A NEW £7million rail maintenance centre is taking shape in Glasgow.

And city MSP Paul Martin has visited the site where 450 people will soon be working in one of Scotland's most famous railway areas.

The Railway Operations Centre is being built by Network Rail and should be completed around October.

Bosses say it is likely to improve services for passengers, as well as transform a previously derelict site in Cowlairs, near Springburn.

The area, off Cowlairs Road, has been empty for more than 15 years and had been targeted by vandals and flytippers.

It was previously home to dye manufacturer United Turkey Red Dyers.

The development will see a number of rail depots - currently spread around the city - being centralised.

Workers at depots including Cathcart, Shettleston, Rutherglen and Lenzie will get a home at the base, where they will work on maintenance of tracks and overhead power lines.

Richard Lungmuss, Network Rail's territory maintenance director for Scotland, said: "We will be able to centralise sites for training and planning, so maintenance will be better, meaning reliability will also improve.

"The depot will transform the way we organise our maintenance needs in Scotland."

A new hi-tech signalling centre, costing £12.3m, is also being built nearby, replacing the existing one at Glasgow Central, which is 45 years old. It will house £100m of equipment.

Cowlairs was once one of four famous locomotive workyards in Springburn and employed thousands of people. However, it closed in the 1960s.

Mr Martin, MSP for Springburn, said: "The new Railway Operations Centre represents a huge investment in my constituency and I welcome the company's decision to base these skilled jobs in Cowlairs.

"I remember seeing men walking to work at the site when I was young and I look forward to seeing that again.

"I hope that, together with the local community, we can capitalise on this venture and encourage more companies to invest in north Glasgow."