66-525: The Inverclyde Line is a railway line running from Glasgow Central station through Paisley (Gilmour Street) and a series of stations to the south of the River Clyde and the Firth of Clyde , terminating at Gourock and Wemyss Bay , where it connects to Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services. The line has been in operation since the 1840s between Glasgow and Greenock and was the first passenger service to follow
132-586: A "No" vote in the Scottish Independence referendum. A resurrected GARL would be included as one of the projects which could possibly be funded by the fund. In October 2016, plans were resurrected to build a railway link to Glasgow Airport as part of the Glasgow City Deal . A journey time of 16.5 minutes was also proposed. The outline proposals included two options: It was claimed that either scheme could be opened by 2025. Council leads approved
198-404: A First Class lounge. As of 2022, Glasgow Central is served by six train-operating companies. ScotRail uses both the high level and low level platforms, all other operators use only the high level. A taxi rank is to the north of the station, while buses operate from the adjacent streets. St Enoch and Buchanan Street Subway stations are within a few minutes' walk. First Glasgow operates
264-525: A bid to tender for a new build of railway carriages for the SPT network of 120 vehicles. Subsequently, on 11 July 2008, Transport Scotland announced that 38 Class 380 trains have been ordered for use on Ayrshire and Inverclyde services and also the Glasgow Airport Rail Link. With the latter project cancelled, the additional units will be put to use on other services in the future. On 17 September 2009,
330-447: A bus service on behalf of ScotRail to Glasgow Queen Street and Buchanan bus station ; this bus is numbered 398. Service pattern for Monday-Friday off-peak in trains per hour (tph)/trains per day (tpd). High Level: Low Level: Coinciding with the launch of the new BBC Scotland TV Channel , a new documentary TV series titled Inside Central Station was commissioned to STV Productions , first airing on 3 March 2019 detailing
396-497: A new multi faith room and a relocated station reception. Low Level Platforms 16 and 17 will be refreshed, similar to the works carried out at Anderston in 2022. There are three ticket halls. Two are operated by ScotRail (main concourse and Argyle Street entrance) and the third is a travel centre run by Avanti West Coast at the Gordon Street entrance. Avanti West Coast also operate a dedicated customer lounge next to Platform 1 and
462-519: A new purpose-built 1.2-mile (1.9 km) line which would have taken it over the M8 motorway into the airport station, situated close to the main terminal building at Glasgow Airport. A video and extra information regarding the project can be found on the linked here. The Scottish Parliament on 29 November 2006 passed the GARL bill by 118 votes to 8, thus allowing the construction of the route to begin. Construction
528-566: A one-piece bridge design, GARL was to cross the M8 motorway and into the airport. The scheme was also criticised for the absence of direct connections to the rest of the Scottish railway network which would bypass Glasgow Central - historically the two options for doing this have been Cross rail Glasgow and the electrification of the Shotts Line to Edinburgh . In May 2008, First ScotRail announced that
594-465: A relief platform for Avanti West Coast services if platforms 1 or 2 cannot be used. To accommodate the cancelled Glasgow Airport Rail Link plans, the platforms were renumbered. Platform 11a (the previous West Bank Siding, on the bridge over the Clyde) was renumbered 12, whilst 12 & 13 were renumbered 14 & 15 respectively. In September 2009 the former platform-level car park and passenger drop-off area
660-550: A spacious concourse containing shops, catering outlets, ticket offices and a travel centre. It is fronted by the Central Hotel on Gordon Street, designed by Robert Rowand Anderson . The station building also houses a long line of shops and bars down the Union Street side. The undercroft of the station is not open to the general public, except through regular official tours, and houses private car-parking and utility functions for
726-532: A total of 23.257 million. The station is on two levels: the High-Level station at the same level as Gordon Street, which bridges over Argyle Street, and the underground Low-Level station. Between 1901 and 1905 the original station was rebuilt. The station was extended over the top of Argyle Street, and thirteen platforms were built. An additional eight-track bridge, the Caledonian Railway Bridge ,
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#1732851871782792-576: A two-island separate station, and were added to serve the underground Glasgow Central Railway , authorised on 10 August 1888 and opened on 10 August 1896. The Glasgow Central Railway was taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1890. Services ran from Maryhill Central and from the Lanarkshire and Dunbartonshire Railway in the west through to Rutherglen and via Tollcross through to Carmyle , Newton , and other Caledonian Railway destinations to
