Glasgow Queen Street refurbishment and remodelling

[ld0595]

I passed through earlier tonight too. Looks good and I also agree that the Express screen was a nice tough. Are there plans to update the screen at the platform ends too?

 

[snookertam]

Queen Street has traditionally been the poor relation out of Glasgow's stations, so it's nice to see it get something that Central hasn't with the new updated screens.

 

[matchmaker]

Queen Street has traditionally been the poor relation out of Glasgow's stations, so it's nice to see it get something that Central hasn't with the new updated screens.

I think Buchanan Street held the title of poor relation!

 

[Milkboy]

The height of the new board "gees you a sore neck", apparently:

https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-queen-streets-new-departure-17698718

Yesterday morning - before publication of the above article - was my first visit to GQS since the new screens were brought into use, and they did seem awfy high up. But I accept it'll be less of an issue once the full concourse is open, and the information is much improved on what was provided before. (Though the "number of carriages" graphic appeared to include the power cars in HST formations!)

 

[route101]

Queen Street has traditionally been the poor relation out of Glasgow's stations, so it's nice to see it get something that Central hasn't with the new updated screens.

A station you never really linger . No shops in it too .

 

[ScottDarg]

The hoardings on the concourse have been moved back giving an idea of how much space there will be when complete:

We've moved the hoardings in the station further back towards George Square, as reconstruction work continues.
#GQS

https://twitter.com/NetworkRailGQS/status/1226432841271193601?s=20

 

[PaxVobiscum]

A station you never really linger .

If only

 

[PaxVobiscum]

The hoardings on the concourse have been moved back giving an idea of how much space there will be when complete:

https://twitter.com/NetworkRailGQS/status/1226432841271193601?s=20

Here’s the “before” picture. Most of that has been opened up now, apart from the bits near the r*mp and the l*ft.

 

[RLBH]

A station you never really linger . No shops in it too .

Arriving in Queen Street is arriving in Glasgow for me in a way that Central isn't. It feels more like a gateway to the city, for some reason. Obviously concourse retail is severely limited at the moment due to the refurbishment works, but what was there before was entirely adequate, and I assume that something similar will eventually find its' way in when the North Frederick Street development goes ahead in some form. If you're trying to go shopping, Buchanan Street is just a short walk away after all!

 

[Southsider]

Arriving in Queen Street is arriving in Glasgow for me in a way that Central isn't. It feels more like a gateway to the city, for some reason. Obviously concourse retail is severely limited at the moment due to the refurbishment works, but what was there before was entirely adequate, and I assume that something similar will eventually find its' way in when the North Frederick Street development goes ahead in some form. If you're trying to go shopping, Buchanan Street is just a short walk away after all!

Interesting viewpoint. To me, Central has presence and character, Queen Street has neither.

 

[route101]

Arriving in Queen Street is arriving in Glasgow for me in a way that Central isn't. It feels more like a gateway to the city, for some reason. Obviously concourse retail is severely limited at the moment due to the refurbishment works, but what was there before was entirely adequate, and I assume that something similar will eventually find its' way in when the North Frederick Street development goes ahead in some form. If you're trying to go shopping, Buchanan Street is just a short walk away after all!

I get you to a degree with the entrance to George Square . Central has more buzz and more characters hanging around. The approach to Central over the river , thats me back in Glasgow ! Queen St not really anything to see of note coming into Glasgow. All personal preference.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

At the low level section of the Dundas Street concourse, I have noticed that the commemorative plaques for when the line was electrified in 1960, plus the 25 and 50 year anniversary for 1985 and 2010 respectively have been removed from the wall that is adjacent to Platform 1 of the main station.

Will these 3 plaques be replaced once the works are complete?

Here’s my lightning fast response to this question : Thanks to to vigilance of ScotRail staff, the 1960 electrification plaque is now in safe custody along with two others which celebrate the 25th and 40th anniversaries.
They are being kept under guard in a secure location. And the proof:







It is not yet known, to me at least, if and where these will be relocated in the refurbished station.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

New Low Level gateline opened today. For now, L L p9 still accessed via High Level p2.
Short Twitter video:

 

[youngac]

Is there any work planned for the North Hanover Street side of the station? It appears rather underdeveloped just now compared with the rest of the station.

 

[mcmad]

The current (temporary) setup isn't great. The low level access signs are plain wrong with platform 1 being shown as accessing through the low level rather than along platform 2. The placement of the new screens and the new chicane to get out the Dundas Street side means it seems very cramped and overcrowded. Not looking forward to trying to get through if there is ever any significant disruption.

 

[InOban]

But surely when it is finished, the stairs and ramp, still behind the hoardings, will lead out to the corner of Dundas Street?

 

[PaxVobiscum]

But surely when it is finished, the stairs and ramp, still behind the hoardings, will lead out to the corner of Dundas Street?

Indeed - and perchance before it’s all finished.

