Glasgow Queen Street Closure: timetabling/service alterations

[Clansman]

A friend of a friend was at a briefing for Scotrail in Edinburgh and the staff were informed of the diversionary routes and contingency plans for the closure of Glasgow Queen Street. The closures are for refurbishment works to the station to make way electrification as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement program. The following are details on the plans that will come into effect when Queen Street is closed:

Glasgow Queen Street

• As stated Glasgow Queen Street will be closed from March-August this year.
• The tunnel leading into QS will be lowered deeper into the ground with re-bricking of the walls. All platforms will be lengthened.
• all shops are to close and a 3 metre wide walkway will be built across the station for passengers
• Overhead wires installed
• Additional work to make way for the new redeveloping of the station due in 2018
• Queuing system installed for Queen Street Low Level

Services and diversionary routes

• Trains to Edinburgh Waverley will run at a 30 minute frequency out of Springburn and Queen Street Low Level
• Trains to Falkirk Grahamston, Stirling,Dunblane and Alloa will run from Anniesland
• West Highland Line trains will run from Queen Street Low Level
• Express trains north of Dunblane to Aberdeen and Inverness will run from Glasgow Central High Level via Coatbridge and Cumbernauld (40 minute increase in journey times)
• Trains diagramed to run Anniesland and Cumbernauld services will be re-diagramed onto other services to provide additional capacity
• Additional services to Perth and Dundee
• Frequent bus shuttles to Bishopbriggs, Lenzie and Croy
• Frequent shuttles of Low Level services to Anniesland and Springburn
• Trains entering QS low level will either do a "go around loop" somewhere alongthe line whilst others will continue on as a shuttle to Springburn to connect to services originating there.
• The Caledonian Sleeper service to Fort William and London Euston won't be affected
• Strathclyde Passenger Transport along with Glasgow City Council have agreed to introduce more frequent services on the Glasgow Subway between Buchanan Street and St.Enoch during peak hours.

Staffing

• Trains to Glasgow Central will see additional crew boarding at Stirling to assist drivers.

Looks like rail travel from Glasgow will be quite hectic for the next couple of months, and the additional journey time added to express services will add to the stress of commuters, especially if the weather stays bad and the Highland Mianline and the Aberdeen line have to close (like they have already), the journey time wouldn't be a pretty figure. But at least Queen Street will be fit for the future...and we'll see Turbostars at Central too

 

[marks87]

Where's the turnback for the "go around" at Queen Street LL?

 

[Clansman]

Where's the turnback for the "go around" at Queen Street LL?

I'm not sure, that's just what I was told. Scotrail gave away copies of the document to all staff with the info so Ill see if I can get a hold of one with the full details.

 

[sduob]

Looks like I'll be commuting by car for the summer if I stay in Glasgow, then. (I get the Cumbernauld line to QS service, or the Falkirk fasts). This will make travelling from anywhere along my section (Stepps, Gartcosh, etc) a nightmare best avoided.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Interesting.

My understanding was that the Cowlairs tunnel works are not officially part of EGIP, but that the opportunity might be taken to do some EGIP preparatory work. Tenders for the main Queen Street redevelopment works have only recently been invited (29th December), so it is difficult to imagine much being done to the station itself.

As for a turnback, there was talk of a one-way system (clockwise for some services and anticlockwise for others) being possible to avoid this, using the new Anniesland connection and the Springburn chord.

EDIT: On the other thread http://www.railforums.co.uk/showpost.php?p=2410893&postcount=82

Note that the Glasgow to Edinburgh services via Falkirk High arer running anti clockwise around Glasgow but the Alloa services appear to be running clockwise around Glasgow.

Is this a change to the plan I thought all services were to run anti-clockwise around Glasgow to reduce the number of junction conflicts?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Interestingly Falkirk Grahamston to Maryhill services are not calling at Springburn in this direction (after 10:05) but are calling in the reverse direction all day.

Falkirk Grahamston to Anniesland (note the unadvertised stops after 10:05)
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/sear...=all&order=wtt

Anniesland to Falkirk Grahamston
http://www.realtimetrains.co.uk/sear...=all&order=wtt

 

[me123]

The info is already on realtimetrains. There is no turn back at GLQ Low Level, and services are running through in a big loop essentially.

