A tourist takes a picture with his phone outside the site of the Union Street fire in March.
Photo: Jason Fong / Strathclyde Telegraph

Union Street officially reopened at 12pm on July 19, more than four months after a devastating blaze erupted in an unlicensed vape shop on March 8, 2026.

With remedial work now completed, the remaining structure being secured and cordoned off, passenger gates at Glasgow Central were reopened onto Union Street and Gordon Street, restoring Scotland’s busiest station to normality after major disruption caused by damage on the outer facade of the Station building.  

People gathered to view and appreciate the now vacant site, which will now offer passers-by a glimpse into the inner quarters of Glasgow’s world-famous Victorian architecture. 

During a visit to the site ahead of the reopening, Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth said:

“The devastating fire which took place earlier this year really impacted on a number of local businesses, and of course the operations of Glasgow Central station behind me.

“The Government at that time was able to step in and provide up to £10 million of extra financial support to the local authority to distribute to local businesses who were really suffering at that time.

“It’s been a great opportunity this morning to have a walk around the site, which is dramatically different from what it looked like earlier this year, but also to see the reopening that’s happening around about the station, looking really fantastic, gearing up for the Commonwealth Games, which of course kick off next week.”

Speaking to the Strathclyde Telegraph, Programme Director for Network Rail, Gary Hoffman explained Network Rail’s involvement in helping to reopen Glasgow’s most significant street as safely and efficiently as possible.   

“It (the construction) has involved so many people to enable us to get to this point; we originally had to work with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Glasgow City Council, our engineers and Scotrail. 

“There were an awful lot of things we had to put in place so that the station could actually reopen again,” he added.

A mural is set to be exhibited on the hoarding surrounding the site for Glasgow’s 2026 Commonwealth Games, which begin this week and have been paramount for getting the street opened in time.  

It is also rumoured that Police Scotland are installing see-through panels to discourage opportunist trespassers from the site. 

Glasgow City Council have publicised plans for what they are calling “RIBA Stage 2”, the “deliberate and phased approach” for the foreseeable future, which will be developed over the next few months while long-term plans are realised.