858-583: Is Glasgow Queen Street , which primarily serves regional and intercity services to the north of Glasgow. With just under 21 million passengers in 2022–2023, Glasgow Central is the seventeenth-busiest railway station in Britain and the busiest in Scotland. According to Network Rail, over 38 million people use it annually, 80% of whom are passengers. The station is protected as a category A listed building . In Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins ,
924-403: Is a proposed link between Glasgow City Centre and Glasgow Airport. The original plans for an airport rail link were proposed during the 2000s to directly link Glasgow Central station with Glasgow Airport in Scotland. The link was intended for completion by 2013 and would have had a service of four trains per hour via Paisley Gilmour Street railway station . On 17 September 2009 the rail link
990-698: The Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link . Over the Christmas festive period of 1994, on 11 December, torrential rain caused the River Kelvin to burst its banks at the closed Kelvinbridge station , with the water making its way through the disused tunnels to Exhibition Centre and the Low-Level station, which was completely submerged by the resultant flash flood. It was closed until 24 September 1995 while repairs were made. In August 2002, torrential rain flooded out
1056-680: The Cathcart Circle Line electrification scheme, which started on 29 May 1962. During this period, the old 1879 bridge over the River Clyde was removed and the railway lines were rearranged. This was followed by the 25 kV AC overhead-power-lines electrification of the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway and the Inverclyde Line to Gourock and Wemyss Bay, completed in 1967. The WCML northern electrification scheme started on 6 May 1974. Part of
1122-504: The Central Hotel on Gordon Street. Adjoining onto the station concourse, it was one of Glasgow's most prestigious hotels in its heyday. It was originally designed by Robert Rowand Anderson , in ' Queen Anne style '; he also furnished the public rooms. The hotel was completed in 1883, but was extended along with the station in 1901–1906. The hotel extension was designed by James Miller and it opened on 15 April 1907. The world's first long-distance television pictures were transmitted to
1188-484: The River Clyde to the coast. The line was electrified in 1967. The line was opened by the Glasgow, Paisley and Greenock Railway on 31 March 1841, and initially ran from Bridge Street railway station in Glasgow to a terminus at Cathcart Street, Greenock (later renamed Greenock Central railway station), with the section between Glasgow, and Paisley Gilmour Street being run by the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway . For
1254-542: The Scottish Government cancelled the airport branch component of the GARL project amid concerns over the need for public spending cuts. However, elements of the GARL plans that upgraded the Glasgow–Paisley lines (including replacement of life-expired signalling, provision of two additional platform at Glasgow Central, and installation of the additional tracks between Shields and Wallneuk Junction) were excluded from
1320-409: The "Piano Garden" and is located directly behind the mobility assistance booth. In November 2023, Network Rail renewed the concourse departure screens, replacing the 2005 style boards. The new ones are similar to the screens at Glasgow Queen Street . The concourse is due to receive minor refurbishment which will be carried out between late 2023 and late 2024. This work will create better retail space,
1386-556: The 1980s to encourage more passengers; tickets were checked on trains instead. ScotRail finalised negotiations with Network Rail over the project in June 2010, with the project completed in February 2012, covering High Level Platforms 3 to 15 and Low Level Platforms 16 and 17. Platforms 1 and 2 were left without barriers, as they are mostly used by long-distance express services with a high proportion of passengers carrying heavy luggage. Following
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#17328518717821452-535: The Ayrshire and Inverclyde lines split before entering the station. The most controversial proposal in the scheme was the building of the line on a viaduct over playing fields in the Paisley St. James area and into Glasgow Airport. After much discussion, SPT assured local residents that the playing fields would be returned to original use, with even better facilities such as under-soil drainage and new changing rooms. Using
