The ScotRail Alliance has confirmed that services to and from Ayr will return to normal tomorrow, Thursday 20 December.

Earlier this year South Ayrshire Council enforced an exclusion zone at Ayr station. This was because the privately-owned former Station Hotel building had been deemed unsafe.

While South Ayrshire Council carried out the necessary work to contain the unsafe structure, services between Glasgow Central and Ayr, Girvan, Stranraer and Kilmarnock were disrupted.

The successful encapsulation of the former hotel building means ScotRail can now access Ayr Townhead Depot and begin to safely operate trains through the station, allowing a full service to return tomorrow, Thursday 20 December.

The temporary station facilities and ticket office remain in place.

Customers are encouraged to download the ScotRail app for the most up to date train information.

ScotRail Alliance Sustainability & Safety Assurance Director David Lister said:

“We know it has been a challenging time for our customers, so we are really pleased to be able to restore a full service at Ayr.

“South Ayrshire Council, colleagues at ScotRail and Network Rail, and our task force partners have done fantastically well to get all services to and from Ayr back to normal in what was an extremely challenging situation.”

Chair of the Ayr Station Taskforce Group Bill Reeve said:

“This is welcome news for passengers and the business communities in and around Ayrshire, who can now enjoy the full restoration of longer trains between the town and Glasgow Central as well as fully restored services to Girvan and Stranraer.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience during this challenging time, as well as the partners within the Taskforce for their commitment to finding a safe solution as quickly as possible.”