The complex checks underway before Glasgow Central can fully reopen
Some trains resume in main part of Scotland’s busiest station after ten-day closure
Demolition chiefs have spoken of the complexity of the operation to bring down the facade of the fire-ravaged building beside Glasgow Central Station as a question mark remained about how soon it can fully reopen.
Glasgow City Council said the rail hub was still being checked for damage by engineers, including under its concourse, as work on removing the facade started on Wednesday, following the huge blaze ten days ago.
It has said clearing the site of the building on the corner of Gordon Street and Union Street would take weeks but declined to reveal the expected timescale for fully reopening the station.
ScotRail and cross-Border Avanti West Coast and Caledonian Sleeper services re-started on Wednesday from platforms seven to 15 on the west side of the main part of the station - furthest away from the fire.
Passengers used entrances on Hope Street and Argyle Street, which included the re-opened “carriage drive” ramp previously used for vehicle access.
ScotRail focused on reinstating longer-distance routes, such as from Ayr, Gourock, Wemyss Bay, Lanark, Kilmarnock and East Kilbride, and operated around one third of its normal services from the station.
Its shops, cafes and toilets are closed, while the concourse clock remains stopped at 7.50, when the power was switched off during the fire on March 8.
Raymond Barlow, head of building standards at Glasgow City Council, told The Scotsman: “There are unknowns here for us - we are still looking at parts of the building, including under the station concourse, because we need to understand the interaction between that building and the building we are bringing down [which predated it].
“All the buildings interact, and the main structure of the [station] roof sits on a wall right next to where we are doing the demolition.
“So it’s not just about what damage has been caused by the fire. We have got to see [the effect of] these ongoing operations next to that wall, particularly when you start rubble clearing.
“We will need to make sure that if we let further people in, how close can they get to those operations.
“We have moved slightly ahead of schedule - we were behind and have now moved ahead - without putting a definite time frame on everything.
“The wind caused difficulties with the first large crane. The second crane which we brought in is a wee bit less susceptible.”
Mr Barlow said: “Even though we have have an overall ballpark timeframe, I don’t want to quote that at the moment”, but he added it would be “weeks”.
He said: “There is no decision from us on fully reopening the station.”
ScotRail chief operating officer David Ross said: “We are keeping the timetable under very regular review and as soon as we can get more platforms open, we will be able to get more services running, but only when it is safe to do so.”
He said that would require the city council to remove more of the station from the exclusion zone so additional entrances and exits could be used to cope with a greater number of passengers.
Meantime, Finance Secretary Shona Robison is to seek financial support for post-fire recovery from Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray after the Scottish Government pledged up to £10 million to help the city council and affected businesses.
A Scottish Labour spokesperson said officials from the UK Government’s Scotland Office were already discussing this with the city council and Scottish Government.
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