Fire at Glasgow Central (08/03/26)

[realemil]

It appears that the fire brigade is still operating and shooting water onto the scene with no signs of stopping, seems to be 3 engines currently spraying from the live feeds available.

I imagine the station might remain shut Wednesday too.

 

[Russel]

How was the fire tackled from inside the station, anyone know?

 

[Citybreak1]

https://x.com/thisisgoradio/status/2030935705526931856?s=46

We're being told Glasgow Central Station was very close to igniting due to the devastating fire on Union Street yesterday.

Sources say damage to the station is limited to windows cracked by the heat, and toilets that have been badly flooded by the fire service's intense efforts to put out the blaze

ScotRail say no services will operate to or from the high-level platforms at Central today. Trains will not call at the low level but will pass through the station to stop at Argyle Street and Anderston.

Seemingly toilets flooded

 

[Strathclyder]

How was the fire tackled from inside the station, anyone know?

Hoses put through the WH Smith unit (beneath the Scotrail operations center I believe, but could be wrong there; am open to correction) backing onto the destroyed buildings. Can't think of anywhere else they could feasibly fight the fire from within the station itself.

It appears that the fire brigade is still operating and shooting water onto the scene with no signs of stopping, seems to be 3 engines currently spraying from the live feeds available.

Not a surprise really. Drowning the ruins in water to keep it cool and giving it absolutely zero chance of reigniting is the best approach with lithium battery fires, to say nothing of any remaining flammable materials in what's left of the Forsyth Building (the domed one aka Union Corner) that wasn't consumed last night/early this morning. The volatility of lithium batteries in fires are well-known, so the fire brigade's caution here is well within the bounds of reasonable caution.

 

[Lewisham2221]

Health and safety getting silly now. I doubt turning the power on is going to cause anything bad to happen.

I imagine the power will stay off until they're absolutely certain there's no risk of the thousands of gallons of water being used to fight the fire getting anywhere near the 25kV OLE.

 

[fwsmVor]

I imagine the power will stay off until they're absolutely certain there's no risk of the thousands of gallons of water being used to fight the fire getting anywhere near the 25kV OLE.

Genuine question: how is this different to when it rains at a non-roofed station?

 

[35B]

Genuine question: how is this different to when it rains at a non-roofed station?

Rain doesn’t fall in a continuous stream, and doesn’t come out of a hose held by people

 

[enginedin]

https://x.com/thisisgoradio/status/2030935705526931856?s=46

Seemingly toilets flooded

> We're being told

with no (verifiable) source, that could just mean "some guy on the street told us", or the architect quoted in the Herald....

 

[norbitonflyer]

Genuine question: how is this different to when it rains at a non-roofed station?

Volume.

 

[Elecman]

Fire services taking water from other than the public supply doesn't seem too common in the UK, but it does happen. In California, particularly after earthquakes when the city supply may be fractured, they classically draw water from all the nearby houses' swimming pools.

Plenty of Road over Canal bridges in Birmingham have FireBrigade access hatches built into them to provide quick access for suction hoses if required

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2026 ==

Volume.

And the fact that water from fire fighting will probably be contaminated with carbon debris

 

[Strathclyder]

Genuine question: how is this different to when it rains at a non-roofed station?

The sheer volume of water mainly.

 

[MadCommuter]

Plenty of Road over Canal bridges in Birmingham have FireBrigade access hatches built into them to provide quick access for suction hoses if required

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 9 Mar 2026 ==


And the fact that water from fire fighting will probably be contaminated with carbon debris

Would it make a difference with it being salt water from the Clyde?

 

[b0b]

https://x.com/thisisgoradio/status/2030935705526931856?s=46

Seemingly toilets flooded

not exactly unusual at GLC

 

[Russel]

Just a note, 57314 is the loco moving up to Glasgow on the 0Z99 move (Currently nearing Carstairs), and it's job is to move the stranded trains out of the station (presumably to the depot nearby). This should allow for a proper evaluation of the condition of the OLE and other parts of the station before they re-turn on the OLE.

Given the location of the fire, presumably the OHLE needing inspection would be limited to platforms 1/2/3 at most?

 

[Amos390]

Given the location of the fire, presumably the OHLE needing inspection would be limited to platforms 1/2/3 at most?

Yeah, would assume so

 

[JModulo]

Given the location of the fire, presumably the OHLE needing inspection would be limited to platforms 1/2/3 at most?

Unlikely given the OHLE isnt near where the fire was.

 

[Falcon1200]

he architect in question is Alan Dunlop, who was apparently the "leading architect" in the 1990s restoration of Central Station. Key point attributed to him is that "It looks as though the damage has significantly affected the roof of Central Station. I don't know how it would not have."