1518-599: The Cathcart Circle was upgraded to 25 kV AC supply in 1974, to provide a diversionary route; the whole of the Cathcart Circle route was later upgraded to that supply. Plans to electrify other routes, such as the Whifflet Line , as part of a scheme to improve rail services in Scotland, were completed in November 2014. Services through the Low-Level station, initially generous, had been greatly reduced due to competition with
1584-535: The Central Hotel in the station, on 24 May 1927 by John Logie Baird . The hotel was sold by British Rail in the 1980s, and passed through the hands of various private operators until its most recent owner, the Real Hotel Group, went into administration in February 2009, and the hotel subsequently closed amid concerns of asbestos contamination and structural deterioration. In June 2009, a new company acquired
1650-580: The Clyde to the south. The station was built over the site of Grahamston village, whose central street (Alston Street) was demolished to make way for the station platform. The station was soon congested. In 1890, a temporary solution of widening the bridge over Argyle Street and inserting a ninth platform on Argyle Street bridge was completed. It was also initially intended to increase Bridge Street station to eight through lines and to increase Central station to 13 platforms. The low-level platforms were originally
1716-657: The Inverclyde Line near Paisley St. James station . In December 2006, the Scottish Executive gave the final go-ahead for the new link to be constructed; however, the project was subsequently cancelled in September 2009. Glasgow Central station Glasgow Central ( Scottish Gaelic : Glaschu Mheadhain ), usually referred to in Scotland as just Central or Central Station , is one of two principal mainline rail terminals in Glasgow , Scotland . The railway station
1782-536: The Shotts Line had been route cleared for Class 158 and Class 170 DMU trains to operate on the line and that an increase in services was likely in the near future. In 2008, control of the GARL project passed from SPT to Transport Scotland who would have overseen the building of the route. Overhead catenary work and a re-modelling of Shields Junction over the past year have already taken place in connection with GARL. In December 2008, Transport Scotland announced that
1848-730: The Treasury Danny Alexander - said: "Glasgow plans to create a £1.1 billion infrastructure fund that will support projects such as the city centre-airport rail link, major improvements to the region's roads and bus network, and the development of new employment sites." The proposals would entail a 50/50 investment with £500m each coming from the UK central government in Westminster and the Scottish Government in Holyrood, but being dependent on
1914-411: The airport, the GARL plans included the installation of a bi-directional third track in the center of the existing two between Shields Junction at the Glasgow end and Arkleston Junction, approximately one mile (1.6 km) east of Paisley Gilmour Street, and the installation of an additional two tracks between Arkleston Junction and a re-configured Wallneuk Junction immediately east of Gilmour Street where
1980-401: The booking office on the ground floor and the train information display for passengers on large printed cloth destination boards placed behind large windows on the first floor by a team of two men. Underneath the "Umbrella" are a number of shops and bars. The Arches , a one-time nightclub, theatre, gallery and restaurant complex, was also located below the station. Central Station is fronted by
2046-485: The cancellation decision and instead taken forward as the separate Paisley Corridor Improvements project, which was completed in 2012. As part of the driver training programme for the route and new rolling stock, design and media company Totalize Media were hired to create a simulation of the infrastructure. This simulation was built using a professional derivative of the railway simulator Train Simulator / RailWorks . With
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2112-540: The cancellation of the project, Totalize Media redirected the development into a home simulation title. After the project was cancelled, a tram-train line has been proposed to connect Glasgow Airport with the City Centre using a one-mile tram line to the Airport from the Inverclyde Line . On 3 July 2014, an article in Glasgow's Evening Times newspaper - jointly written by Prime Minister David Cameron and Chief Secretary to
2178-440: The day-to-day life of the station following and interviewing various members of staff on their shifts and passengers visiting the station. The series also focused on the history of the station, with segments presented by the station tour guide, Paul Lyons. The series received positive critical reception. Currently, four series of the show have aired. Glasgow Airport Rail Link The Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL)
