Motherwell		TransPennine Express (TransPennine North West)		Terminus
Lockerbie
Carlisle
Motherwell		Caledonian Sleeper Lowland Caledonian Sleeper		Terminus
Argyle Street		ScotRail Argyle Line		Anderston
Paisley Gilmour Street		ScotRail Ayrshire Coast Line		Terminus
Cardonald		ScotRail Inverclyde Line		Terminus
Pollokshields East or Pollokshields West		ScotRail Cathcart Circle Line		Terminus
Dumbreck		ScotRail Paisley Canal Line		Terminus
Cambuslang		ScotRail Shotts Line		Terminus
Motherwell		ScotRail North Berwick Line		Terminus
Crossmyloof		ScotRail Glasgow South Western Line		Terminus
Lockerbie		TransPennine Express Liverpool Lime Street to Glasgow Central		Terminus
Carlisle
	Historical railways
Glasgow Cross Line open; station closed		Caledonian Railway Glasgow Central Railway		Anderston Line open; station open
Eglinton Street Line open; station closed		Caledonian Railway Cathcart District Railway		Terminus
Eglinton Street Line open; station closed		Caledonian Railway Polloc and Govan Railway		Terminus
Bridge Street Line open; station closed		Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western Railways Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway		Terminus
Eglinton Street Line open; station closed		Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western Railways Glasgow, Barrhead and Kilmarnock Joint Railway		Terminus

Coinciding with the launch of the new BBC Scotland TV Channel, a new documentary TV series titled Inside Central Station was commissioned to STV Productions, first airing on 3 March 2019[36] detailing the day-to-day life of the station following and interviewing various members of staff on their shifts and passengers visiting the station. The series also focused on the history of the station, with segments presented by the station tour guide, Paul Lyons. The series received positive critical reception[37] and has been recommissioned for future series.[38]

• Meighan, Michael (2013). Glasgow Central Station Through Time. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-1094-8. OCLC 830352220.
• Hunt, John (14–27 January 1998). "All line lead to Glasgow Central". RAIL. No. 322. EMAP Apex Publications. pp. 20–26. ISSN 0953-4563. OCLC 49953699.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Glasgow Central railway station.

• Official website