SCOTRAIL have announced there will be a completely new timetable for train passengers travelling between Wemyss Bay, Gourock, and Glasgow from 2 June.
The new Monday to Saturday schedule will provide a half-hourly service between Glasgow and Wemyss Bay, and faster trains between Glasgow and Gourock.
The operator says the changes follows successful consultation with more than 800 responses from customers, stakeholders, and members of ScotRail staff.
The majority of those responding were positively impacted or unaffected by the proposals, with the biggest issue relating to longer journey times, particularly from communities on the Wemyss Bay line.
ScotRail believes that the proposed timetable, with 30 more services each weekday, will help to stimulate faster economic growth, by making it easier for communities in Inverclyde to access employment, education, health, and leisure facilities, both within the region and in Glasgow.
The proposed changes included:
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, taking approximately 41 minutes.
— Additional services will operate at peak times.
— The last limited-stop trains are: 19:26 from Gourock to Glasgow and 18:35 from Glasgow to Gourock.
— In the evening, two trains per hour continue to operate, calling at all stations between Glasgow and Gourock. The last service from Glasgow to Gourock remains 23:50.
Glasgow to Wemyss Bay
— Two trains per hour operate all day until 19:00. These call at all stations and have an end-to-end journey time of approximately 59 minutes.
— In the evening after 19:00, an hourly limited stop service operates calling at Paisley Gilmour Street, Bishopton, Port Glasgow, Whinhill, Drumfrochar, Branchton, and Inverkip.
— The last service from Glasgow to Wemyss Bay will be at 22:55 compared with the current 22:35.
Additional services on Sunday afternoons between Gourock and Glasgow were introduced in December 2023. No other changes are proposed to the Sunday timetable as it is consistent with other routes in and around Glasgow and Strathclyde.
Following the positive response, these changes will be implemented. Additionally, reacting to specific feedback, further improvements have been added:
— The 05:25 and 06:00 Gourock to Glasgow services each morning will call additionally at Woodhall, Langbank, and Paisley St James.
— The 07:28 Wemyss Bay to Glasgow service, the busiest morning peak service from this part of Inverclyde, will be retimed to depart at 07:35 and have a 50-minute journey time to Glasgow.
ScotRail will continue to review the timetable to identify further opportunities to reduce journey times for customers travelling at the busiest times of day, while maintaining the frequency of service.
Full are available at www.scotrail.co.uk/ayrshire-and-inverclyde-timetable-consultation
Scott Prentice, ScotRail strategic planning director, said: “We are delighted that so many people took the time to submit responses in the public consultation and play an active part in helping to decide what future timetables will look like.
“ScotRail is committed to delivering the possible service to our customers and we believe these changes will result in more people using rail across Inverclyde both for local journeys, and trips to Glasgow.
“Rail travel remains one of the easiest and sustainable ways to get around Scotland, and we will continue to look at ways of making it an even more attractive mode of transport.”
