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 Glasgow Central station in 2025 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Glasgow, Scotland | ||||
| Coordinates | 55°51′29″N4°15′29″W / 55.858°N 4.258°W /55.858; -4.258 | ||||
| Grid reference | NS586651 | ||||
| Managed by | Network Rail | ||||
| Transit authority | SPT | ||||
| Platforms | 17 (including 2 on lower level) | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | GLC | ||||
| Fare zone | 1 | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1 August 1879 | High Level station opened[2] | ||||
| 10 August 1896 | Low Level station opened[2] | ||||
| 1901–1905 | High Level station rebuilt | ||||
| 1960 | Resignalling | ||||
| 5 October 1964 | Closure of Low Level station[2] | ||||
| May 1974 | Start ofElectric Scot services to London Euston | ||||
| 5 November 1979 | Reopening of Low Level station as part ofArgyle Line[2] | ||||
| 1984–1986 | Refurbished | ||||
| 1998–2005 | Refurbished | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  32.465 million | ||||
| 2020/21 | 5.325 million | ||||
| 2021/22 |  15.322 million | ||||
| 2022/23 | 20.768 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 24.964 million | ||||
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Glasgow Central (Scottish Gaelic:Glaschu Mheadhain), usually referred to in Scotland as justCentral orCentral Station, is one of two principal main line rail terminals inGlasgow, Scotland. With 25 million passengers in 2023–2024, it is thefifteenth-busiest railway station in Britain and the busiest in Scotland, as well as the third busiest station in the UK outside of London, behindBirmingham New Street andManchester Piccadilly.[3] The station is protected as acategory A listed building.[4]
The station was opened by theCaledonian Railway on 1 August 1879 and is one of 20 managed byNetwork Rail.[5] It is the northern terminus of theWest Coast Main Line (397 miles or 639 kilometres north ofLondon Euston).[6] As well as being Glasgow's principalinter-city terminus for services to England, Central also serves the southernsuburbs of theGreater Glasgowconurbation, and the Ayrshire and Clyde coasts. The other main station in the city isGlasgow Queen Street, which primarily serves regional and inter-city services to the north of Glasgow. The three letter station code is GLC.
InBritain's 100 Best Railway Stations bySimon Jenkins, the station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars. In 2017, the station received a customer satisfaction score of 95.2%, the highest in the UK.[7]
| Caledonian Railway (Gordon Street, Glasgow Station) Act 1873 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act for enabling the Caledonian Railway Company to make a Station at Gordon Street, Glasgow, and Connecting Lines between the same and their Railways on the south side of that city; and for other purposes. |
| Citation | 36 & 37 Vict. c. clxxxviii |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 21 July 1873 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The original station, opened on 1 August 1879[8] on the north bank of theRiver Clyde, had eight platforms and was linked toBridge Street station by a railway bridge overArgyle Street and a four-track railway bridge, built bySir William Arrol, which crossed the Clyde to the south.[6] The station was built over the site of Grahamston village, whose central street (Alston Street) was demolished to make way for the station platform.[9]
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.[6][10] It was also initially intended to increase Bridge Street station to eight through lines and to increase Central station to 13 platforms.[6]
Originally built as a separate station, there were two island platforms making four platform faces, and a siding to the north. The station was built to serve the undergroundGlasgow Central Railway, authorised on 10 August 1888 and opened on 10 August 1896.[6][11] The Glasgow Central Railway was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1890.[6][11] Services ran fromMaryhill Central and from theLanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway in the west through toRutherglen and viaTollcross through toCarmyle,Newton and other Caledonian Railway destinations to the east of Glasgow. Other stations include Cambuslang and 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.[10] 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.[10] 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.[6] The station was extended over the top of Argyle Street and thirteen platforms were built.[6] An additional eight-track bridge, theCaledonian Railway Bridge, was built over the Clyde,[6] and the original bridge was raised by 30 inches (0.75 m).[12]Bridge Street station was then closed.[6]
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.[13]
Central station has a spacious concourse containing shops, catering outlets, ticket offices and a travel centre. It is fronted by theCentral Hotel on Gordon Street, designed byRobert Rowand Anderson. Thestation 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,[14] 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)[6] because it was used as a meeting place forhighlanders living in the city;[15] 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 Arches, a one-time nightclub, theatre, gallery and restaurant complex, was also located below the station.
