Barrhead Travel and Hays Travel temporarily close shops after Glasgow fire

Barrhead Travel and Hays Travel have been forced to temporarily close stores in central Glasgow because of a major fire next to Glasgow Central railway station.

The fire on Sunday caused a 19th-century building to collapse at the junction of Union Street and Gordon Street. No injuries were reported.

Both Barrhead Travel and Hays Travel closed their Gordon Street stores on Monday with the latter shut “until further notice”.

The fire, which started in a nearby vape shop, destroyed a number of businesses.

No trains operated to or from Glasgow Central station on Monday, with the station likely to remain closed today, with disruption to services expected for several days, according to ScotRail.

Some of the affected Hays Travel staff were relocated to a branch at Rutherglen.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Barrhead Travel’s Gordon Street branch wrote: “The safety of our team and customers comes first, and we’re waiting for confirmation on when we can safely reopen. We’ll share updates as soon as we have more information.”

In a statement today, Barrhead Travel president Jacqueline Dobson said: “We are deeply saddened by the impact the fire has had on the many local business owners affected and our thoughts are with everyone in the local community during this difficult time.

“Our colleagues in the Gordon Street store were fortunately not impacted on Sunday, as the station evacuation took place later in the evening.  Both yesterday and today the store has remained closed, with our team members either working from home or supporting operations from alternative locations.

“At this stage, we do not yet have a confirmed timeframe for when the Gordon Street store will reopen.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will share further updates as soon as more information becomes available. The safety and wellbeing of our staff is our top priority.”