The fire began in a vape shop on Union Street at about 15:45 on Sunday 8 March, and firefighters were called soon after. By the time it was done, the blaze had gone through the whole building on the corner of Union Street and Gordon Street, right beside Glasgow Central Station. Scotland’s busiest railway station shut that day.
The building, known as Union Corner, partly collapsed. Only its facade remained standing. It was B-listed and dated to 1851, which makes it older than the station, opened in 1879. More than 250 firefighters were on the scene at the peak, and crews stayed until 11 March.
A partial reopening
Station operations began to return on Wednesday, according to the BBC, with some ScotRail and cross-border services running again. The main entrance on Gordon Street stayed closed because of safety concerns. Platforms seven to 15 on the west side came back into use, and passengers were sent in through the low-level entrances and the Hope Street carriage driveway, which is normally kept for special events and vehicle access. There was no entry from the upper part of the station, including the Union Street, Gordon Street and upper Hope Street doors.
Most of the main concourse was screened off behind solid metal sheeting. Shops and the main toilets stayed shut. Two disabled toilets, one with baby-change facilities, were open, with staff on hand to direct people.
Not every route came back. ScotRail’s Ayr, Gourock, Wemyss Bay, Kilmarnock, East Kilbride and Lanark services resumed at half-hourly or hourly frequencies. Avanti West Coast ran one train per hour, the first being the 05:48 to London Euston. Caledonian Sleeper services restarted. TransPennine Express and CrossCountry did not. The Edinburgh route via Shotts and Carstairs and the Ardrossan route stayed off, and the Largs, Dumfries, Carlisle and Stranraer lines ran only in part. The smaller low-level station, serving Balloch, Milngavie, Motherwell and Cumbernauld, had reopened the previous Wednesday.
Network Rail route director Ross Moran said temporary arrangements would stay “for a little while longer.” The aim, he said, was to restore full access “as soon as it is safe to do so.”
David Ross, ScotRail’s chief operating officer, called the return of services on more than half the high-level platforms “a big step forward.” He added that the timetable would be kept under regular review.
Demolition work
Work at the site moved on to the back wall of the collapsed building after the chimney stack on the southern gable was taken down. The council said crews were working around the clock, but progress depended on the weather. Cranes cannot be used in high winds.
