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Friday 27 Jul 2018

Fit for a Queen Street - local artist gives Glasgow station a lift

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

A local artist has been commissioned to add colour to one of Glasgow’s biggest canvases as part of the multi-million pound redevelopment of Glasgow Queen Street.

With just two years of construction to go, Gabriella Marcella, a graduate of Glasgow School of Art, has given the station an uplift ‘Fit for a Queen Street’. Inspired by her hometown of Glasgow, Gabriella’s work will feature at Scotland’s third busiest station, to bring personality and brightness to the station for customers and passers-by alike.

The installation on hoardings at the station comes ahead of a major milestone for the project. The demolition of Consort House tower and the Millennium Hotel extension has cleared the way for the final phase of demolition on Dundas Street to get underway. Piling work to underpin the future expanded station concourse can now begin.

Facing onto Glasgow’s main civic square, the hoarding artwork will also provide a striking backdrop for the European Championships being held in Glasgow. George Square will host a Games Village, while elite international cyclists will race past Glasgow Queen Street during the cycling events.

Alex Hynes, ScotRail Alliance managing director said:

“We’re building a bigger, better, more welcoming station at Queen Street and the transformation has begun. The removal of some of the old buildings highlights the potential for the station and I’m delighted that we’re now entering the next phase – construction of the new concourse.

“The artwork that Gabriella has produced is intended to give everyone using and working at the station a boost. It’s bright, bold, modern and inspired by Glasgow – it fits with our vision for the new look Queen Street station."

Gabriella Marcella said:

“I was asked to produce a bold design which was modular, adaptable and unique to the setting. The artwork includes motifs inspired by the Glasgow coat of arms and the legend of St Mungo as well as old railway semaphore signals and other more abstract imagery.

“After several months in development, it’s great to see the hoarding designs now being rolled out on such a huge site. I hope people will enjoy exploring the designs and that it helps to brighten people’s day.”

Paul Wheelhouse, minister for Energy, Connectivity and the Islands said:

“Rail in Scotland is enjoying a renaissance and has never been more popular. At the same time, a transformational process is underway on our railways with significant infrastructure enhancements, as well as the introduction of a new and fully re-furbished rolling stock with the additional services and capacity they will provide.

“It’s great to see a local artist engage in this process and have the opportunity to showcase their talent on such a large scale as we build a bright, modern Queen Street station that is fit for the future. I am sure the public will enjoy Gabriella’s designs as much as I do.”

Tom McPake, Network Rail programme manager for Glasgow Queen Street station’s redevelopment said:

“We’ve reached another major milestone for the project as the demolition work moves to Dundas Street and we begin preparing the foundations for the construction of the new concourse.

“In order to do that, we’ve had to change the way people access and exit the station. Our hoarding line will remain consistent for several months now, so that’s a great opportunity for us to install this artwork and help to improve the appearance of the station as we deliver this significant  improvement for customers without disrupting journeys.”

The new phase of works at Glasgow Queen Street comes in the same week that ScotRail began operation of its new fleet of electric trains on the Edinburgh-Glasgow via Falkirk High route. The combination of new trains and a rebuilt station will provide customers with additional seats, improved facilities and better end-to-end journeys.