SCOTRAIL say they cannot provide a timetable for the removal of the clapped out carriages from Inverclyde services - despite the roll-out of a new fleet of trains yesterday.

Company officials say there are 'no firm dates' as yet for when the old Class 314 models, built in 1979, will be taken away and modern stock returned to the Gourock and Wemyss Bay lines.

It comes after the first of a 70-strong fleet of electric trains - part of a £475m investment in rolling stock - entered service between Glasgow and Edinburgh on Tuesday morning.

In preparation for the introduction of the new carriages, some Class 380s were diverted from Inverclyde to the capital for driver training.

They were replaced by the near 40-year-old models, which have no toilets and poor heating.

They have been slated by passengers as being unreliable, uncomfortable, dirty and noisy.

ScotRail say they still plan to phase out the old 314s and reinstate the newer carriages - but have failed to provide a timescale for the changeover.

When contacted by the Tele, the company simply repeated the same comment they had provided to an enquiry we made in May about the situation.

A spokesperson: "The majority of services between Glasgow and Inverclyde are operated by modern Class 380 trains.

"The use of Class 314 trains on this route remains a temporary measure, and they will be withdrawn from the ScotRail network as soon as we are in a position to do so."

The old carriages, which have suffered a series of breakdowns, have been in service locally since the end of 2016.

They have come in for fierce criticism from passengers, including Gourock campaigner Alan Holliday who described them as 'biscuit tins' and called for customers to be given a discount for having to put up with an 'inferior service'.

ScotRail responded by offering season ticket holders a free journey each month from June and August as a gesture of goodwill after being lobbied by Greenock & Inverclyde MSP Stuart McMillan.