QUEEN Street Station will not be shut for months for improvement works, rail bosses have pledged.

Fears of massive disruption to travel in Glasgow and the west of Scotland were growing following reports that the one of the busiest stations in Scotland could be shut for up to a year while the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme is carried out.

Rail bosses were urged by business leaders and politicians in the city to ensure disruption for travellers and commuters was kept to a minimum.

Now Network Rail which will be responsible for delivering the work, have ruled out lengthy closures and said the plan was still being worked on, but said days would be the longest timescale.

The work to electrify the line will not in itself need to close the station but before that takes place the track bed in the tunnel has to be lowered to allow space for new overhead power lines.

Network Rail said the work could be done over a period of days, not months.

It had been suggested that Network Rail said closure of Queen Street for up to one year was possible, but the organisation, which owns the tracks and signalling infrastructure, has ruled it out.

A spokesman for Network Rail said: "We have no plans to close Queen Street Station for up to 12 months. While we are still evaluating options for the completion of the EGIP works at the station, a long-term closure is not among them.

"Some elements of the programme could require short-term disruption to services, but of hours or days in duration rather than months or years."

The company said it carries out extensive maintenance and improvement work all over the UK rail infrastructure and closure of stations is a last resort.

A spokesman referred to several large UK stations that have undergone, or are currently undergoing, extensive works while trains run as normal.

King's Cross in London was given as an example of major upgrading work while the station functions,

Edinburgh Waverley is currently having work on the entrance and exits, platforms and concourses while services continue.

Birmingham New Street and Haymarket in Edinburgh are others where a long term closure was not required.

The spokesman added: "We do work like this every day. We take it for granted that we need to work around the people, not them around us."

Transport Scotland said EGIP would not require a station closure and keeping disruption to a minimum was a priority during the work.

A spokesman said: "Transport Scotland is working closely with Network Rail to deliver the EGIP electrification of the Edinburgh to Glasgow line to Queen Street Station by December 2016.

"The electrification of any live railway will always be a challenging undertaking particularly at line of route junctions and stations.

"We have asked Network Rail to work with the rail industry to develop a delivery programme which is predicated on minimising disruption to the travelling public."