SCOTLAND’S busiest railway station being forced into closure due to Glasgow’s Union Street fire has allowed a projected 10 months worth of engineering works to be delivered in just 10 days.
Glasgow Central was closed on March 8 following the devastating fire, with Network Rail teams moving quickly to seize the rare opportunity to deliver the package of maintenance and renewals ahead of its March 18 partial reopening.
The work would’ve ordinarily required multiple weekend and weekday nightshifts to complete around the busy passenger services at Glasgow Central, with over 1,200 trains moving in and out each day.
Engineers carried out extensive maintenance on Overhead Line Equipment around the station, inspecting 299 sections and carrying out a range of repairs to the wires, insulators and other kit.
On the tracks more than 108 tonnes of used rail were removed from the station approaches along with 73 old timber sleepers. More than 6,200 sqm of vegetation was also cleared. Work was carried out on switches and crossings and inspections made on 439 insulated block joints.
Keiren Sharkey, infrastructure maintenance delivery manager at Network Rail, said, “It was a situation none of us expected, but our teams reacted immediately and were determined to make the most of this rare opportunity.
“It allowed teams based in Motherwell and Glasgow to complete an enormous amount of work that would have required a much longer period of time to complete under normal conditions.”