Services from Edinburgh will run via Maryhill and Anniesland, approaching GLQ from the West. They will then leave to the East, going through Springburn and back onto the main line at Cowlairs.

Services from Stirling/Alloa will approach from Springburn to the East, and depart to the West running out via Anniesland and Maryhill.

Existing EMU services through the low level are essentially the same, albeit slightly retimed.
Dalmuir - Cumbernauld services are interestingly booked to start back at Dumbarton Central. There will only be one direct train each hour to Cumbernauld, with the other train terminating at Springburn. An Anniesland - Falkirk Grahamston shuttle will run via Maryhill and Springburn, thus avoiding Glasgow. It seems to run once an hour and connects with the Springburn terminator.

To free up space at Patrick, some Argyle Line services via Yoker are withdrawn and are terminating at Anderston (services from Cumbernauld via Motherwell/Hamilton, and services to Whifflet and Motherwell). This leaves Yoker with 2tph instead of four. Services via Singer remain at 4tph, and Milngavie retains its service frequency.

WHL services are running ECS from Eastfield to the Low Level via Springburn.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Looks like I'll be commuting by car for the summer if I stay in Glasgow, then. (I get the Cumbernauld line to QS service, or the Falkirk fasts). This will make travelling from anywhere along my section (Stepps, Gartcosh, etc) a nightmare best avoided.

You won't be the only one. From the experience of the recent Winchburgh tunnel closure, the option chosen by most people seemed to be to avoid the rails altogether. The reality of that was that the trains weren't really any busier than usual, and in fact may be quieter. I think you'll probably find that everything will work well on the rails.

 

[sduob]

You won't be the only one. From the experience of the recent Winchburgh tunnel closure, the option chosen by most people seemed to be to avoid the rails altogether. The reality of that was that the trains weren't really any busier than usual, and in fact may be quieter. I think you'll probably find that everything will work well on the rails.

I dont disagree that the railway operation will be slick, but I was speaking more on the personal impact on timing and how it matches the business requirements; as it stands I need to be in the office for 0830. The hourly service from Cumbernauld to Dumbarton either gets me in 45 minutes early or 15 minutes late. Neither of which are ideal, unfortunately.

 

[cf111]

Out of interest, when's the last time passenger trains from Inverness/Aberdeen were scheduled to run into Central, if ever?

 

[me123]

I dont disagree that the railway operation will be slick, but personally it depends more on timing and business requirements; as it stands I need to be in the office for 0830. The hourly service from Cumbernauld to Dumbarton either gets me in 45 minutes early or 15 minutes late. Neither of which are ideal, unfortunately.

You don't have an hourly overall service, though. Yes, you have an hourly direct service at xx:58. But there's other options available. For an approximately 08:30 arrival into Central Glasgow, you have the following options.

06:58 to GLQ, Direct, arriving 07:34
07:12 to GLC, change at Whifflet arriving GLC at 07:58 (or stay on to get there for 08:20 if you're so inclined, or if you miss the connection)
07:30 to GLQ, change at Springburn arriving 08:19 (change to a train from Alloa)
07:59 to GLQ, Direct, arriving 08:34

I obviously don't know exactly where in the city you work (I assume a ten minute walk from GLQ based on your timings), but I think you'll find a viable option amongst those.

 

[Clansman]

Out of interest, when's the last time passenger trains from Inverness/Aberdeen were scheduled to run into Central, if ever?

Don't think they've ever ran from Central. The closest a train to Inverness has come to Central was the Clansman when it used to run via Motherwell and Cumbernauld.

 

[yorkie]

We have two threads on this, but rather than merge, can this one be to discuss train services (diversions/alterations etc) and the other thread to discuss the actual infrastructure works please? As they are, arguably, two separate matters

 

[cf111]

Don't think they've ever ran from Central. The closest a train to Inverness has come to Central was the Clansman when it used to run via Motherwell and Cumbernauld.

Your namesake was the only thing I could think off from the top of my head. I think I'll make an excuse to take a run down when the diversions are on for the fun of it!

