Glasgow Queen Street Low Level

Location type

Station

Name and dates

Glasgow Queen Street Low Level (1886-)

Station code: GQL National Rail ScotRail
Where: Glasgow City, Scotland
Opened on the Glasgow City and District Railway.
Open on the Edinburgh to Glasgow via Bathgate and Airdrie.
Open on the Glasgow to Cumbernauld via Duke Street.
Open on the Glasgow to Helensburgh.

Description

This is a two platform station beneath Glasgow Queen Street High Level. Trains at the high level station can be heard arriving and departing from below.

This station was built directly below the already open High Level station (opened in 1842 as the Glasgow terminus of the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway) on the Glasgow City and District Railway which connected together North British Railway owned lines in the west and the east of the city with a new set of station serving the city itself. It was immediately an urban line, an alternative to the high level main line station and a part of a network reaching over long distances to Edinburgh Waverley.

The station had four platforms - two westbound on the south side and two eastbound on the north side. The central island platform was narrow. At either end of the platforms the station is open to the air above but the majority of it is entirely covered with the girders supporting the mainline station. There were signal boxes on gantries over the lines at both west and east ends. These were dispensed with in 1960 with re-signalling for the electrification of the line.

The island platform and its lines have been abandoned (lines lifted around 1960), allowing the remaining platforms to be extended onto the trackbed and the lines realigned.

With the closure of Glasgow Central Low Level in 1964 the line through station became the sole east-west standard gauge line across the city until Central Low Level re-opened in 1979. The station walls were 'clad' around 1986.

To the west the Charing Cross Tunnel carries the line to Charing Cross [GC and DR] station and the the east High Street is reached by the High Street Tunnel.

Tags

Station

External links

Canmore site record
NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map

Facilities

Gaelic name: Glaschu Sraid na Banrighinn




Chronology Dates

28/08/1863Glasgow and Milngavie Junction Railway
Line opened as a single track. Stations at; Bearsden, Milngavie. The line ran from Milngavie to Milngavie Junction (later renamed Westerton Junction) with trains continuing to Glasgow Queen Street High Level until the Glasgow City and District Railway opened after which trains started to serve Glasgow Queen Street Low Level.
15/03/1886Glasgow City and District Railway
Yorkhill (Finnieston East Junction) to Glasgow Queen Street Low Level to High Street (College East Junction) opened. A third rail was used for train lighting.
08/01/1956Glasgow City and District Railway Coatbridge Branch (North British Railway) Monkland and Kirkintilloch Railway New Monkland Line (Monkland Railways) Boghead to Cowdenhead Branch (Monkland Railways) Torbanehill and Bathgate Branch (Monkland Railways) Edinburgh and Bathgate Railway Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Last regular Glasgow Queen Street Low Level to Edinburgh Waverley via Shettleston, Coatbridge Sunnyside and Bathgate Upper service runs.
  /  /1959Glasgow City and District Railway
Glasgow Queen Street Low Level re-built from four platforms to two. The island platform in the middle is isolated from passengers and the lines reduced from four to two.
04/11/1960Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway
Last steam trains from Glasgow Queen Street Low Level to Helensburgh Central as the line is electrified.
  /  /1973Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway
Glasgow Queen Street High Level and Glasgow Queen Street Low Level modernised.
30/12/2002Glasgow, Dumbarton and Helensburgh Railway
The final public service for a 'Blue Train' Class 303 leaves Belgrove to run via Glasgow Queen Street Low Level to Helensburgh Central, following which it returns to the Yoker Depot. Shortly afterwards it headed to Immingham to be scrapped.

News items

20/03/2023Network Rail responds over 'rusty leak' at Queen Street station [Glasgow Times]
01/11/2022Glasgow railway lines closed after electricity fault as disruption warned [STV]
01/11/2022ScotRail urges travellers to not use Glasgow Queen Street service amid travel chaos [Glasgow Times]
30/03/2012Train services back to normal after power line collapse [STV]