Exhibition Centre railway station explained

Exhibition Centre
Native Name:Gaelic; Scottish Gaelic: Ionad Taisbeanaidh
Symbol Location:gb
Symbol:rail
Borough:Finnieston, Glasgow
Country:Scotland
Coordinates:55.8611°N -4.2828°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Manager:ScotRail
Platforms:2
Code:EXG
Transit Authority:SPT
Original:Glasgow Central Railway
Pregroup:Caledonian Railway
Postgroup:LMS
Years:26 November 1894
Events:Opened as Stobcross (GCR to Maryhill)
Years1:5 May 1896
Events1:L&DR to Clydebank opened
Years2:10 August 1896
Events2:GCR services commenced through to Glasgow Central
Years3:3 August 1959
Events3:Station closed to passengers
Years4:5 October 1964
Events4:Line closed to all traffic
Years5:5 November 1979
Events5:Reopened as Finnieston
Years6:1986
Events6:Renamed Exhibition Centre
Footnotes:Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Exhibition Centre railway station, previously called Finnieston (1979 - 1986) and Stobcross (1894 - 1959) due to its location in the Stobcross area of the city, is a railway station in Glasgow on the Argyle Line. It serves the OVO Hydro, the SEC Centre and the SEC Armadillo which are accessible by adjoining footbridge from an island platform. The station suffers badly from congestion at concerts as most of Greater Glasgow can be reached from the station. There is a siding adjacent to Platform 2, that can be used as a turnback siding for trains terminating at Anderston or Glasgow Central Low Level. The line is served by Class 318s and Class 320s. Ticket gates are in operation.

History

In the days when the station was named Stobcross, the formation in front of Platform 1 was originally double track, with a platform where the overhead electrification masts are currently located. Just inside the tunnel from Partick, there was a junction.

The route, now disused, to the north went to the Glasgow Central Railway's Maryhill Central.

The route to the west is partially used by the Argyle Line link to the North Clyde Line (a new single track tunnel being constructed to connect up at Finnieston West Junction). Previously the line went to Partick Central railway station[1] (which at one time had been renamed) and onwards along the River Clyde to Dumbarton.

In 2017, the station's signage was changed to Craiglang,[2] after the fictional town from the sitcom Still Game as a live version of the show was playing at the nearby OVO Hydro. Actors Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill provided pre-recorded safety announcements during this time.[3] They had previously provided on-board announcements during a 2014 live-show run.[4]

Incidents

Heavy rain in December 1994 resulted in the River Kelvin bursting its banks at Kelvinbridge and the resultant torrent through the disused Glasgow Central Railway tunnel flooded the Argyle Line trapping Class 314 Units at Glasgow Central Low Level.[5]

At 08:34 on Monday 3 September 2007, a set of empty coaches derailed after leaving the sidings at Exhibition Centre to start the 08:38 service from Anderston to Motherwell. This derailment resulted in two members of staff being injured and the line between Partick and Rutherglen being closed for two days.[6]

References

Notes

  1. Hidden Glasgow: Partick Central
  2. myScotRail. MyScotRail. 827889547941928961. 4 February 2017. We had loads of fun at Exhibition Centre station this afternoon with our staff dressed as #jackandvictor….
  3. News: McKay . Gabriel . 4 February 2017 . 'Don't git legless at the Clansman!' - ScotRail's advice for punters heading to Still Game 2 . Glasgow Live . 13 September 2019 . 24 October 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201024002224/https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/whats-on/comedy-news/dont-git-legless-clansman-scotrails-12556333 . live .
  4. News: Lyons . Beverley . 23 September 2014 . Still Game duo Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill entertain fans taking train to live shows with special audio messages . Daily Record . 13 September 2019 . 15 January 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190115102940/https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/still-game-duo-ford-kiernan-4312085 . live .
  5. Hidden Glasgow: 1994 Floods
  6. Web site: Archived copy . 12 February 2009 . 16 April 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090416154533/http://www.raib.gov.uk/cms_resources/090212_R042009_Glasgow.pdf . live .

Sources

External links