 

[sduob]

You don't have an hourly overall service, though. Yes, you have an hourly direct service at xx:58. But there's other options available. For an approximately 08:30 arrival into Central Glasgow, you have the following options.

06:58 to GLQ, Direct, arriving 07:34
07:12 to GLC, change at Whifflet arriving GLC at 07:58 (or stay on to get there for 08:20 if you're so inclined, or if you miss the connection)
07:30 to GLQ, change at Springburn arriving 08:19 (change to a train from Alloa)
07:59 to GLQ, Direct, arriving 08:34

I obviously don't know exactly where in the city you work (I assume a ten minute walk from GLQ based on your timings), but I think you'll find a viable option amongst those.

Not quite, 10 minutes walk west of Charing Cross (so 20 or so walk from Central). For the avoidance of doubt I'm starting from Stepps, meaning viable changes are Springburn and Anniesland, assuming I'm reading RTT right. Though by this stage you're looking at an hour's commute for a six mile journey - which is definitely not ideal - hence the appeal of the car by comparison.

 

[mrcheek]

do we know what exact date this is due to all start?

 

[PHILIPE]

do we know what exact date this is due to all start?

20th March until 7 August. The dates can be found on the NRE Website in Future Engineering Works.

 

[mrcheek]

20th March until 7 August. The dates can be found on the NRE Website in Future Engineering Works.

ah, many thanks. good. Im in Glasgow from 7th-11th March as part of my All Line Rover this year. Luckily my plans wont be affected

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

Out of interest, when's the last time passenger trains from Inverness/Aberdeen were scheduled to run into Central, if ever?

With original Caledonian infrastructure in place, they would have used Buchanan St, with connections from there southwards.

I see some of the diverted trains into Central have 20 minutes pathing time from Coatbridge.
The raw times should only be about 15 minutes longer than into Queen St.

 

[me123]

Not quite, 10 minutes walk west of Charing Cross (so 20 or so walk from Central). For the avoidance of doubt I'm starting from Stepps, meaning viable changes are Springburn and Anniesland, assuming I'm reading RTT right. Though by this stage you're looking at an hour's commute for a six mile journey - which is definitely not ideal - hence the appeal of the car by comparison.

I see your problem there! Not an easy commute from intermediate stations to CHC, although the times above from Cumbernauld demonstrate some perfectly viable options for commuters from there.

The appeal of the car may be somewhat reduced by the congestion on the M80 and you ability to park in the West End, though! You could still be spending a long time on the roads in the morning rush hour, particularly with some extra traffic.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

ah, many thanks. good. Im in Glasgow from 7th-11th March as part of my All Line Rover this year. Luckily my plans wont be affected

On the other side, for track bashers there is some rare track in use during the diversions. So there'll be plenty of opportunities to scratch some of these off if you're missing them.

Bishopbriggs-Ashfield is one section that's not often used for passengers, as is Springburn-Bishopbriggs. Both will be in regular use during the diversions. There's obviously the new track from from Maryhill to Anniesland platforms 1&2. And there's regular services between Coatbridge Central and Kirkwood using that very rarely used line through sunny Coatbridge.

(I don't have the time or energy to work out which junctions are which, but hopefully these make sense!)

 

[gsnedders]

I'm slightly surprised there aren't extra services on the Airdrie–Bathgate line, especially given the shuttle is down to 2tph. The shuttle GLQ–EDB seems to be mostly timed for 65 minutes and EDB–GLQ 72 minutes, compared with the Airdrie–Bathgate line fast trains being mostly timed for 64 minutes (which would undoubtedly come down if you ran non-stop GLQ–HYM). I presume the problem with running anything extra there is you hit the problems of capacity on the North Clyde Line again, given the lack of any turnback?

 

[marks87]

I'm slightly surprised there aren't extra services on the Airdrie–Bathgate line, especially given the shuttle is down to 2tph. The shuttle GLQ–EDB seems to be mostly timed for 65 minutes and EDB–GLQ 72 minutes, compared with the Airdrie–Bathgate line fast trains being mostly timed for 64 minutes (which would undoubtedly come down if you ran non-stop GLQ–HYM). I presume the problem with running anything extra there is you hit the problems of capacity on the North Clyde Line again, given the lack of any turnback?

