DIVE-bombing seagulls, rowdy teenagers and weird and wonderful questions from customers are all in a day’s work for the staff at Scotland's busiest railway station.
Glasgow Central Station has allowed cameras behind the scenes for the first time in its 140-year history for a new TV documentary.Off the Tracks: Inside Central Station, which premieres on Sunday night, follows the train drivers, maintenance workers, station staff, transport police and customer service assistants over the heatwave summer of 2018.
READ MORE: TV REVIEW: Debate Night - for or against? And Billy Mitchell has his say...
It is a funny and moving insight into a place which has been a part of the fabric of the city for more than a century, and the people who make it tick.
Susan Holden, the first female station manager ever at Central, has fond memories of the place. “It holds a special place in my heart,” she smiles. “I was a nurse in the navy, and it was from Central that I left on the sleeper in 1990 to start my training at HMS Raleigh.”
Susan says there are some similarities between her current post, which she has held for two years, and her previous career.
“Central is a bit like a hospital,” she adds. “It is full of people from all walks of life. It’s our job to look after them inside this iconic building.
“It’s a great place to work. I love looking out from the offices over the concourse. Sometimes, such as at Halloween, you’ll see someone in a death mask playing the piano and think – wow, this really is a world of its own. It’s amazing.”
READ MORE: Alison Rowat: Marks out of 10 for BBC Scotland's The Nine?
Around 110,000 people and more than 950 trains pass through Central every day.
The series follows staff as they are pushed to the limit by, among other things, the heat and Storm Hector causing havoc on the tracks.
They have to work around the clock to deal with disruptions and delays, football fans and big music events.
Customer services assistant Gary Hepburn is one of 10 members of his extended family to work in Central.
“I grew up hearing what a great place it was to work,” he says. “I studied business at college, but I always wanted to get a job here and eventually I did. You spend your day helping customers – sometimes you have to be a tourist information service. I once got asked where you get the bus in Bishopton, which was hilarious.”
READ MORE: TV REVIEW: Is the new BBC Scotland channel magic or mince?
Drew Burns, shift manager, is featured in the first episode of the six-part series, avoiding angry seagulls on the giant glass roof. “They get protective around breeding season,” he grins. “I love being up there, the views are incredible.”
Drew has worked at Central for 25 years. “I joined the railways through a youth opportunities scheme and never left. I worked in the signal boxes but I always wanted to move into the station. The camaraderie is fantastic.”
Off the Tracks: Inside Central Station starts on Sunday, March 3 on the new BBC Scotland channel.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel