As part of our vision to support thriving, connected, and resilient communities and destinations that are great places to live, work, and visit, we asked for customer feedback on a proposed new timetable for services between Glasgow, Ayr, Ardrossan, Largs, Wemyss Bay, and Gourock.
We consulted on our June 2024 timetable for Ayrshire and Inverclyde between Monday, 9 October 2023 and Monday, 20 November 2023. We are no longer accepting responses.
Following a national consultation in 2021, we introduced a new timetable structure across most of East, Central, and South West Scotland in May 2022. The new structure has improved performance and is efficiently meeting passenger demand in these areas.
No major changes were proposed to services in the Strathclyde area in the 2021 consultation because:
- As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, we had to suspend driver training because train cabs were too small for the required social distancing at the time. This had the greatest impact on driver training at our depots in and around Glasgow, meaning we were limited in the number of services which could be resourced from these depots until 2023.
- Prior to the pandemic, more customers travelled during peak times in Strathclyde than in other areas of the country. However, the demand for off-peak travel was far less. To encourage a return to public transport following the pandemic, the vast majority of stations were provided with a two trains per hour daytime service.
A new timetable was introduced in Ayrshire in May 2023, however, we were unable to consult on these changes in advance of them being introduced. These changes included the introduction of a half-hourly fast train between Ayr and Glasgow to improve rail’s competitiveness against private car on a route where car and train were equally matched.
A temporary timetable was also introduced in Inverclyde in May 2023 which removed the remaining limited stop services between Gourock and Glasgow during off-peak hours. From June 2024, we are proposing to introduce a new timetable which will improve journey times between Gourock and Glasgow and increase the frequency of services between Wemyss Bay and Glasgow.
It is important to note that these proposals are not the end point. The timetable will continue to change in response to how current and future customers use the railway.
Our June 2024 timetable will provide the following service for customers in Ayrshire:
- Two limited stop services per hour between Ayr and Glasgow all day, including the evenings.
- Additional peak services between Ayr and Glasgow.
- One local service per hour between Largs and Glasgow all day, including the evenings.
- One local service per hour between Ardrossan Harbour and Glasgow all day, including the evenings.
- Additional peak services between Largs, Ardrossan, and Glasgow.
This timetable will see the journey time for customers travelling from Ayr to Glasgow reduce compared to our 2022 timetable as the majority of services will operate non-stop between Kilwinning and Johnstone, however, customers travelling from Largs and Ardrossan to Glasgow will see their journey time increase because we have added station calls at Dalry, Lochwinnoch, Howwood, and Milliken Park to these services.
The Sunday timetable between Glasgow, Ayr, Ardrossan, and Largs remains unchanged and provides a level of service consistent with other routes in and around Glasgow and Strathclyde. We are not asking for feedback on the Sunday timetable as we have not proposed any changes.
Our June 2024 timetable includes a proposal for a new Monday to Saturday timetable between Wemyss Bay, Gourock, and Glasgow. The new timetable will see the introduction of two trains per hour between Glasgow and Wemyss Bay during the day, and faster trains between Glasgow and Gourock.
Glasgow to Gourock
- Two trains per hour until after the evening peak calling at Paisley Gilmour Street, Bishopton, Port Glasgow, Bogston, and then all stations to Gourock and taking approximately 41 minutes. The last limited stop trains are:
- 19:26 from Gourock to Glasgow.
- 18:35 from Glasgow to Gourock.
- Additional peak services.
- Two trains per hour from after the evening peak calling at all stations. The first services calling at all stations are:
- 19:57 from Gourock to Glasgow.
- 19:06 from Glasgow to Gourock.
Glasgow to Wemyss Bay
- Two trains per hour until 19:00 calling at all stations and taking approximately 59 minutes.
- One train per hour after 19:00 calling at Paisley Gilmour Street, Bishopton, Port Glasgow, Whinhill, Drumfrochar, Branchton, and Inverkip.
This timetable includes a more frequent service between Glasgow and Wemyss Bay, however, the journey time is longer as the services will include more stops, which have been removed from Gourock services. It would not be possible to introduce two trains per hour between Glasgow and Wemyss Bay without changing the station calling patterns.
An improved Sunday timetable will be introduced in December 2023, however we are not asking for feedback on this change.
We wanted your feedback on the timetable that we have planned from June 2024 so that we can provide the best service for customers.
We particularly wanted to understand:
- Where you travel to and from, and whether that will change with the increased frequency of services between Wemyss Bay and Glasgow being proposed.
- Whether the planned timetable for June 2024 meets the needs of existing and future customers.
- Help us to identify any potential unintended consequences and take them into account when finalising the timetable.
The consultation took place between Monday, 9 October 2023 and Monday, 20 November 2023. We are no longer accepting responses.