You also run into capacity problems at Queen Street Low Level, which is where the vast majority of high level services are going.

 

[Carntyne]

I'm slightly surprised there aren't extra services on the Airdrie–Bathgate line, especially given the shuttle is down to 2tph. The shuttle GLQ–EDB seems to be mostly timed for 65 minutes and EDB–GLQ 72 minutes, compared with the Airdrie–Bathgate line fast trains being mostly timed for 64 minutes (which would undoubtedly come down if you ran non-stop GLQ–HYM). I presume the problem with running anything extra there is you hit the problems of capacity on the North Clyde Line again, given the lack of any turnback?

The 4tph should be sufficient, it was during Winchburgh apart from one or two peak West Lothian - EDB services.

 

[marks87]

ScotRail have publicised this to the masses today.

It's gone down as well as you'd expect.

https://www.facebook.com/ScotRail/posts/1111188265571882

 

[Blindtraveler]

From an enthusiast POV this will make for an enjoyable summer. From the POV of someone who travels long distance to the Northern Isles and whos Wife does so more regularly still its going to make things interesting in terms of if trains are delayed, paths and onward connections missed esp at Inverness

 

[Millisle]

Negative headlining on Radio Scotland this evening, as if the central purpose was to aim at making people's lives difficult.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Pritty much a Rehash of BBC News Onlines take on it. I
wonder if the BBC Scotland Office is where all X Daily Mail Jurnos go to die?

 

[me123]

The 4tph should be sufficient, it was during Winchburgh apart from one or two peak West Lothian - EDB services.

Last year, the answer for many people seemed to be abandoning the trains altogether. I remember boarding a rush hour train from Glasgow to Edinburgh via Bathgate at Blairhill expecting it to be full and standing (I was actually concerned that I wouldn't get on with my hand luggage). It was no worse than normal, and I got four seats to myself.

To everyone complaining - if you can do a better job then please go ahead. I think we'd all be interested to see your proposals. Bear in mind that you have limited rolling stock and limited track capacity at various points throughout the network. Also bear in mind that yours is not the only train going into Glasgow.

 

[PaulLothian]

Quite a bit more detail now up on the ScotRail website: https://www.scotrail.co.uk/QueenStreettunnel

 

[marks87]

Quite a bit more detail now up on the ScotRail website: https://www.scotrail.co.uk/QueenStreettunnel

And of course, local rags are ready with the negativity.

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/lo...face-months-of-delays-1.921898#articlecomment

Tayside rail commuters face months of delays

Tayside rail commuters are facing almost half a year of delay misery on the Glasgow line.

The ScotRail Alliance confirmed 25 minutes will be added to journey times for customers travelling to the west coast city from Dundee, Arbroath and Carnoustie.

All services from the three stations will be diverted to either Glasgow Central or Glasgow Queen Street Low Level when the High Level tunnel at Queen Street closes for 20 weeks.

Starting on March 20, the diverted route will cause a headache for passengers at peak commuter times.

As someone in the comments says, an alternative headline is "£60 million to be spent upgrading ageing infrastructure". But that doesn't pander to the readers' prejudices.

 

[ginge8991]

In the lists of diverted services, at the bottom of the page, it mentions the Cumbernauld - Dalmuir services being altered, it says that "this means that peak time specials will not operate". What are the peak time specials? Can anyone help me out?

 

[adrock1976]

Regarding the Aberdeen and Inverness services being diverted to Glasgow Central, the overall journey time would remain similar for onward travel to destinations south of the mighty Clyde. This is due to the minimum 30 minutes interchange time that has to be allowed when transferring between Queen Street and Central stations.

In the lists of diverted services, at the bottom of the page, it mentions the Cumbernauld - Dalmuir services being altered, it says that "this means that peak time specials will not operate". What are the peak time specials? Can anyone help me out?

On Mondays to Fridays peak times, there are some short workings that start from/terminate at Springburn, with services to whats it called? Cumbernauld operating non-stop between Bellgrove and Springburn, then resuming normal calling pattern afterwards.