IT was perhaps unfair of the recent Transport Focus study to castigate Glasgow's Queen Street station as "Britain's most unpopular station" given that it is currently in the midst of a massive rebuilding improvement programme for the traveller's benefit ("Power line fault brings rail chaos for tens of thousands", The Herald, May 7).
A more representative target of concern might have been Glasgow Central low-level station now requiring upgrading given its grim and austere atmosphere, primitive hard tile seats, inadequate lighting aggravated by the dismally dull grey panelling colour (light absorbing rather than reflecting) and dilapidated waist-high expanse of dirty/soiled brickwork on the lower portion of the tunnel wall.
The reason for this unappealing sight is Network Rail's failure to restore the expanded metal skirting which originally concealed the crude brickwork from the line's 1979 reopening until it was "temporarily" removed to facilitate removal of debris generated by the 1990s flood damage. The clips for re-attaching this metal concealment of this bare-brick eyesore can still be clearly seen from westbound platform 17 which blatantly reveal Network Rail's "unfinished business". Replacement only involves a micro (one-off) cost contribution towards the much-needed visual improvement creating a more user-friendly environment for this gaunt, but well used station.
On a separate but related "public realm experience" is the desperate need for refurbishment of the shamefully neglected and squalid pedestrian/cycle link from Finnieston Exhibition Centre Station to the SECC/Armadillo/Hydro complex and other premises south of the Clyde.
The reality of a long walk through such a shabby plastic tunnel with its deteriorating visibility through degraded, now virtually opaque windows, broken or infilled with wood boarding creates a miserable civic environment imposed on not only on regular commuter users. Crucially, it also delivers an unpleasant "shock-experience" for those attending major entertainment events, commercial conferences, foreign tourists, visiting dignitaries and the like now asking "is this the best gateway Glasgow can offer"?
Current publicity certainly seeks to encourage more use of sustainable transport such as walking / cycling / public transport usage as a pleasant alternative travel experience alternative to the car. But tragically there still exists a huge disconnect between such sanguine policy aspirations and those charged with actually making those happen.
Ken Sutherland,
12A Dirleton Gate,
Bearsden.
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