2244-613: The downgraded option to use the people mover system to the airport, instead of light rail that would be integrated with the main Paisley Gilmour Street railway station and the wider city region rail network. In 2019 as part of a wider £10 billion plan for a 'Glasgow Metro' network, the Glasgow Connectivity Commission endorsed light rail instead of the PRT option and proposed linking Glasgow airport to Braehead and
2310-401: The east of Glasgow. Other stations include Cambuslang and Motherwell. By 1900 the station was again found to be too small, passenger numbers per annum on the high-level station having increased by 5.156 million since the first extension was completed in 1890. Passenger usage per annum in 1899 was 16.841 million on the high-level station and 6.416 million on the low-level station,
2376-526: The extensive and efficient Glasgow Corporation tram system well before their withdrawal on 3 October 1964 under the " Beeching Axe ". The trams themselves had been replaced by buses by 1962. In 1979, part of the low-level line was electrified and the Low-Level station was re-opened as the Argyle Line of the Glasgow suburban railway network. It consisted of a single island platform , numbered as Platforms 14 and 15 (later renumbered to 16 and 17 respectively when
2442-426: The first time a railway took passengers right down the River Clyde , taking about one hour whereas Clyde steamers took around twice as long. The terminus was a short walk from Custom House Quay, Greenock, and the railway was very popular with passengers who boarded steamers there to visit holiday resorts down the Firth of Clyde or to commute in summer to their villas around the shores of the firth . On 9 July 1847
2508-440: The glass roof of the station was broken by flying debris. Automatic ticket barriers were installed at Glasgow Central and three other city-centre stations from 2011 as part of a crackdown on fare-dodging to increase ticket revenue. This follows barriers being erected at Queen Street Station in 2004, ending ScotRail's "open stations" policy under which staffed and previous yellow ticket automatic barriers had been scrapped during
2574-613: The hotel building, and worked to refurbish and rebrand it as the Glasgow Grand Central Hotel . The refurbished hotel re-opened in September 2010. In 2021 it was refurbished by IHG Hotels & Resorts and rebranded voco Grand Central Hotel. The original 1889 signal box was replaced with an electro-pneumatic power-operated box based on the Westinghouse system. Work started in October 1907 and it opened on 5 April 1908. It
2640-542: The light rail option between Glasgow Airport and Glasgow Central, with construction proposed to begin in 2022 and be completed by 2025. In 2019, the initial plans to create a direct light rail link were once again shelved. One of the reasons stated was concerns of overcrowding at Glasgow Central. A new proposal was then suggested to adopt the cheaper Personal Rapid Transit system instead between Glasgow Airport and Paisley Gilmour Street. Glasgow MP Paul Sweeney criticised Glasgow City Council leader Susan Aitken for supporting
2706-505: The line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS). The line was electrified in 1967, seven years after the North Clyde Line . The electric Class 311 trains were specially built for the line in 1967, although Class 303 trains were also used. As of 2019, the line is mainly operated by Class 318s , Class 320s , Class 380s and Class 385s . The Inverclyde line uses
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2772-439: The low-level stations from Dalmarnock through to Exhibition Centre for a number of weeks. Most services were routed to the high-level platforms, or to Queen Street station . The 2002 Glasgow floods had a number of other effects, causing a cryptospiridium outbreak in Glasgow's water supply. The high-level station's facilities were substantially redeveloped in the mid-1980s. The old ticket office / train information building
2838-588: The other two running to Wemyss Bay. The Gourock trains are express services stopping only at Paisley Gilmour Street and Bishopton between Glasgow and Port Glasgow, while the Wemyss Bay trains stop at all stations. This changes after 7 pm and on Sunday: the Wemyss Bay line is reduced to one train an hour, which runs express between Glasgow and Port Glasgow, and the Gourock trains stop all stations. The Glasgow Airport Rail Link to Glasgow Airport would have branched off from
2904-473: The position of the original driver's monitors for checking doors, this proved impossible. Therefore, these units were restricted to the North Clyde Line . This changed in 2011 with a programme of works carried out to enable the Class 320 units to work through the station in passenger service. The class 320 and 318 units between them now provide the majority of Argyle Line services, with most 334s having moved to operate
