Glasgow Central station closure update issued following Union Street fire

The fire on Union Street has brought the centre of Glasgow to a standstill with roads closed around Central Station and buses diverted. The blaze started in a vape shop on Sunday afternoon with Union Corner, a B-listed Victorian building, partially collapsing hours later.

Network Rail Scotland have issued a statement on the plan for Central Station: “Following a full site assessment, Glasgow Central Low Level Station will reopen for train services from tomorrow morning (Wednesday).

“However, due to the high level of instability of the building façade on Gordon Street and the required building assessment work that needs to be undertaken, Glasgow Central High Level station will not reopen this week.

“We recognise the inconvenience this will cause for passengers, however we must wait until Scottish Fire and Rescue Services and Glasgow City Council have completed their critical work to determine the safety of the Union Corner site.

“When this work has concluded, our team will be able to undertake the structural assessment work that is needed to determine if there has been any damage to the station.

“We will continue to work with Glasgow City Council and Scottish Fire and Rescue Services to develop a plan to reopen the station when it is safe to do so for trains and passengers.”

Commenting, Route Director Ross Moran said: “We are grateful to Scottish Fire and Rescue teams who have been working tirelessly to contain the fire on the Union Corner site.

“I am pleased to advise passengers that we will be able to open Glasgow Central Low Level station from tomorrow morning (Wednesday).

“Unfortunately, further work is required to ensure the high level station is safe for trains to operate. Our priority is to make sure that we can reopen Glasgow Central as soon as it is safe to do so and we will continue to work with emergency services, the local council and our train operators to restore services.

“We want to reassure passengers that we are doing everything we can to open the high level station, but we must enable the emergency services and Glasgow City Council to complete their critical work to secure the Union Corner site and make it safe.”

More than 200 firefighters in total have been involved at the scene since Sunday afternoon - with 18 fire appliances and specialist resources dispatched at the height of the incident.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said a “preliminary multi-agency investigation” is now underway to establish the cause of the fire.

On Tuesday, they said the operation had been scaled back with four fire appliances and two high-reach vehicles remaining at the scene.

The spokesperson said that is likely to remain the case or be reduced further across the rest of the day.

They are still advising people to avoid the area, and nearby residents should keep windows closed as a precaution.

Police Scotland have confirmed the following closures remain in place:

• Union Street closed between Drury Street and Argyle Street (vehicular and pedestrian)
• Gordon Street closed between Hope Street and West Nile Street (vehicular and pedestrian)
• West Nile Street closed between Gordon Street and St Vincent Street (vehicular only)
• Mitchell Street closed between Gordon Street and NCP Car Park/Mitchell Lane (vehicular only)

Superintendent Jackie Dunbar said: “We continue to support partners with their response to this significant incident in the city centre.

“I would continue to urge people to be mindful of road closures, plan journeys carefully and to avoid the area if they can.

“I understand local businesses will have concerns, but our guidance is that premises out with the outer cordon area can be accessed and operate as normal.

“Anyone with concerns or questions can approach officers at the scene.”