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Glasgow Queen Street Station

Background

Glasgow Queen Street is the third busiest station in Scotland, and the gateway to the City from the East and the North. The Station is undergoing major development as part of the Edinburgh Glasgow Improvement Programme, including the lengthening of platforms and the rear-rangement of the existing concourse area. Movement Strategies was commissioned by the multi-disciplinary design team at an early stage to provide passenger flow advice and to enhance the design concepts to ensure that they could accommodate the forecast demand. We were tasked with analysing and assessing the proposals at each design stage, from a customer experience, station capacity and safety perspective.

Location
Glasgow

Client
Network Rail and BDP Architects

Year
2013 - Present

WHAT WE DID

We conducted pioneering surveys of pedestrian movement, using Bluetooth, to develop an origin-destination matrix for the station and the surrounding area which underpinned the demand forecasting for the future scenarios. We undertook modelling and simulations of the proposed layouts at each performance stage of the process to assess the station operation. Our analysis evaluated different modes of operation and helped to optimise design elements to ensure comfortable and safe performance during normal operations was achievable. We have also helped to balance the design response between efficiently accommodating normal operations and the need to increase station resilience to train disruption, evacuation and other abnormal events.

Movement Strategies has also supported Network Rail’s application of the scheme under the Transport and Works (Scotland) Act 2007 (“TAWS”). We provided written evidence on how pedestrian flow affects the design of the new station building. We also acted as an expert witness during the public enquiry about the redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street Station in May 2016.

RESULTS

We identified areas where the station upgrades and future demand would potentially lead to bottlenecks during the peak hours. We advised on the required platform widths and specified the optimum number and position of gates, which lead to cost savings, whilst also compliance with the Network Rail design standards. We also assessed how the station would operate during the construction phases and identified how best to accommodate the routes impacted by the works safely.

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