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Thursday 2 Jul 2026

New control hub to oversee one of Scotland’s busiest rail lines

Region & Route:

Scotland’s Railway: Scotland

A new £10m railway control hub has opened in Glasgow to help manage one of Scotland’s busiest and most complex rail routes. 

The North Clyde Service Delivery Centre in Yoker brings Network Rail and ScotRail teams together under one roof, working as one team to help improve how the railway responds to disruption and deliver a more reliable service for passengers. 

While Network Rail already operates Scotland’s main control centre in Glasgow, alongside all train operators, the Yoker hub provides a dedicated focus on the busy North Clyde line. The route accounts for nearly a fifth of Scotland’s rail journeys, with around 76,000 services running each year between Helensburgh, Balloch and Milngavie, through Glasgow’s west end and low-level stations. 

Inside the centre, teams are using state of the art railway traffic management systems and signalling equipment to monitor train movements and respond quickly to any issues. Working closely with drivers and frontline colleagues, they help keep services running smoothly and minimise disruption when problems arise. 

Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport Stephen Flynn said: “The North Clyde Service Delivery Centre is a significant step forward in improving the reliability and resilience of one of Scotland’s busiest railway routes. 

“Supported by a £10m investment, this new facility brings together track and train, with people and state-of-the-art technology in one location, enabling teams to quickly and efficiently respond to disruption and keep passengers moving. 

“In the few months the centre has been operational, we have already seen improvements in how staff respond to disruption and get services moving again. I look forward to seeing the centre continue to deliver positive results for passengers and staff.” 

Early indications show the hub is already making a difference. In May this year, delays per incident reduced by 25%, cutting the average time to deal with issues from 12 minutes to 9. While this will vary depending on circumstances, it’s a strong improvement, with more consistent performance benefits expected to become clearer over time. 

Ross Moran, route director at Network Rail Scotland, said: “With such a huge number of services passing through this part of the railway, even small delays can quickly escalate and affect other areas. That’s why resolving issues here quickly is key to keeping trains moving across the wider network. 

“While the centre’s only been operational for a few months, the early signs are encouraging. Focusing on this section of the network is already helping us respond faster and manage disruption more effectively. Ultimately, this will improve reliability for passengers and help build the confidence people need to choose to travel by train.” 

The centre is also backed by a strengthened frontline response, including an additional Mobile Operations Manager, a member of staff deployed to incidents on the railway to help get services moving again. This improves how issues are managed on the ground and reduces the impact for passengers. 

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail service delivery director, said: “The North Clyde Line is one of the busiest parts of Scotland’s Railway, connecting communities across the west of Scotland and carrying thousands of customers every day. 

“Bringing ScotRail and Network Rail colleagues together in this dedicated centre strengthens the way we work together, helping us deliver a more reliable railway for our customers. 

“This is another important investment in improving performance and reliability, giving customers greater confidence that they can rely on the rail network, and ultimately encourage more people to choose rail as their preferred mode of public transport.” 

The project is supported by Transport Scotland and the Targeted Performance Fund, which invests in initiatives delivering measurable improvements to railway performance. 

Alongside the new centre, a £20m programme is also underway to renew overhead power lines on the same part of the railway, further strengthening reliability and helping keep services running smoothly for passengers.