2970-457: The project as part of a wider Clyde Metro network, using a new light rail line via Govan . GARL would have run from a reconstructed Platform 11A at Glasgow Central on the former Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway , Ayrshire Coast Line and Inverclyde Line ; via Cardonald , Hillington East and Hillington West, to Paisley Gilmour Street station. It would then have run along the Inverclyde Line branching-off just before Paisley St James , onto
3036-416: The project to re-signal and add two additional platforms to the higher level took place in 2008). Initially services were provided by Class 303 and Class 314 units. The latter were built specifically for this service. Following the withdrawal of the Class 303 units, the service was provided by Class 318 and Class 334 "Juniper" units. Class 320 units were intended to be used on the route, but due to
3102-539: The railway merged with the Caledonian Railway and became their main outlet to the coast. The Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway opened its branch line on 13 May 1865 with its trains being operated by the Caledonian Railway, but its steamer operations were slow to live up to their promise and when in 1869 the Glasgow and South Western Railway opened its station at Princes Pier, Greenock, the Cathcart Street station
3168-413: The restoration of Hielanman's Umbrella. The 1980s vintage mechanical pixel-style destination boards were later replaced around 2005 with an array of LED-style destination boards. The final improvement, the upgrading of the upstairs restaurant area, was completed in 2005. Platform 1 is at the east end and platform 15 is located at the west end of the station with platforms 16 and 17 being directly underneath
3234-484: The same Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway tracks as the Ayrshire Coast Line until Paisley Gilmour Street; although the two lines occupy different sets of platforms at Paisley Gilmour Street. From Paisley, the line heads to Port Glasgow station, after which it branches. The main route heads through Greenock to Gourock , where it connects with ferry services to Dunoon and Kilcreggan . The branch heads through
3300-448: The southern suburbs of Greenock to Wemyss Bay , where it connects with ferry services to Rothesay on the island of Bute (From 1 October 2015, for a period of 24 weeks, the ferry to Rothesay left from Gourock. This was due to essential improvement work being carried out at Wemyss Bay linkspan) As of June 2024, for most of the day four trains an hour operate each way on the Glasgow to Port Glasgow stretch, two of which run to Gourock and
3366-411: The station and the adjoining Central Hotel. The station's famous architectural features are the large glass-walled bridge that takes the station building over Argyle Street, nicknamed the ' Hielanman's Umbrella ' (Highlandman's Umbrella) because it was used as a meeting place for highlanders living in the city; and the former ticket office and information building. This was a large oval building, with
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#17328518717823432-420: The station was one of only ten to be awarded five stars. In 2017, the station received a customer satisfaction score of 95.2%, the highest in the UK. The original station, opened on 1 August 1879 on the north bank of the River Clyde , had eight platforms and was linked to Bridge Street station by a railway bridge over Argyle Street and a four-track railway bridge, built by Sir William Arrol , which crossed
3498-406: The station was re-floored in marble. During this redevelopment the staffed ticket barriers at Platforms 1 to 8 were removed and the yellow ticket automatic barriers were removed from Platforms 9 to 13 (now 15). In 1998, a five-year renovation programme was initiated by Railtrack , which saw the trainshed completely re-roofed and internally refurbished by Bovis Lend Lease – which also included
3564-639: The station's high level platforms. Platforms 1 and 2 are usually used by longer distance cross-border services operated by Avanti West Coast , TransPennine Express , LNER and CrossCountry while platforms 3 to 6 are used mainly by services to Lanark, Edinburgh, East Kilbride, Barrhead, Kilmarnock, Carlisle, Girvan, and Stranraer. Platforms 7–10 are used by services which operate along the Cathcart Circle and also Neilston and Newton, but other services are known to use them as well, while platforms 11–15 are used mostly by services to Ayr, Largs, Ardrossan, Gourock, Wemyss Bay and Paisley Canal, with platform 11 being used as
3630-452: The success of the Doors Open day event in summer 2013, tours of the station several times each week began in November 2014. These 90-minute tours cover the roof, plus the catacombs, vaults, and a view of disused platforms below the station. In December 2017, McLaren's Pianos gave a piano to the station on permanent loan, which is available to the public to play. This area is referred to as