Overhead power lines began to appear on the high-level platforms in the early 1960s underBritish Railways. Firstly came 6.25 kV AC overhead power lines from theCathcart Circle Line electrification scheme, which started on 29 May 1962.[16][17] During this period, the old 1879 bridge over the River Clyde was removed and the railway lines were rearranged.[18]
This was followed by the 25 kV AC overhead-power-lines electrification of theGlasgow and Paisley Joint Railway and theInverclyde Line to Gourock and Wemyss Bay, completed in 1967.[16] TheWCML 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;[17] the whole of the Cathcart Circle route was later upgraded to that supply.[17]
Plans to electrify other routes, such as theWhifflet Line, as part of a scheme to improve rail services in Scotland, were completed in November 2014.
Services through the Low-Level station, initially generous, had been greatly reduced due to competition with the extensive and efficient Glasgow Corporation tram system well before the withdrawal of service at the Low-Level station on 3 October 1964[11] under theBeeching Axe. The trams themselves had been replaced by buses by 1962.
In 1979, part of the low-level line was electrified and the Low-Level station was re-opened as theArgyle Line of the Glasgow suburban railway network. It consisted of the southernisland platform with the original northern island platform and siding remaining closed. Changes to the original track layout had to be made to allow the southern island platform to serve eastbound and westbound trains as the platform was previously only served by westbound trains. The reopened island platform was numbered as platforms 14 and 15; they were later renumbered to 16 and 17 respectively when the project to resignal and add two additional platforms to the higher level took place in 2008.
Initially services were provided byClass 303 andClass 314 units. The latter were built specifically for this service. Following the withdrawal of the Class 303 units, the service was provided byClass 318 andClass 334Juniper units.
Class 320 units were intended to be used on the route but, due to the position of the original driver's monitors for checking doors, this proved impossible. Therefore, these units were restricted to theNorth Clyde Line. This changed in 2011 with a programme of works carried out to enable the Class 320 units to work through the station in passenger service. The Class 320 and 318 units between them now provide the majority of Argyle Line services, with most 334s having moved to operate theAirdrie-Bathgate Rail Link.
Over the Christmas festive period of 1994, on 11 December, torrential rain caused theRiver Kelvin to burst its banks at the closedKelvinbridge station, with the water making its way through the disused tunnels toExhibition Centre and the Low-Level station,[19] which was completely submerged by the resultant flash flood. It was closed until 24 September 1995 while repairs were made.
In August 2002, torrential rain flooded out the low-level stations fromDalmarnock through toExhibition Centre for a number of weeks. Most services were routed to the high-level platforms or toQueen Street station. The2002 Glasgow floods had a number of other effects, causing acryptospiridium outbreak in the city's water supply.[citation needed]
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 staffed ticket barriers at Platforms 1 to 8 were removed and theyellow ticket automatic barriers were removed from Platforms 9 to 13 (now 15).
In 1998, a five-year renovation programme was initiated byRailtrack, which saw the trainshed completely re-roofed and internally refurbished byBovis Lend Lease[20] – which also included the restoration of Hielanman's Umbrella. The 1980s vintage mechanical pixel-style destination boards were later replaced around 2005 with an array of LED-style destination boards. The final improvement, the upgrading of the upstairs restaurant area, was completed in 2005.
Platform 1 is at the east end and platform 15 is located at the west end of the station; platforms 16 and 17 are directly underneath the station's high level platforms. Platforms 1 and 2 are usually used by longer distance cross-border services operated byAvanti West Coast,TransPennine Express andCrossCountry, while platforms 3 to 6 are used mainly by services to Lanark, Edinburgh, East Kilbride, Barrhead, Kilmarnock, Carlisle, Girvan, and Stranraer. Platforms 7–10 are used by services which operate along the Cathcart Circle and also Neilston and Newton, but other services are known to use them as well. Platforms 11–15 are used mostly by services to Ayr, Largs, Ardrossan, Gourock, Wemyss Bay and Paisley Canal. Platform 11 is used as a relief platform for Avanti West Coast services if platforms 1 or 2 cannot be used.
