Petition against ScotRail 'fast' train cuts in Inverclyde

Labour’s Martin McCluskey says that recently revealed plans to remove nine limited stop services that run daily along the line must be opposed.

The Telegraph revealed earlier this month how ScotRail were planning to slash services as part of a timetable shake-up planned for May.

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The rail operator says it has faced problems with its driver training programme due to the Covid-19 pandemic and claims the changes are an interim measure to help ensure a more reliable service for customers.

But Mr McCluskey told the Telegraph that his petition, which has attracted more than 750 signatures since launching late last week, shows that many locals are opposed to the changes.

He said: “The petition has really gained a lot of signatures in a very short period of time.

“I think it shows the interest in the issue, but also how much people rely on these services and want them to remain.

“There’s a need for good local public transport that’s going to encourage people to move to Inverclyde and serve people who live in the area.

“It’s really important, not just for individuals and quality of life to have good public transport, but also for economic development and to encourage people to come to live in the area as well.

“People want to live somewhere they can get quick and easy transport to the city and around Inverclyde as well.”

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ScotRail claim that reducing the fast train services will reduce the number of cancellations due to the shortage of drivers.

Under the rail operator’s current timetable, nine limited stop services, known locally as ‘fast trains’ currently, are run during off-peak periods and are now facing the axe.

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 for the foreseeable future.

Mr McCluskey says there are fears that the changes will remain in place, despite assurances to the contrary.

He added: “We’ve seen lots of interim changes before and some of them do get rolled back, but there’s a lot of things that have just stayed the way that they were when they were put in as interim measures.

“I think the fear always is that something comes in as an interim measure and it never gets reversed.

“The impact is that we lose capacity on the network, which is always a bad thing.

“This will also affect people who rely on this to get between places quickly. I know that they might be carrying on some fast trains during peak times, but not everyone works nine to five.

“There might be people who might be on shifts that start at lunch time that rely on those fast services.

“It’s going to have a big impact on people’s quality of life as well as just being an annoyance that it’ll take longer to get somewhere on the train.

“People need to make their voice heard and sign the petition to strengthen our hand when we talk to ScotRail and make the case about why they shouldn’t make these cuts.”

Scott Prentice, ScotRail head of business development, said: “We apologise to those customers who will be inconvenienced by the changes we’re making to our timetable in Inverclyde in May.

“These changes are an interim measure while we continue to recover from the impact the pandemic had on our driver training programme.

“We’re engaging with local politicians who have raised concerns, and these meetings will provide us with valuable feedback from them and their constituents to help shape future timetable changes.

“We’ll share our future plans for Inverclyde with customers and stakeholders in the coming months, and we look forward to hearing their views on those proposals.

“In the interim, our priority is to provide communities served by Gourock to Glasgow trains with a reliable half hourly daytime service, which has additional fast services at peak times.”