The roof might not have been damaged by the fire due to their non-proximity! The fire being in a building separated from the roof by another building. Anyone who has seen the TV programmes about Central station will know there are elevated walkways from which the roof can be seen. Unless Mr Dunlop has been up there himself, or has inside information, not sure how he can make his statement.

 

[Buzby]

It's not generally sensible to have 25 kV exposed wires turned on next to an active situation involving fire damage.

The OLE is not near the building that collapsed. At least 100metres for P1, but further for the rest.

 

[Lewisham2221]

The OLE is not near the building that collapsed. At least 100metres for P1, but further for the rest.

About half that, I reckon, at the closest point. Given the ferocity of the fire and the risk of it spreading, and the volume of water being used to fight the fire (and potentially to protect other nearby buildings to prevent spreading) I can absolutely understand wanting to turn of the OLE straight away. Last thing you want to do is leave it on and then waste precious time getting it switched off when the situation changes.

 

[aaronspence]

I wonder what the plan is for all this water thats sat in the building / the toilets, Where do you pump it to? It will be all contaminated.

 

[mmh]

I wonder what the plan is for all this water thats sat in the building / the toilets, Where do you pump it to? It will be all contaminated.

Down a sewer.

 

[QueensCurve]

There is a BBC Reporting Scotland special covering the fire at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002slyg

Rain doesn’t fall in a continuous stream, and doesn’t come out of a hose held by people

Not disputing that the wires will have to remain isolated. I do recall watching copious amounts of water running off the roof at Crewe station pouring directly on to the wires with no visible arching. Of course nobody was holding onto the roof.

 

[D1511]

Hoses put through the WH Smith unit (beneath the Scotrail operations center I believe,

Finally a purpose to a WH Smith!

 

[b0b]

I can absolutely understand wanting to turn of the OLE straight away. Last thing you want to do is leave it on and then waste precious time getting it switched off when the situation changes.

OLE is also a spark risk, which is less than ideal around an already raging fire. Also if the toilets are flooded the Platform 1 OLE isn't that far away if memory serves.

 

[Russel]

I wonder what the plan is for all this water thats sat in the building / the toilets, Where do you pump it to? It will be all contaminated.

The contaminated water that is sat in the toilets to be pumped out will be a tiny amount compared to what was used on the fire and ran off down into the sewers already.

 

[deerokus]

There's still quite a lot of smoke or steam coming from the ruins. Think it will be a while yet before Network Rail can access the station.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Passed through the Low Level platforms earlier this evening. All of the lights were off and it was pitch black down there. An incredibly eerie sight.

 

[Krokodil]

Passed through the Low Level platforms earlier this evening. All of the lights were off and it was pitch black down there. An incredibly eerie sight.

That's the other reason that the station can't reopen - its own electrics will need checking.

 

[MadCommuter]

That's the other reason that the station can't reopen - its own electrics will need checking.

The low level gates haven't worked since the flood last week.

 

[Cowley]

Being that we’ve got all kinds of different topics coming out of this thread, we set up some offshoots, which are:

• Travel advice during the disruption.
  

  Travel advice & experiences during the Glasgow Central disruption

  I was booked to travel tomorrow to Sheffield via TPE to Manchester then EMR. This won’t happen due to the closure, TPE say there’s ticket acceptance to Edinburgh on ScotRail and southbound TPE from Edinburgh. My issue is I can get to Sheffield by both LNER and CrossCountry, but there’s no...

  www.railforums.co.uk
  
  
• Proposals on how to mitigate the disruption
  

  How could the effects of the Glasgow Central closure be mitigated?

  Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/fire-at-glasgow-central-08-03-26.299500/ As somebody stated earlier in this thread, the biggest issue with running anything is the train crew situation. If staff cannot access the mess facilities, booking on points, and so on -...

  www.railforums.co.uk
  
  
• Discussion on whether the building next to the station should be rebuilt
  

  How should the building next to Glasgow Central station be rebuilt?

  From https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/fire-at-glasgow-central-08-03-26.299500/page-8#post-7706818 Should it be rebuilt exactly as it was or a new glass fronted building? I think a sensitively designed modern stone and glass building would fit well, personally. There are plenty of...

  www.railforums.co.uk
  
  
• And a discussion about vape shops
  

  Vape shops and fire safety concerns

  Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/fire-at-glasgow-central-08-03-26.299500 Lots of talk about vape shops will they have to move if close to other stations? Also, the blue lagoon has been on fire three times, so perhaps that area needs to be non-retail?

  www.railforums.co.uk
  
  
• And moves to rescue stranded trains
  

  Recovery of stranded trains out of Glasgow Central following fire on 08/03

  Moderator note: Split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/fire-at-glasgow-central-08-03-26.299500/ Just a note, 57314 is the loco moving up to Glasgow on the 0Z99 move (Currently nearing Carstairs), and its job is to move the stranded trains out of the station (presumably to the depot...

  www.railforums.co.uk