SCOTRAIL is planning to axe nine 'fast' trains between Gourock and Glasgow later this year, the Telegraph can reveal.

The train operator has confirmed it will cut nine limited stop services that run daily along the Gourock line as part of a shake-up of its timetable planned for May this year. 

Its current timetable between Glasgow and Inverclyde provides two stopping services per hour and a fast service between Glasgow and Wemyss Bay, with the number of trains increasing during peak periods. 

Outwith these peak periods the operator currently runs nine limited stop services, known locally as 'fast trains', which stop at a select number of stations and are now facing being scrapped. 

These trains currently stop at Glasgow Central, Paisley Gilmour Street, Bishopton, Port Glasgow, Greenock Central, Greenock West, Fort Matilda and Gourock.

If Scotrail bosses push ahead with the new timetable, the 0925, 0955, 1154 and 1355 from Glasgow to Gourock and the 0954, 1054, 1254, 1454 and 1524 from Gourock for Glasgow will be discontinued. 

Scott Prentice, ScotRail's head of business development, said: "We know how much people right across the country rely on rail travel, and that’s why everyone at ScotRail is focused on providing the safest, greenest, and most reliable railway we can.

"Scotland’s Railway is still very much in a period of recovery from the pandemic, and our May timetable change is another stepping stone in that process. 

"As we welcome more people back to the rail network, we’ll make more changes to our timetable which will benefit the people of Inverclyde."

Travellers in Inverclyde faced travel disruption throughout last year due to strike action, with some local lines closing completely during the walkouts. 

ScotRail have also faced challenges with their driver training programme during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has resulted in the company having an insufficient number of new drivers to replace their outgoing contingent. 

The rail bosses say that this has limited the number of services it can operate until its training backlog is cleared. 

They claim that the withdrawals of fast services between Gourock and Glasgow will help produce a more reliable service in the interim.