Glasgow Central shut on Tuesday as city rallies round fire-hit businesses

Glasgow Central station will remain closed for a second day after a major fire tore through a neighbouring building, leaving part of the city centre closed off and causing significant travel disruption.

The city is rallying around a number of businesses which were destroyed when the 19th century building next to the station collapsed on Sunday night, with tens of thousands of pounds raised to support them.

Network Rail has confirmed the station will remain closed on Tuesday and disruption is expected to continue for a number of days.

An MSP compared the damage to the devastation from “the Blitz”.

Nearby hotels were evacuated and roads were sealed off.

Fire crews were still dousing the building with water for much of Monday.

Only the facade of the building at the corner of Gordon Street and Union Street has been left standing.

It is thought the fire started at a vape shop in Union Street before spreading to part of the same structure.

A spokesperson for Network Rail said: “While the fire is now under control, emergency services are still on site and we continue to support their response.

“The station will remain closed today and tomorrow. Timescales for reopening will only be confirmed once we are able to safely gain access and carry out the necessary checks.

“All services to and from Glasgow Central are currently suspended, and passengers should continue to follow alternative travel arrangements as advised by their train operators. ”

ScotRail said disruption is likely to continue for several days.

David Ross, ScotRail chief operating officer, said: “We’d like to thank our colleagues in the fire and emergency services who worked incredibly hard to tackle the blaze and prevent it from spreading to the station itself.

“We know this closure will cause significant disruption for our customers, and we’re very sorry for the impact this will have on their journeys.”

More than £80,000 has been raised to support a number of businesses which were destroyed in the blaze.

The crowdfunding platform GoFundMe said the sum had been raised for six firms which lost their premises in the blaze.

They included a hairdressing salon run by Joe Diaz, who fled the building when the fire began to take hold on Sunday.

He told the Press Association how he and his partner encountered “really heavy, dark smoke” as they fled the scene.

He said: “We just got our client and said, let’s just run and get out of here as soon as we can.”

A passer-by, Lamin Kongira, tried to extinguish the blaze in a vape shop on Sunday, but was forced back by an “explosion” from within the premises.

He described hearing another more powerful blast shortly afterwards.

People standing watching at the police cordon on Monday spoke of their shock.

Emma Reid, from Glasgow, said: “It’s just so sad. It’s such an iconic building. It’s so sad.”

Carolyn Bowie stopped to watch as her son was one of the firefighters tackling the blaze on Monday morning, having started his shift at 8am.

She said: “It’s devastating and a big blow for Glasgow.”

No injuries were reported in the incident.

Downing Street has paid tribute to the bravery of firefighters who dealt with the blaze.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “Clearly, this has been a devastating incident for Glasgow, the loss of historic buildings that have dominated the city centre for so long.

“Our thoughts also go to those who have lost businesses and livelihoods.”

Labour MSP Paul Sweeney said there are now concerns for the viability of the remainder of the building.

He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Breakfast programme: “There’s the cafe, there’s the Blue Lagoon (chip shop), of course, which is famous for many Glaswegians.

“It’s been completely wiped out, destroyed. I mean the building is a gutted shell. It looks like something out of the Blitz.

“I spoke to building control officers last night on site.

“They don’t have much hope that the building can be saved at all.

“We wait and see what their final decisions are, but it sounds like the remaining facade on to Gordon Street is likely to have to come down, unfortunately.”

Mr Sweeney said there were “serious questions” to be asked about the proximity of such shops to “critical national infrastructure”.

He added: “Essentially, Scotland’s busiest station could be wiped out by this kind of situation.

“I think it’s opened up a real blind spot in our consideration of these type of retail units.”

Speaking to PA at the scene on Monday afternoon, Mr Sweeney said some of the elevation of the building had survived the fire and he hoped there could be a “reinstatement” rather than a full rebuild.

No trains will run to or from the high-level platforms at Scotland’s busiest station, while trains that run through the low-level platforms will not call at Glasgow Central.

Avanti West Coast advised passengers an amended train service will run to Preston, Carlisle and Motherwell, “enabling customers to connect with trains to Edinburgh and local services to the Glasgow area”.

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “This has been a significant incident in Glasgow city centre, which has involved hundreds of firefighters working tirelessly since yesterday afternoon.

“We have now scaled back and eight appliances, including three high-reach vehicles, remain in attendance.”