THE plans for Queen Street Station look very impressive and will undoubtedly deliver a new facility fit for the future.

Running a railway involves continual maintenance and, from time to time, major work is required such as the replacement of the track bed in the tunnel leading into Queen Street Station.

However, the station is the third-busiest in Scotland and an essential part of Glasgow's transport network getting people in and out of the city all through the day seven days a week.

Any closure of the station will have an enormous impact on the travelling public, no matter what contingency plan is put in place.

Closing down seven platforms and redirecting services to other already busy stations will put the system under pressure.

The buses, subway and roads will face an increase in passengers as people look for alternatives during the working week.

The work is essential and unavoidable and the consequences for safety of not carrying it out are even greater.

However, while we all know you can't make an omelette without breaking eggs, people need to be told as soon as possible which eggs will be broken and where.

The sooner the contingency plan is revealed, the better informed, and therefore prepared, we will be.