Glasgow station project up for tender

A £112 million (€152.6 million) tender has been issued for the rebuilding of a major Scottish railway station, Glasgow Queen Street.

Said to be Scotland’s third busiest station with 20 million passengers a year, it is felt that Glasgow Queen Street needs to expand to meet predicted growth to 28 million passengers by 2030.

Also, the station’s platforms and concourse need to be extended to accommodate the faster, longer electric trains being introduced to Scotland’s railways as part of the £742 million (€1.01 billion) Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

Due for completion in 2019, the redevelopment will create what is being described as “a landmark, modern station which reflects Queen Street’s role as a gateway to the city and as an important departure point for visitors heading north and east”.

The scope of the project will include the demolition of the Millennium Hotel’s 1970s extension above the station; the demolition of Consort House; the removal of the canopy over the footway in Dundas Street; and the redevelopment of the station concourse, south and west façades, including the reconstruction and extension of station buildings.

There will also be improved station entrances at Dundas Street and George Square; new lighting and public address systems; new ticket office and staff accommodation block; and the construction of extended platforms to accommodate eight-car trains.

Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said, “This is another tremendously exciting step forward in our plans to transform Scotland’s railway.

“The changes we are making in the coming years will make sure that we have a modern fleet, running on improved infrastructure to and from world-class stations. That is a rail network we can all be proud of.”

Rodger Querns, programme director for the EGIP, added, “This is further good progress in the delivery of EGIP.

“We have already successfully completed a number of key elements of EGIP including the electrification of the Cumbernauld line and Haymarket station and are on the ground across the Edinburgh-Glasgow railway preparing the line for electrification and building Edinburgh Gateway Interchange at Gogar, where we are also making good progress.”