Glasgow Central Station will remain closed on Monday and is likely to be closed on Tuesday following a large fire, Network Rail has said.
The closure comes after fire crews were sent to Union Street at about 3.45pm on Sunday to tackle a fierce blaze billowing from a vape shop.
The inferno spread around the corner to Gordon Street, moving towards the main entrance of the station and the Grand Central Hotel, with fire and smoke filling the night sky for hours after the fire began.
Many businesses were destroyed in the fire, which Labour MSP Paul Sweeney compared to the devastation from “the Blitz”, with nearby hotels evacuated and roads sealed off.
The 19th-century building housing the station partially collapsed following the blaze on Sunday night, including a dome which caved in.
Fire crews used aerial platforms to hose water onto what remained of the building earlier today, as smoke hung in the air.
Only the facade of the building at the corner of Gordon Street and Union Street is left standing.
The blaze started at a vape shop on Union Street before spreading to part of the same structure on Gordon Street. No injuries have been reported in the fire.
Huge fire breaks out near Glasgow Central station as fire crews tackle blaze in city centre | Supplied
Labour MSP Paul Sweeney told BBC Radio Scotland: “There’s the cafe, there’s the Blue Lagoon, 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 onto Gordon Street is likely to have to come down, unfortunately.”
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
MAPPED: Where did the Glasgow fire break out? | GB NEWSAs of 6.45am, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service said crews were still battling the fire with nine appliances at the scene, and people are urged to avoid the area where possible.
A spokesman said: “Firefighters were mobilised at 3.46pm on Sunday, March 8, to reports of a fire on the ground floor of a four-storey building.
“Operations remain ongoing and there have been no reports of casualties.”
Network Rail confirmed 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”.
ScotRail warned of substantial disruption to its services and urged passengers to check for the latest information before travelling.
It said that no ScotRail services will operate to or from Glasgow Central high level on Monday.
Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “We are sorry to customers for the impact this will cause, and we would urge them to check their journey options before they travel, and be aware there will be very limited replacement transport”.
TransPennine Express said its services would not run between Glasgow Central and Liverpool Lime Street or Manchester Airport on Monday, while trains between Edinburgh and Newcastle/Manchester Airport will be subject to delays and cancellations in both directions.