COMMUTERS in Inverclyde are paying more for rail tickets than their counterparts in major European cities like Barcelona and Paris, according to a new study.

Analysis from Labour MSP Neil Bibby has found that some local passengers are shelling out up to 10 per cent of their monthly wage on fares.

The stats have prompted the MSP to accuse the SNP government of a 'great train robbery'.

Commuters travelling a comparative distance in Paris spend just two per cent of their pay on rail travel and the figure is five per cent for people in Barcelona and the Belgian capital Brussels.

The study also found passengers in Rome and Berlin pay less - three and four per cent, respectively - than those travelling from Greenock, Port Glasgow, Gourock and Wemyss Bay, who typically fork out between 10 and seven per cent of their monthly wage getting to and from Glasgow Central.

The SNP's Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock & Inverclyde, today defended the pricing structure.

But Mr Bibby, a list MSP who represents the west of Scotland, said: "The SNP government is presiding over a great train robbery, and it is passengers and commuters in Inverclyde who are having their pockets picked.

"When you compare both the service and fare costs with other parts of Europe, Scotland's rail service is severely lagging behind - which is ironic given that SNP ministers used to claim that the deal they agreed with Abellio was world-leading.

"The truth is that passengers are paying a fortune, often for delayed and overcrowded trains.

"This strengthens Labour's case to bring the railways back into public ownership - so that we have a service that actually works for hard working commuters."

The study found that commuters travelling the 32 miles from Wemyss Bay Station to Glasgow Central pay the most for a monthly ticket at £184.40 - almost 10 per cent of the average salary of £1,929.

In France, a monthly pass for a 30-mile train journey between Étampes and Paris costs £66.31 - two per cent of the average monthly earnings of £2,705.

Mr McMillan says his party will 'take no lectures from Labour over our railways'.

He added: "Scotland has the lowest rail fares increase in the UK, with the average regulated increase below the rate of inflation.

"It was the SNP government which secured the right for a public sector operator to bid for the franchise, after being repeatedly denied that right by successive Labour and Tory UK governments.

"Labour are completely shameless to demand action from the very Scottish Government that they withheld powers from and blocked a public sector rail franchise bid for years.

"We are having some challenges on the Inverclyde lines at the moment due to the delayed introduction of the new Hitachi trains.

"This shows the SNP government is building a rail infrastructure for the future as well as actually getting on with building a suitable public sector bid for our rail franchise."