65-435: The Glasgow Airport Rail Link (GARL) 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
130-600: 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
195-404: 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
260-538: 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,
325-447: 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
390-773: 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 the extensive and efficient Glasgow Corporation tram system well before their withdrawal on 3 October 1964 under
455-489: 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 was capable of handling 1,000 routes. The new signalling centre
520-504: 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
585-424: 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 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
650-479: 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 was replaced in 1985 by an all-new Travel Centre adjacent to
715-580: 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
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#1732780633250780-461: A railway bridge over Argyle Street and a four-track railway bridge, built by Sir William Arrol , which crossed 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
845-541: Is a suburban electric multiple unit passenger train built by Alstom in Birmingham . They are part of Alstom's Coradia Juniper family of trains, along with Classes 458 and 460 . The trains are operated by ScotRail and mainly run on the North Clyde Line on Helensburgh Central - Edinburgh , Springburn - Milngavie and Airdrie - Balloch services. However, they can also sometimes be seen on
910-604: Is one of two principal mainline rail terminals in Glasgow , Scotland . The railway station 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
975-524: Is protected as a category A listed building . In Britain's 100 Best Railway Stations by Simon Jenkins , 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
1040-494: 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 the Cathcart Circle Line electrification scheme, which started on 29 May 1962. During this period,
1105-470: The Argyle Line on Dalmuir /Milngavie to Whifflet / Motherwell / Larkhall / Cumbernauld services. They were ordered by SPT / ScotRail (when part of National Express ) for outer-suburban services in Glasgow . Their introduction saw the withdrawal of the last of Glasgow's venerable Class 303 "Blue Train" sets which had been in service since 1960. Although deliveries started to Strathclyde in 1999,
1170-548: 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 the station and the adjoining Central Hotel. The station's famous architectural features are
1235-598: 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 the Airdrie-Bathgate Rail Link . Over the Christmas festive period of 1994, on 11 December, torrential rain caused
1300-663: The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital with a segregated light rail line to Glasgow Central via Govan , instead of using tram-trains . The first phase was approved by Glasgow and Renfrewshire council leaders in early 2020. The initial project would link Glasgow airport to Paisley Gilmour Street train station. Construction will not begin until full approval from both councils is given. Glasgow Central railway station Glasgow Central ( Scottish Gaelic : Glaschu Mheadhain ), usually referred to in Scotland as just Central or Central Station ,
1365-490: 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 the low-level stations from Dalmarnock through to Exhibition Centre for
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#17327806332501430-601: 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
1495-420: 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 the project to re-signal and add two additional platforms to
1560-409: 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,
1625-463: 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 a spacious concourse containing shops, catering outlets, ticket offices and a travel centre. It is fronted by
1690-565: 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
1755-545: The Airdrie to Bathgate reopening. On 24 August 2011, ScotRail announced plans to refurbish all the fleet, with the project expected to start in November 2011 and take two years to complete. 334020 was the first unit to be refurbished at Kilmarnock's Brodie Rail Works from 3 February 2012 to 2 May 2012. The last unit to be refurbished was 334006, which left Brodie Works on 8 November 2014. From early 2015, Eversholt commissioned Alstom to perform an extensive £36.1m overhaul of
1820-631: The Ayrshire and Inverclyde lines by the Class 380 , with only occasional units seen on those routes. In September 2008, the Scottish Government 's agency Transport Scotland announced that all ScotRail trains (including those from the Strathclyde Partnership for Transport ) would be eventually repainted in a new, blue livery with white Saltire markings on the carriage ends. Class 334 re-livery began in November 2010 in preparation for
1885-489: 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
1950-475: 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 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
2015-452: The Class 334 did not enter passenger service until 2001 due to numerous teething problems (in common with other Juniper-based classes) and technical failures which plagued the new units upon their introduction. SPT ordered 38 units, but the technical problems led to an additional two units being built as a goodwill gesture. All units are owned by Eversholt Rail Group . ScotRail leased a total of 40 units which can be seen in use daily across
Glasgow Airport Rail Link - Misplaced Pages Continue
2080-449: 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 the station was re-floored in marble. During this redevelopment
2145-557: The Inverclyde Line branching-off just before Paisley St James , onto 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
2210-585: The SPT electric network. On the maiden run of the units, 334010 and 334020 ran to Gourock. The units initially ran on the Ayrshire and Inverclyde lines, but became a common sight on the Argyle and North Clyde lines. From its introduction, the Class 334 operated on the Ayrshire Coast Line, Inverclyde Line, North Clyde Line and Argyle Line, but by June 2011 the class had been largely replaced on
2275-542: 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
2340-714: 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
2405-411: 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
2470-888: 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 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,
2535-488: 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
2600-613: 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
2665-458: The construction of the route to begin. Construction 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
Glasgow Airport Rail Link - Misplaced Pages Continue
2730-435: 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. British Rail Class 334 The British Rail Class 334 Coradia Juniper
2795-638: 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
2860-579: The entire fleet to improve passenger conditions, which included the retrofitting of full air conditioning, at-seat charging points, provision for wi-fi, passenger counting equipment, cycle spaces, LED lighting and CCTV in the saloons, and an upgraded CCTV system for driver-only operation. Improvements were also made to the reliability of the passenger doors, and the original Tightlock couplings were replaced with Scharfenberg-type automatic couplers manufactured by Voith , allowing Class 334 units to rescue and be rescued by Class 380 units. The overhaul process
2925-480: 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 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
2990-440: 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
3055-642: 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 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
3120-463: 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, 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
3185-488: 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 the position of the original driver's monitors for checking doors, this proved impossible. Therefore, these units were restricted to
3250-477: 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 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
3315-540: 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
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#17327806332503380-427: 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 the Cathcart Circle was upgraded to 25 kV AC supply in 1974, to provide
3445-470: 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 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
3510-454: The rail link 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
3575-628: The southern suburbs of the Greater Glasgow conurbation , as well as the Ayrshire and Clyde coasts. The other main station in Glasgow 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
3640-543: 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 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,
3705-458: 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
3770-674: 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
3835-477: 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 , 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
3900-604: 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 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
3965-521: Was completed in 2017. On 22 June 2021 during Pride Month in the United Kingdom, a Class 334 was unveiled with progress flag colours. ScotRail stated that the livery would remain in place until 2029, after which the metalwork underneath would require repainting. In 2023 Alstom was awarded a contract by Eversholt Rail to overhaul the Class 334 fleet. The work, with a contract value of £12 million, will be carried out at Polmadie Depot and
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#17327806332504030-522: 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 was transferred to the new West of Scotland Signalling Centre (WSSC) at Cowlairs . The NX panel
4095-409: Was proposed to deliver 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
4160-517: 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 was built directly over the River Clyde, sitting between the two river bridges, above the level of the tracks. Inside was
4225-560: 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 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
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