Glasgow Central is the larger of the two present main-line railway terminals in Glasgow, Scotland, and is managed by Network Rail. It is the northern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, and was opened by the Caledonian Railway on July 31, 1879. It is the busiest railway station in the United Kingdom outside London. According to Network Rail, the station has over 34 million people departing from, or arriving at Glasgow Central each year. Glasgow Central serves all of the Greater Glasgow conurbation's southern towns and suburbs, the Ayrshire and Clyde coasts, as well as being the terminus for all inter-city services from Glasgow to destinations south of the border. The station is on two levels - the High Level station at the same level as Gordon Street and which bridges over Argyle Street, and the underground Low Level station. Original station The original station, opened in 1879 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. The station was soon found to be too congested.

A temporary solution of widening the bridge over Argyle Street and inserting a ninth platform on Argyle Street bridge was adopted. It was also initially intended to increase Bridge Street station to eight through lines and to increase Central Station to 15 platforms.

Low level station

The low level platforms, in what was originally a separate station, were added to serve the underground Glasgow Central Railway, which was authorised on 10 August 1888 and opened on 10 August 1896. The Glasgow Central Railway was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1890. 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.


The 1901-1905 station

Between 1901 and 1905 the original station was rebuilt. The station was extended over the top of Argyle Street and thirteen platforms were built. An additional eight-track bridge was built over the Clyde; and the original bridge was raised by 30 inches (0.75 metre). Bridge Street station was then closed.

The High Level station now has 14 platforms covered by a large steel ridge/furrow roof. These platforms are numbered 1-11, 11a and 12-13. Platform 11a was created during the 1901 to 1905 rebuild but was not originally for passenger use - it was known as the Fish, Fruit and Milk platform

Central Station has a spacious concourse containing a variety of shops, catering outlets, ticket offices and a travel centre. The station 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. Although not obvious to the general public, there is also an extensive system of tunnels and underground caverns used for car parking and utility purposes built underneath the station.

The station's famous architectural features are the large glass-walled bridge that takes the station building over Argyle Street, nicknamed as the "Heilanman's (or Hellaman's) Umbrella" by locals because it was used as a gathering place for visiting Highlanders; and the former ticket offices/platform and train destination information building. This was a large oval building, with the booking office on the ground floor and the train information display for passengers, on via large printed cloth destination boards placed behind large windows on the first floor by a team of two men. Underneath the "Umbrella" is a bustling array of shops and bars, as well as the "Arches" nightclub, theatre, gallery and restaurant complex.


Signalling

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

The present 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. When initially opened it was capable of handling 1,000 routes.

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 by-directionally
  
  
• Electrification of, firstly, the Cathcart Circle Lines, to be followed by the Gourock and Wemyss Bay services and the West Coast Main Line

Plans are in hand to install new signalling at Glasgow Central, which is to be controlled from a new signalling centre being built at Cowlairs.


Electrification

Overhead power lines began to appear on the high level platforms by the mid 1960s. Firstly, 6.25 kV AC Overhead power lines from the Cathcart Circle Line electrification scheme, which started on 29 May 1962. During this period the old 1879 bridge over the River Clyde was removed and the railway lines were rearranged.

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; and the WCML northern electrification scheme in 1974. Part of the Cathcart Circle was upgraded to 25 kV AC supply, in 1974, to provide a diversionary route. The whole of the Cathcart Circle route was later upgraded to 25 kV AC supply.

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


Late 20th century developments

Low level station

Closure

Services through the Low Level station were withdrawn on 3 October 1964, said to be due to competition with the tram. However, the trams had been withdrawn by 1962, so this may be a contradiction of the "Beeching Axe." It's also said that the recently electrified Queen Street Low Level line, which served many of the same areas as the Central Low Level service, was also a contributing factor as the public weren't so keen to be covered in smoke from the old steam trains and had taken an immediate liking to the clean, electric 'Blue Trains.'

Re-opening

In 1979 part of the low level line was electrified and the Low Level station was re-opened as the Argyle Line of the Glasgow suburban railway network. It consists of a single island platform, numbered as platforms 14 & 15. The Low Level station originally had 4 platforms (consisting of two island platforms) but only the southern platform was reinstated.

Initially services were provided by Class 303 and Class 314 units. The latter units were built specifically for this service. Following the withdrawal of the Class 303 units, the service is currently (in 2007) provided by Class 318 and Class 334 "Juniper" units. Class 320 units were intended to be used on the route, but the narrow tunnels made this proposal impossible, and these units are restricted to the North Clyde Line.

Flooding

Over the festive period of 1994 on 11 December, torrential rain caused the River Kelvin to burst its banks at the closed Kelvinbridge, with the water making its way through the disused tunnels to Exhibition Centre and the Low Level station, which was completely submerged by the resultant flash flood. It was closed for many months while repairs were made.

In August 2002, torrential rain flooded out the low-level stations from Dalmarnock through Exhibition Centre for a number of weeks. Most services were routed to the High Level platforms, or to Queen Street station. Incidentally, the flooding had a number of other effects, most infamously causing a cryptospiridium outbreak in Glasgow's water supply.

1980s redevelopment

The high level station's facilities were substantially redeveloped in the mid 1980s. The old ticket office/rain information building was replaced by an all new Travel Centre in 1985 adjacent to the Gordon Street entrance; and by 1986 a massive 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 archaic 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 refloored in marble.

1998 to 2005 refurbishment

In 1998, a five-year renovation programme was initiated by Railtrack, which saw the station completely re-roofed and internally refurbished. The 1980s vintage mechanical destination boards were replaced with modern LED style information signage. The final improvement, the upgrading of the upstairs restaurant area was completed in 2005.

Future

In order to accommodate the proposed Glasgow Airport Rail Link, scheduled to open in 2008-09, an extended Platform 11a will be created by demolishing the present platform-level car park, and passenger drop off area. There are no plans 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 will remain, with passenger drop off also moving to surrounding streets.