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Demolition of building ravaged by a fire near Glasgow Central station begins on Friday - The remaining facade of Union Corner must come down before Scotland’s busiest train station can fully reopen
- The works will take weeks and surviving chimney stacks must be removed before any work on the facade
- Glasgow Central high level to remain closed until Monday, and likely beyond then
- A cross-Government Ministerial Board has been established to coordinate the Scottish Government’s response to the fire
- A safety exclusion zone has been erected in the city centre
Work has begun to demolish a building ravaged by fire near Glasgow Central station which led to its closure earlier this week.
Glasgow City Council said it is in the interests of public safety to demolish what remains of the Victorian building, which has continued to collapse since the blaze started on Sunday afternoon.
The burnt-out Union Corner site was handed over to the city council on Thursday after emergency services finished their work.
On Friday, demolition vehicles arrived at the site and began the slow process of demolishing the building.
STV NewsWorkers could be seen in a cage suspended from a crane dismantling the remains of a chimney stack on a neighbouring building.
Network Rail said all available options for safely reopening the station were being explored, including whether a partial or phased reopening of some platforms might be possible.
Watch
Watch moment LED screen collapses into burning building
It said engineers have so far not identified any significant structural issues with the station and that damage, mainly due to water ingress, appears to have been contained to a small office on the Union Street side of the station and a small part of the glazed area directly above it.
Raymond Barlow, head of building standards in the city, told STV News that the structure was “fatally compromised”.
He said that it wasn’t possible to put a definite timetable on the works but it would take weeks.
STV NewsThe contractor, Burnfield Demolition, will work 24/7, the council said.
Two chimney stacks that remain at the southern end of the site must be brought down before any others works can begin.
“It’s a highly dangerous situation we’re in here, everything is so very unstable,” Mr Barlow said.
The work is being carried out by personnel in cranes above the danger, dismantling the remains of the building stone by stone.
Scotland’s busiest train station has been closed since a blaze engulfed a neighbouring four-storey building on Union Street on Sunday.
Network Rail ScotlandUnion Corner, built in 1851, collapsed, leaving only part of its facade.
A cross-Government Ministerial Board has been established to coordinate the Scottish Government’s immediate and longer-term response to the fire.
It will oversee the development of a support package to aid in the recovery process, the Government said.
Garry F McHarg | Focal ScotlandFollow STV News on WhatsApp
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