 

[Rick1984]

I like the way the destination screens line with the window showing the arch and drawing the eye.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Another tedious and repetitive Twitter video, this time celebrating some new tiles at the west end of the main gateline : Incredibly, the previous one had had over 5K hits, mostly on Twitter. The telly must have been bad last week.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

The temporary scaffolding barriers around the platform 2/3 and 4/5 bufferstops (on top of the frangible decking areas) have recently been replaced with the permanent (stainless steel) fixings:

 

[hooverboy]

The temporary scaffolding barriers around the platform 2/3 and 4/5 bufferstops (on top of the frangible decking areas) have recently been replaced with the permanent (stainless steel) fixings:

View attachment 74420
View attachment 74421

ok, silly question.

how much is this costing?
and how many other stations could be modified for level access, prm, decent canopies,weatherproofing,platform cleanups,antislip, and extensions for the same price?

people on here do seem overly concerned with the aesthetics, when the rest of the network still needs function over form.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

The station or the railings?
If the latter former*, £120M if the Scotsman is to be believed. Without the station refurb there would be no platform extensions and no EGIP. I doubt if it could have been done much cheaper without shutting it down completely for about 2 years.

*This kind of thing always happens to me when I try to be a smart@r&e

 

[alangla]

Given the ends appear anchored in concrete and the main part is on the frangible deck, one would hope the fence itself is, er, frangible or things could get a bit messy after a buffer skelp.

EDIT - I retract that- I can see the gaps in it now. Still not convinced that the frangible deck is a good idea though

 

[hooverboy]

The station or the railings?
If the latter, £120M if the Scotsman is to be believed. Without the station refurb there would be no platform extensions and no EGIP. I doubt if it could have been done much cheaper without shutting it down completely for about 2 years.

not singling this project out by any means, but I do see it in much the same vein as london bridge refurb.
(tbh 200k spent on muirals would have covered 1 or 2 stations getting full prm access and weather protection.
the whole project went from £150m to £750m, so how many stations could have been fully disability compliant with that?)

lots of money spent on bells and whistles in one area,rather than getting the basics done with full coverage.

 

[swt_passenger]

Given the ends appear anchored in concrete and the main part is on the frangible deck, one would hope the fence itself is, er, frangible or things could get a bit messy after a buffer skelp.

There’s an obvious gap in the railings, vertically above the line which separates the frangible section from the fixed. The railing gap is most clear in the second photo, the first photo shows the gap in the floor most clearly - the thin metal strips.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

There’s an obvious gap in the railings, vertically above the line which separates the frangible section from the fixed. The gap is most clear in the second photo, the first one shows the gap most clearly.

Indeed there is:

 

[swt_passenger]

Indeed there is

I think a similar discussion took place regarding the fixed and moving sections of railings at Edinburgh’s extended P5/6. They didn’t get the same quality finish though, just painted steel, there’s a comparison photo in this post:
https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/edinburgh-waverley-station.123351/page-39#post-4082248

 

[PaxVobiscum]

EDIT - I retract that- I can see the gaps in it now. Still not convinced that the frangible deck is a good idea though

Perhaps it’s all part of a plot to ensure all the punters congregate on the main concourse on the other side of the gateline obediently watching the Customer Info Screens by making it feel scary to hang about behind the buffers looking at RealtimeTrains .

 

[snookertam]

not singling this project out by any means, but I do see it in much the same vein as london bridge refurb.
(tbh 200k spent on muirals would have covered 1 or 2 stations getting full prm access and weather protection.
the whole project went from £150m to £750m, so how many stations could have been fully disability compliant with that?)

lots of money spent on bells and whistles in one area,rather than getting the basics done with full coverage.

That's a fair point to make, however large scale alterations plus the extension at the City Centre end had to happen anyway. There was no way you could simple extend the platforms further out the station due to space constraints - it almost immediately goes straight into a twin track tunnel - so a new build concourse has had to be created further towards George Square. Yes, it could have been more functional perhaps, but a big complaint about architecture (including that which once obscured Queen Street itself) was the effect on the city aesthetic. Hence the construction here has had some thought and consideration put into it.

My impression is actually that once completed, the station will be quite minimalist in terms of wider facilities and will merely be a gateway to/from the city from Edinburgh/Stirling and the north, as opposed to Central which has shops, fast food and where people are more likely to linger. However, given that it's an important terminal, the west end of the country's most important rail service, I can understand why they'd want to put some more into it, especially given Queen Street has been somewhat neglected over the years.

 

[swt_passenger]

Given the ends appear anchored in concrete and the main part is on the frangible deck, one would hope the fence itself is, er, frangible or things could get a bit messy after a buffer skelp.

EDIT - I retract that- I can see the gaps in it now. Still not convinced that the frangible deck is a good idea though

I think the standards only allow a frangible deck when all other options are found to be impossible, it’s not so much a good idea, as an essential feature to achieve the platform length and concourse size, caused by the limitations of the overall site. Where space isn’t an issue the buffers of new build terminus platforms will be set significantly further away from the cross platform permanent structure.