All of the high level platforms are divided into three sections: front, middle and rear; these are used when two or three trains are occupying the same platform.
To accommodate the cancelledGlasgow 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.[21][22] There is no plan 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.[23] DuringCyclone Bodil in December 2013, the glass roof of the station was broken by flying debris.[24]
Automatic ticket barriers were installed at Glasgow Central and three other city-centre stations from 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 previousyellow ticket automatic barriers had been scrapped during the 1980s to encourage more passengers; tickets were checked on trains instead. ScotRail finalised negotiations with Network Rail over the project in June 2010,[25] with the project completed in February 2012, covering High Level Platforms 3 to 15 and Low Level Platforms 16 and 17.[26] Platforms 1 and 2 were left without barriers, as they are mostly used by long-distance express services with a high proportion of passengers carrying heavy luggage.[citation needed]
In November 2023, Network Rail renewed the concourse departure screens, replacing the 2005 style boards. The new ones are similar to the screens at Glasgow Queen Street.[27] The concourse is due to receive minor refurbishment which will be carried out between late 2023 and late 2024. This work will create better retail space, a new multi faith room and a relocated station reception.[28] Low Level platforms 16 and 17 will be refreshed, similar to the works carried out atAnderston in 2022.[29]
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Central station is fronted by theCentral 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 byRobert Rowand Anderson, in 'Queen Anne style'; he also furnished the public rooms.[30] The hotel was completed in 1883, but was extended along with the station in 1901–1906.[30] The hotel extension was designed byJames Miller and it opened on 15 April 1907.[30]
The world's first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to the Central Hotel in the station, on 24 May 1927 byJohn Logie Baird.[31] The hotel was sold byBritish 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 ofasbestos contamination and structural deterioration.
In June 2009, a new company acquired the hotel building, and worked to refurbish and rebrand it as theGlasgow Grand Central Hotel.[32] The refurbished hotel re-opened in September 2010.[33] In 2021 it was refurbished byIHG Hotels & Resorts and rebrandedvoco Grand Central Hotel.
The original 1889signal box was replaced with an electro-pneumatic power-operated box based on theWestinghouse system.[34] Work started in October 1907 and it opened on 5 April 1908.[34] It was built directly over the River Clyde, sitting between the two river bridges, above the level of the tracks.[34] Inside was a frame of 374 miniature levers, making it the longest power frame ever built in Great Britain.[13][18]
Glasgow CentralSignalling 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.[18] When initially opened it was capable of handling 1,000 routes.[18]
The new signalling centre was needed for three reasons:
In addition to the removal of the east river bridge, thescissor 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) atCowlairs. TheNX panel is to be preserved. The station is currently signalled by two WestinghouseWestlock Interlockings which are controlled via anAlstom MCS control system.
Following the success of theDoors Open day event in summer 2013, tours of the station several times each week began in November 2014.[35] These 90-minute tours cover the roof, plus the catacombs, vaults, and a view of disused platforms below the station.[36]
In December 2017, McLaren's Pianos gave a piano to the station on permanent loan, which is available to the public to play.[37] This area is referred to as the "Piano Garden" and is located directly behind the mobility assistance booth.
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 adjacent to platforms 1 and 2. Avanti West Coast also operates a dedicated customer lounge, next to platform 1, and a First Class lounge.
Glasgow Central is served by fivetrain operating companies. ScotRail uses both the high level and low level platforms; all other operators use the high level only. The general service pattern for Monday-Friday off-peak in trains per hour/day is:
High Level:
Low Level:
Ataxi rank lies to the north of the station, while buses operate from the adjacent streets.
St Enoch andBuchanan StreetSubway stations are within a few minutes' walk.
First Glasgow operates a bus service on behalf of ScotRail toGlasgow Queen Street andBuchanan bus station; this bus is numbered 398 and runs every 12 minutes.
Coinciding with the launch of the newBBC Scotland TV channel, a newdocumentary TV series titledInside Central Station was commissioned toSTV Productions, first airing on 3 March 2019[43] 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.[44] Currently, four series of the show have aired.[45]
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