Timetable improvements from 13 December

ScotRail’s new timetable, launching on Sunday 13 December, contains improvements for customers who travel in the south west of the country; to Lanark or Carstairs; or who use the West Highland Line.

Some services will be extended to call at more stations and new services added.  Others have been retimed to provide better connections for customers.

Phil Verster, managing director of the ScotRail Alliance, said: “This is the first set of timetable changes since we took over the franchise.  We’ve worked hard to make sure we’re making the best use of our rolling stock so that, wherever possible, the busiest services have the most capacity.

“Services in the south west have been completely overhauled to allow more opportunity for local travel between Ayr and Stranraer.

“And in South Lanarkshire we’ve added late night station calls to help those in Lanark and Carstairs get home.”

Derek Mackay, Minister for Transport and Islands, said: “Scotland’s rail networks are currently more popular than ever with 90 million journeys being made every year. I have always been clear that rail services must meet the specific needs of the communities that they serve and offer both reliable and timely connections.

“That is why we are currently investing record amounts in Scotland’s railways to ensure that more people have access to these services, and why Transport Scotland routinely works in consultation with local communities to make sure that we run services that provide maximum benefit for passengers.

“These new timetables are good news for rail passengers in Stranraer, Lanark and Carstairs who will be able to enjoy more frequent services from December.”

A summary of the changes is below. Passengers should check their own journey on www.scotrail.co.uk by selecting a date on or after 13 December.

TIMETABLE CHANGES

• Glasgow to Stranraer route

Monday – Saturday: New hourly Ayr – Girvan service with every other train extended to Stranraer.  This provides 12 trains per day to Girvan and 8 to Stranraer – compared with 10 and 6 in the current timetable.

Two additional Ayr – Kilmarnock services Monday – Saturday, and two extra Sunday trains between Ayr – Stranraer.

Monday – Saturday Stranraer and Girvan services will now run to Ayr, Kilmarnock, or Glasgow Central via Kilmarnock, therefore passengers for Paisley and Kilwinning should change at Ayr for a connection going north.  Short connections times at Ayr mean that end to end journey times are broadly comparable.

On Sundays, passengers travelling from Stranraer and Girvan to Glasgow Central need to change at Ayr for a service to the city.

Trains between Ayr and Glasgow Central via Kilmarnock will no longer call at Prestwick International Airport and Prestwick Town. Passengers should change at Troon for a connection to these stations.

In order to accommodate these additional services and timetable improvements, services throughout the day have been slightly retimed. Customers should check their journey before travelling.

• Lanark and Carstairs services

Monday to Friday 23:20 Glasgow Central to Motherwell has been extended to Lanark.

Monday to Friday 22:31 Dalmuir to Motherwell has been extended to Carstairs.

Following feedback from customers, there will be a redistribution of carriages to where they are needed most in the morning and evening peaks.

• West Highland Line

On Sundays, the 09:56 Glasgow Queen Street to Oban and 16:11 Oban to Glasgow Queen Street will become a year-round service.  Previously these ran during the summer months only.

• Edinburgh to Dunblane

Monday to Friday 05:21 Dunblane to Edinburgh now departs Dunblane earlier at 05:13 to provide a connection from Dunblane into the new Virgin Trains East Coast 05:26 Stirling to London Kings Cross.

This information is also available online at www.scotrail.co.uk/dec15timetable