[7] In 1865 the E&GR was absorbed into the North British Railway, in 1878 the entire station was redesigned by the civil engineer James Carswell.

This caused difficulties with longer trains, as Queen Street is in a confined position between George Square and the tunnel.

[11] In the 1980s, HSTs were used on Cross Country and East Coast services run by InterCity, having to use Platform 7 with the end of the train being close to the tunnel mouth.

More plans were unveiled in September 2011 by Network Rail, along with an announcement that the owner of the Buchanan Galleries shopping mall – Land Securities had been chosen as development partner for the station alongside Henderson Group.

[14] This saw the 1970s hotel extension (which until recently fronted the George Square entrance of the station) demolished and replaced by a glass atrium.

[15] The previous plans of developing the airspace rights above the North Hanover Street car park into an expanded retail and restaurant area will be carried forward – and will form part of the proposed extension to the Buchanan Galleries, which will gain direct access to the station concourse.

[16][17][18] Platforms 2 through 5 were subsequently extended in 2019 to accommodate longer trains introduced as part of the Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme (EGIP).

[20] Following demolition of the surrounding Consort House buildings, the frontage of the original Victorian era train shed (the large curved glass roof of the station) was uncovered after more than 40 years.

Platforms 8 and 9 comprise the Low Level station and it is the most central stop on the North Clyde Line of the Glasgow suburban electric network.

Trains run frequently between Helensburgh on the Firth of Clyde, Balloch and suburban Milngavie to Airdrie, on the eastern edge of the Greater Glasgow conurbation and onward to Edinburgh via Bathgate and Livingston.

As of September 2014, the Fort William to London Euston overnight sleeper also calls here instead of Westerton in the north-western suburbs; this eliminates the need for those travelling between Glasgow & Fort William and between Glasgow & London Euston on the sleeper to change there (alighting only southbound/boarding only northbound) - the only locomotive-hauled train to call here.

Queen Street signal box, opened in 1881, was on a gantry spanning the tracks close to the tunnel mouth.

Planned expansion work of Buchanan Galleries Shopping Centre is expected to "subtly envelope" the Subway connection to redevelop the neglected Dundas Street.

[32] One option to allow cross-Glasgow rail journeys would be Crossrail Glasgow, using a former passenger line (now used only for freight) that links High Street to the Gorbals area.