St Enoch subway station

St Enoch subway station is a station on the Glasgow Subway in Scotland. It is located north of the River Clyde in Glasgow city centre. Although it does not have direct interchange with the main line railway, it is located approximately halfway between Glasgow Central railway station and Argyle Street railway station, within a few minutes' walk to both. The subway station is accessible via St Enoch Square.

St Enoch
Scottish Gaelic: Ceàrnag Èanaig[1] Glasgow Subway
North entrance from Argyle Street
General information
Location10 St Enoch Square
Glasgow, G1 4DB[2]
Scotland
Coordinates55°51′25″N 4°15′21″W / 55.85694°N 4.25583°W / 55.85694; -4.25583
Operated bySPT
Platforms2 (side platforms)
Tracks2
ConnectionsNational Rail Glasgow Central
National Rail Argyle Street
Construction
Structure typeUnderground
ParkingNo[2]
Bicycle facilitiesYes (bike hire)[3]
AccessibleYes (step-free access)[4]
History
Opened14 December 1896
Rebuilt16 April 1980; 43 years ago (1980-04-16)
Passengers
2018Increase 1.991 million[5]
2019Decrease 1.986 million[6]
2020Decrease 0.734 million[6]
2021Increase 0.910 million[6]
2022Increase 1.589 million[7]
Services
Preceding station Glasgow Subway SPT Following station
Buchanan Street
anticlockwise / inner circle
Glasgow Subway Bridge Street
clockwise / outer circle
Location
Map
Notes
Passenger statistics provided are gate entries only. Information on gate exits for patronage is incomplete, and thus not included.[8]

Usage of the entire subway in 2007/08 was 14.45 million passengers, increased from 13.14 million in 2005/06.[9]

Original building edit

 
Flemish Renaissance style original building
 
The former station building, now converted into a café, with the St Enoch Centre in the background.

Above ground, the original station building housed both a booking office and the headquarters of the original Glasgow District Subway Railway Company. This was (and is) the subway's most distinctive building – an ornate, Flemish Renaissance, late-Victorian red sandstone structure; designed by James Miller in 1896.

Reconstruction edit

St Enoch is one of two stations on the Subway that was completely rebuilt from scratch (the other being Partick) during the late 1970s modernisation. Although the original surface building was retained, it would not form part of the new facility, but due to its listed status meant it could not be demolished. To facilitate its preservation, the original foundations were removed to allow the construction of a concrete box to house the expanded station and new subterranean ticket hall. To facilitate this, the old building was relocated onto a precast platform supported on the new station's concrete pillars. Memorable images exist from the late 1970s showing the building seemingly perilously sitting on its new foundations with the empty void of the old station underneath.

Following the modernisation, the old building became a travel information centre for SPT. The building became disused with the travel centre facilities being moved to the underground ticket hall in 2008. In December 2009, a Caffè Nero coffee shop was established in the building. It is now protected as a category A listed building.[10]

Accessibility edit

St Enoch is the only station on the system which requires two escalator rides to reach the platforms owing to its deep location. Along with Govan subway station, it is one of two Glasgow Subway stations that is wheelchair accessible.[11][12]

Refurbishment (2010s) edit

As part of the wider refurbishment of the city's subway, St Enoch station received new glass canopies for each entrance, and an overhaul of the ticket hall.

Past passenger numbers edit

  • 2011/12: 1.857 million annually[13]

Gallery edit

References edit

  1. ^ King, Jake (12 July 2020). "Glasgow's Gaelic Underground". Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Maps & stations". spt.co.uk. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Archived from the original on 15 January 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Bike parking facilities". spt.co.uk. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  4. ^ "Accessibility & mobility". spt.co.uk. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  5. ^ "Request for some usage statistics". Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. 11 January 2019. Archived from the original on 1 March 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019 – via WhatDoTheyKnow.
  6. ^ a b c "Station usage statistics" (PDF). Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. 20 July 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023 – via WhatDoTheyKnow.
  7. ^ "Request for annual Subway station patronage 2022". 22 February 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2023. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Freedom of Information Request: Subway Station Usage Statistics" (PDF). Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. 3 August 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023 – via WhatDoTheyKnow.
  9. ^ "SPT Annual Report 2007/08" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 December 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
  10. ^ "St Enoch Square Travel Centre, Formerly St Enoch Underground Station". Historic Scotland. Archived from the original on 23 October 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Subway: Maps & Stations". Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Glasgow's Subway needs to be more accessible, say campaigners". Glasgow Standard. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Freedom of Information request: Subway station patronage - 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012". Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. 18 December 2012. Archived from the original on 9 February 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2019 – via WhatDoTheyKnow.