INVERCLYDE politicians have welcomed a new train timetable which is set to provide hundreds of extra services every week for the district.  

ScotRail’s revamped timetable will provide a half-hourly service between Glasgow and Wemyss Bay Monday to Saturday, and faster trains between Glasgow and Gourock.

The proposed timetable, which will launch on June 2, includes 30 more services each weekday which ScotRail believes will help boost the local economy by making it easier for communities in Inverclyde to access employment, education, health, and leisure facilities.

The announcement has been welcomed by Inverclyde’s MP Ronnie Cowan who, alongside his SNP colleague Stuart McMillan, has previously met with ScotRail bosses to discuss the new timetable.

READ MORE: ScotRail reveal plans for Gourock and Wemyss Bay lines

Gourock councillor Martin McCluskey, who has campaigned for better rail services locally, has also backed the new schedule.

The latest announcement follows a major consultation run by the train operator on the new scheme which attracted more than 800 responses.

ScotRail says the majority of respondents 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. 

Inverclyde’s MP Ronnie Cowan said: “There will never be a service that satisfies everyone's precise needs, but the new timetable is an improvement for the majority of users, and the proof will be in the pudding.

Greenock Telegraph: Ronnie Cowan

"Importantly the new timetable has been developed along with CalMac to improve the connectivity with the local ferry service.

"And we have assurances from ScotRail that it will continue to monitor the new timetable to identify how things can be improved.

"The Scottish Government is creating a true public service through the public ownership of Scotrail which means we now have a service designed to meet the needs of passengers, not shareholders, and that is something the Westminster parties have failed to deliver.”

The proposed changes for the Glasgow to Gourock line include two trains per hour until after the evening peak, calling at Paisley Gilmour Street, Bishopton, Port Glasgow, Bogston, and then all stations to Gourock.

This service will take approximately 41 minutes start to finish.

Additional services will also be put on during peak periods and the last limited stop ‘fast’ train services will be at 7.26pm from Gourock to Glasgow and 6.35pm from Glasgow to Gourock.

Two trains per hour will continue to operate in the evening and will now call at all stations between Glasgow and Gourock.

The last service from Glasgow to Gourock remains at ten-to-midnight.

Labour councillor Martin McCluskey told the Telegraph he was pleased with the new timetable.

Mr McCluskey said: “I welcome these proposals from ScotRail, and I'm glad they have listened to community campaigners who have called for faster and more reliable rail services in Inverclyde.

Greenock Telegraph: Martin McCluskey has been elected as a councillor for Gourock

“I have long campaigned for better rail services in Inverclyde, so I am pleased that these changes are just a couple of months away.  

"I'd like to thank Scotrail for engaging with people in Inverclyde as part of this process, and responding to some of the changes that were requested by the community.”

For the Glasgow to Wemyss Bay line two trains will operate per hour until 7pm and will call at all stations, with a journey time of just under an hour.

After 7pm, an hourly limited stop service will operate, calling at Paisley Gilmour Street, Bishopton, Port Glasgow, Whinhill, Drumfrochar, Branchton, and Inverkip. 

The last service from Glasgow to Wemyss Bay will be moved back slightly to 10.55pm, compared to the current time of 10.35pm.

No changes are proposed to the Sunday timetable locally beyond the additional Sunday afternoon services between Gourock and Glasgow which were introduced in December.

ScotRail say that following feedback from their consultation, they have also made two further timetable improvements.

The first is that the 5.25am and 6am Gourock to Glasgow services each morning will call at Woodhall, Langbank and Paisley St James.

The second alteration will see the 7.28pm Wemyss Bay to Glasgow service, which is the busiest morning peak service from that part of Inverclyde, retimed to departed at 7.35pm and have a 50-minute journey time to Glasgow.

Full details of the services, including draft timetables, is available at https://www.scotrail.co.uk/ayrshire-and-inverclyde-timetable-consultation.