A SENIOR ScotRail official has refused to back down on a controversial change to the Largs train timetable which will see a key commuter train axed this month.
Calls are growing for the rail operator to reinstate the 7.42am Monday to Saturday train from Largs to Glasgow - which is set to disappear when the company's summer timetable takes effect on May 21.
From that date, the train which is currently used to provide that service will start from Ardrossan Harbour instead.
The early morning commuter train which gets passengers into Glasgow before 9am has been in existence for over 50 years.
Currently, travellers leaving Largs by train in the morning peak period have the choice of services departing Largs at 7.22am, 7.42am and 8.33am.
But under ScotRail's summer timetable, the three morning peak trains will be reduced to two, with services leaving Largs at 7.23am and 8.07am.
Concerns over the timetable change have been raised by North Coast Conservative councillor Tom Marshall - while West Scotland Labour MSP Katy Clark has also criticised ScotRail for the move.
ScotRail says significant changes will be implemented across its Ayrshire service network this month, in part to take account of the temporary change of mainland port for the Arran ferry service from Ardrossan to Troon - even though there is no date yet for that ferry link change to take place.
ScotRail's service delivery director David Simpson said: "The May 2023 timetable in Ayrshire will see a significant recast of services. The timetable will continue to provide a core level of service of two trains per hour during the day to all communities.
"The Largs branch remains with an hourly service outwith the peak periods.
"In the autumn of 2021, we launched a consultation on our entire timetable for May 2022. The consultation allowed us to share details of how busy services were pre-pandemic, and an analysis of costs and revenue.
"The Fit for the Future Consultation from 2021 is shared on our website. In the case of Ayrshire, the analysis that we undertook found that revenue for the two routes was £32.5 million in 2019/20, with costs of £53.8m per year. That meant that we needed £21.3m in subsidy, equivalent to between £1.97 (Largs and Ardrossan).
"At the same time, when we reviewed demand compared to capacity, we found that services were, on average, only 27 per cent (Largs and Ardrossan) full. Despite this, we did not make any significant changes to our timetable in 2022.
"However, for our upcoming May 2023 timetable, we identified the need to make some changes to the timetable to help support a more reliable service on Largs to Glasgow routes during this interim period.
"This change includes removing some station calls in services to Ayr and adding them to services to Largs and Ardrossan to ensure that the timetable could support the temporary move of Arran ferry services from Ardrossan to Troon.
"This change will increase the average journey time between Largs, Ardrossan, and Glasgow by approximately five minutes.
"We are now designing new future timetables for services in Ayrshire and Inverclyde, which we believe will help grow passenger numbers.
"We hope to share these plans with customers and stakeholders in Ayrshire in the coming months, and gain feedback on the proposals.
"In our consultation, we will stress that the proposed timetable in Ayrshire is a starting point, and we will continue to review how passengers respond and make changes to make rail as attractive as possible.
"When we identify that further timetable changes would be of benefit, we will make a case to government for the additional funding required."
Cllr Marshall urged affected passengers to contact ScotRail to push for the 7.42am train to return for the next timetable review.
He says he also raised the matter with the party's shadow transport minister at Holyrood, Liam Kerr, at the Scottish Conservatives' party conference in Glasgow on Friday.
Meanwhile, Ms Clark, who was North Ayrshire and Arran's Westminster MP from 2005 until 2015, commented: “This is a damaging and unnecessary cut which will affect everyday commuters yet appears to have been imposed without any consultation.
“Largs, Fairlie and West Kilbride already lag behind many other communities in North Ayrshire when it comes to rail services. If anything, there needs to be an increase in service, not a reduction.
“I intend to engage with the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland and ScotRail to try and reverse this decision and fight for the rail service this community needs and deserves.”
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