Opened in 1879 by the Caledonian Railway Company as a terminus for passenger trains from the south and west, Glasgow Central Station (Gael: Glaschu Mheadhain) originally had nine platforms. A low-level station opened in 1896 with two further platforms, but with an increase in passenger numbers, the original station was extended and expanded by four more platforms during the period 1901-05 by the Caledonian Railway's chief engineer Donald A. Matheson (1860 - 1935) and architect James Miller (1860 - 1947). The result is a stylish Edwardian station, probably the grandest in Scotland and certainly now the busiest, with 32 million passengers per annum, the second busiest outside London (2017). The low-level station closed in 1964, but due to an increase in services was brought into use once again in 1979. Central Station now has a total of 17 platforms.
Central Station occupied the site of the district and ancient settlement of Grahamston, of which little remains. Previously trains had arrived at Bridge Street Station on the other side of the River Clyde, which was opened by the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway in 1841. The lines were extended across the river by a four-track bridge, later augmented by the massive Caledonian Railway Bridge, which carried a further ten tracks. Bridge Street Station closed in 1906 and part was converted into flats in the 1990s.
Today, Glasgow Central serves as the northern terminus of the West Coast Main Line, which extends north from Euston Station in London. Central Station is also the terminus of the Glasgow South Western Line, the Ayrshire Coast Line, the Inverclyde Line, the Paisley Canal Line, the Shotts Line, the Whifflet Line and the Cathcart Circle Line. The low-level station provides services on the Argyle Line, located between Argyle Street Railway Station and Anderston Railway Station.
The Category-A listed building has an immense glass roof extending to 5.7 sq. km (2.2 sq. miles) and comprising 48,000 panes. This is supported on an extensive matrix of steel trusses and arched girders that was the work of the Motherwell Bridge and Engineering Co.
Wrapping around the station to the north and west is the Grand Central Hotel, by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson (1834 - 1921), which is also A-listed. Built 1882-84, this was originally designed as offices for the railway company, but re-purposed as a hotel by the time it opened. Its curved entrance is at the corner of Gordon Street and Hope Street, with a massive eight-storey plain Swedish-style tower immediately to the south. It provides 186 bedrooms and 21 meeting rooms and features a grand ballroom, fine champagne bar with marble floors and a remarkable domed ceiling, and a 23-m (75-foot) modern chandelier that illuminates the main stairwell. The hotel was extended to the south 1900-08 by James Miller and was subject to a £20 million refurbishment completed in 2010.
The station has some of Glasgow's best-loved landmarks associated with it. The Shell, a First World War artillery shell which was converted into a charity bowl, is a well-known meeting point, while another is the Heilander's Umbrella, the area beneath the railway bridge which crossed Argyle Street and was frequented by travellers from the Highlands and Islands. There is also a piano, available for the public to use. The station was the focus of the popular BBC documentary Inside Central Station, which began in 2019 and ran for three seasons.
Unlike Queen Street Station, Central Station is one of only twenty British railway stations, and two in Scotland, directly managed by Network Rail.
