Glasgow Central Station remains closed in aftermath of fire

Scotland's busiest station remains closed following a huge fire that destroyed a neighbouring building.

Glasgow Central Station has been shut since Sunday, when a blaze spread from a vape shop on Union Street through a B-listed Victorian building.

Network Rail said its staff and fire service teams were continuing to work on the site.

A spokesperson said disruption to rail services was expected to "continue in the coming days".

Glasgow Central is one of the busiest stations in the UK, with 25 million passenger visits each year.

It is the main station for all services on the west coast mainline to England and also operates services throughout central Scotland. Nearby Queen Street station operates the most regular services to Edinburgh, as well as services for the north and east of Scotland.

ScotRail said no services would operate in or out of Central Station on Tuesday but low level trains would pass through the station to stop at nearby Argyle Street and Anderston stations.

Scores of ScotRail services use both the low level and the high level platforms at the station.

Its chief operating officer David Ross told BBC Scotland News there would not be any services on Tuesday, and disruption would continue for several days.

He said: "Our advice to passengers is to look at the ScotRail website, external and the app, and see exactly what is running.

"We are also asking people to be very patient with our staff - we are doing the best we can in very difficult circumstances."

Network Rail Scotland's route director Ross Moran said when the fire service response moved into the "recovery stage", engineers would inspect affected areas of the station to assess what damage had been done.

The station is thought to have escaped any major damage.

Moran said that they were "extremely grateful" for the hard work of the firefighters.

About 250 of them worked round the clock to contain the fire in the Orr and Sons building on the Union Street junction with Gordon Street.

The building known as Union Corner dates back to 1851, pre-dating the station which opened in 1879.

Avanti West Coast said passengers could use tickets at no extra cost on LNER services between Edinburgh and London King's Cross.

Police Scotland said several roads around Union Street and Central Station would remain closed. They are:

• Renfield Street at West George Street
• St Vincent Street at West Nile Street
• West Nile Street southbound from Bath Street
• Broomielaw between Oswald Street and Jamaica Street

First Bus Greater Glasgow said the fire and subsequent road closures had brought disruption to multiple services.

Union Street, where the fire took place, is a main drop-off point for many city centre passengers.

The SFRS said its response to the incident was scaled back on Tuesday with four fire engines and two high-reach vehicles still on site.

Crews were working to cool off hotspots in the stonework and assist structural engineers in assessing the stability of the remaining building.

The SFRS confirmed the fire broke out in a vape shop and said a preliminary multi-agency investigation into the cause had begun.

Assistant Chief Officer David Farries said on Monday: "We need to do a full investigation with our multi-agency partners to understand the nature of the fire and understand why the fire spread the way that it did."

Six crews were initially sent to the four-floor building on Union Street at about 15:45 on Sunday.

Smoke was seen billowing out of a ground-floor vape shop next to a side entrance to the station.

Police cordoned off the street between Gordon Street and St Vincent Street when the fire started. Diversions were put in place.

But the fire worsened as the evening went on. The flames reached the dome on the corner of the historic building and the front wall collapsed to the ground.

First Minister John Swinney acknowledged that there would be a "significant cost" in the aftermath of the blaze.

He said it was a "very serious fire" and was relieved there were no injuries.

He said the Scottish government would offer financial support to Glasgow City Council to "make sure we can get the city centre up-and-running as quickly as we can".

Rail union the TSSA said the fire showed the importance of safety at railway stations and and "all associated infrastructure".

Its general secretary, Maryam Eslamdoust, said: "Investigations into what caused the blaze must be thorough, so this never happens again.

"It's terribly sad to see such an iconic part of Glasgow city centre destroyed by fire."