Glasgow Central Station remains closed in aftermath of fire

2 hours ago 2

Network Rail The Union Corner building is reduced to rubble after a fire in Glasgow. Victorian buildings and street furniture surround the iron and sandstone remains.

Scotland's busiest station remains closed following a huge fire that destroyed a neighbouring building.

Glasgow Central Station has been shut since Sunday, when a blaze spread from a vape shop on Union Street through a B-listed Victorian building.

Network Rail said its staff and fire service teams were continuing to work on the site.

A spokesperson said disruption to rail services was expected to "continue in the coming days".

Glasgow Central is one of the busiest stations in the UK, with 25 million passenger visits each year.

It is the main station for all services on the west coast mainline to England and also operates services throughout central Scotland. Nearby Queen Street station operates the most regular services to Edinburgh, as well as services for the north and east of Scotland.

ScotRail said no services would operate in or out of Central Station on Tuesday but low level trains would pass through the station to stop at nearby Argyle Street and Anderston stations.

Scores of ScotRail services use both the low level and the high level platforms at the station.

Its chief operating officer David Ross told BBC Scotland News there would not be any services on Tuesday, and disruption would continue for several days.

He said: "Our advice to passengers is to look at the ScotRail website, external and the app, and see exactly what is running.

"We are also asking people to be very patient with our staff - we are doing the best we can in very difficult circumstances."

Network Rail Network Rail Scotland's route director Ross Moran, wearing a white hard hat and and orange hi-vis jacket stands on the concourse of Glasgow Central station with fire hoses lying on the floor and tape cordons behind him.

Network Rail Scotland's route director Ross Moran said when the fire service response moved into the "recovery stage", engineers would inspect affected areas of the station to assess what damage had been done.

The station is thought to have escaped any major damage.

Moran said that they were "extremely grateful" for the hard work of the firefighters.

About 250 of them worked round the clock to contain the fire in the Orr and Sons building on the Union Street junction with Gordon Street.

The building known as Union Corner dates back to 1851, pre-dating the station which opened in 1879.

Avanti West Coast said passengers could use tickets at no extra cost on LNER services between Edinburgh and London King's Cross.

Police Scotland said several roads around Union Street and Central Station would remain closed. They are:

Renfield Street at West George Street
St Vincent Street at West Nile Street
West Nile Street southbound from Bath Street
Broomielaw between Oswald Street and Jamaica Street

Union Street, where the fire took place, is a main drop-off point for many city centre passengers.

PA Media A firefighter by an entrance to the closed Glasgow Central railway station as work continues to dampen down the remains of a fire which broke out in a building adjacent to the railway station.

The SFRS said its response to the incident was scaled back on Tuesday with four fire engines and two high-reach vehicles still on site.

Crews were working to cool off hotspots in the stonework and assist structural engineers in assessing the stability of the remaining building.

The SFRS confirmed the fire broke out in a vape shop and said a preliminary multi-agency investigation into the cause had begun.

Assistant Chief Officer David Farries said on Monday: "We need to do a full investigation with our multi-agency partners to understand the nature of the fire and understand why the fire spread the way that it did."

Six crews were initially sent to the four-floor building on Union Street at about 15:45 on Sunday.

Smoke was seen billowing out of a ground-floor vape shop next to a side entrance to the station.

Union Street in Glasgow - teams of firefighters are tackling smoke coming from a row of shops, including a Subway sandwich and a Paddy Power.

Police cordoned off the street between Gordon Street and St Vincent Street when the fire started. Diversions were put in place.

But the fire worsened as the evening went on. The flames reached the dome on the corner of the historic building and the front wall collapsed to the ground.

First Minister John Swinney acknowledged that there would be a "significant cost" in the aftermath of the blaze.

He said it was a "very serious fire" and was relieved there were no injuries.

He said the Scottish government would offer financial support to Glasgow City Council to "make sure we can get the city centre up-and-running as quickly as we can".