Coping with a major storm at a transport hub

How do staff at a main Scottish train station cope when there’s bad weather?

In the latest episode of Inside Central Station, to be shown on Sunday, Glasgow Central manager Susan is on alert as weather warnings hit Glasgow Central with Storm Hector threatening winds of up to 70 miles an hour and serious disruption to travel.

Customer services supervisor Grant has bad news for travellers during rush hour as overhead wire damage means trains are cancelled. It’s not just passengers who are stranded, however – drivers are too, causing further disruption.

When the clouds clear, there’s entertainment for staff when the Beyonce and Jay Z concert at Hampden brings thousands of revellers all trying to get to the gig, but issues arise later on when Queen B is late off stage and concert goers all try to get home later than planned.

There are no trains after midnight, but that doesn’t mean the station shuts down entirely for the night.

Behind closed doors, there’s still plenty of work to be done by cleaners and maintenance workers before the gates reopen at 4am.

Shift manager Drew Burns is in for the nightshift and starts at 7pm in one of his favourite areas of the station – the roof.

‘Glasgow Central is like a town within a city – it’s iconic,’ he says. ‘It’s so peaceful up here on the roof. I come up for a look at the start of my shift, get the brain ticking over. You get a good view. I’ve worked here 24 years and I just love the place. I might get a statue built in the Central one day, you never know.’

Elsewhere, Platform Supervisor Sajid is on his very last shift, retiring after 45 years at Glasgow Central.

Inside Central Station is made for BBC Scotland by STV Productions.

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