3696-675: The tender competition will begin in spring 2009, meaning GARL would have been operational in early 2013. In the proposals drawn up by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, Class 334 units are shown to work the route. However, speculation surrounds actual rolling stock plans for GARL with the likelihood of First ScotRail using 4-car EMUs rather than a traditional 3-car unit. First ScotRail formerly used 4-car British Rail Class 322 units on its Glasgow Central/ Edinburgh Waverley to North Berwick service - themselves ex-airport rail link trains, having been originally built to serve Stansted Airport near London . In April 2008, First ScotRail placed
3762-538: Was built directly over the River Clyde, sitting between the two river bridges, above the level of the tracks. Inside was a frame of 374 miniature levers, making it the longest power frame ever built in Great Britain. Glasgow Central Signalling Centre, located in the "vee" of Bridge Street Junction, opened on 2 January 1961. It replaced signal boxes at Central Station, Bridge Street Junction, Eglinton Street Junction and Eglinton Street Station. When initially opened it
3828-440: Was built over the Clyde, and the original bridge was raised by 30 inches (0.75 m). Bridge Street station was then closed. Also during the 1901–1905 rebuild, a series of sidings was created at the end of Platforms 11 and 12 on the bridge over the River Clyde. These were named West Bank Siding, Mid Bank Siding and East Bank Siding. A dock siding, No. 14 Dock, was created at the south end of Platform 13. Central Station has
3894-463: Was cancelled as part of public spending cuts. In 2014, proposals were in place to resurrect the project dependent on the outcome of the Scottish independence referendum . In October 2016, plans were resurrected to build a railway link to Glasgow Airport. The journey time of 16.5 minutes has also been proposed. Under current plans the line would be opened in 2025. In 2019, it was proposed to deliver
3960-485: Was capable of handling 1,000 routes. The new signalling centre was needed for three reasons: In addition to the removal of the east river bridge, the scissor crossovers through the station, the Cathcart Engine siding, East Bank Siding, Mid Bank Siding and No. 14 Dock were removed. The West Bank Siding was numbered as Platform 11a. Glasgow Central Signalling Centre closed on 27 December 2008, when its area of control
4026-513: Was effectively bypassed and the Caley lost trade. They had been trying for some time to organise an extension to Gourock, and having gained Parliamentary approval in 1884 they spent three years in construction which involved extensive tunnelling, and opened Gourock railway station on 1 June 1889. In August 1893 the Greenock and Wemyss Bay Railway amalgamated with the Caledonian Railway. In the 1923 grouping,
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#17328518717824092-575: Was opened by the Caledonian Railway on 1 August 1879 and is one of 20 managed by Network Rail . It is the northern terminus of the West Coast Main Line (397 miles or 639 kilometres north of London Euston ). As well as being Glasgow's principal inter-city terminus for services to England, Central also serves the southern suburbs of the Greater Glasgow conurbation , as well as the Ayrshire and Clyde coasts. The other main station in Glasgow
4158-444: Was replaced in 1985 by an all-new Travel Centre adjacent to the Gordon Street entrance. By 1986 a large electro-mechanical destination board at the end of the platforms, with a smaller repeater board at the western side of the concourse, had replaced the former manually operated train-information boards. The old booking office / train information building was retained and redeveloped into shops, eateries and an upstairs bar/restaurant, and
4224-635: Was taken out of use and the platform over the Clyde (recently renumbered 12) was removed. Two new platforms were created between 11 and 14, being brought into use in May 2010. There is no plan to replace indoor parking or passenger drop-off within Central station. The existing multi-storey parking facility on Oswald Street and on-street parking surrounding Central station remain, with passenger drop-off having moved to surrounding streets. During Cyclone Bodil in December 2013,
4290-405: Was to be in phases with the re-location of football pitches in the route's path at Paisley St James scheduled for 2007, before route clearing and track work in 2007 and 2008. The cost of the route was estimated at £170m, with inflation increasing the cost to a potential £210m. The Ayrshire and Inverclyde lines are very busy with passenger and freight traffic. To provide capacity for trains serving
4356-417: Was transferred to the new West of Scotland Signalling Centre (WSSC) at Cowlairs . The NX panel is to be preserved. The station is currently signalled by two Westinghouse Westlock Interlockings which are controlled via an Alstom MCS control system. Overhead power lines began to appear on the high-level platforms in the early 1960s under British Railways . Firstly came 6.25 kV AC overhead power lines from
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