ScotRail have confirmed directly with Eastwood MSP Jackson Carlaw that they will be providing more carriages on local train services in 2019.
The Scottish Conservative MSP has previously made representations to ScotRail both by letter and in person regarding overcrowding on the East Kilbride line and the lack of an appropriate number of carriages to accommodate passenger demand. East Renfrewshire MP Paul Masterton had also written to ScotRail calling for an improvement to local train services and for additional carriages to be provided on the East Kilbride and Barrhead train routes.
Following the efforts made by the MSP for Eastwood and MP for East Renfrewshire, senior management at ScotRail have confirmed that additional class 156 trains will be provided on the East Kilbride line from May 2019 and carriages will be increased from four to six for on peak services with a total number of 436 seats for passengers. ScotRail have also confirmed that there will be an increased number of class 156 trains on the Barrhead route and that a larger number of trains will have four carriages containing a total of 284 seats on morning and evening services.
Eastwood MSYPs Jack Dudgeon, Katie Leslie and Fatima Bari have also been campaigning for an increase in the number of carriages on the Glasgow to East Kilbride line.
The Glasgow to East Kilbride train route services stops at Thornliebank, Giffnock, Clarkston and Busby stations in Mr Carlaw’s Eastwood and Mr Masterton’s East Renfrewshire constituency.
Jackson Carlaw MSP for Eastwood said:
“Lack of capacity and overcrowding on ScotRail trains is a frequent problem experienced by many of my constituents who are passengers on services stopping at Thornliebank, Giffnock, Clarkston and Busby stations.
“I have made representations to ScotRail regarding the number of carriages provided on the East Kilbride line and I am pleased to receive confirmation from senior management that the majority of trains on this service will now have six carriages at peak times.
“Train services across Scotland have been underperforming in recent times with cancellations and delays impacting negatively on passengers.
“The additional carriages for services on the East Kilbride route is a welcome development. I hope this will serve to improve the capacity and overcrowding problems experienced by train users in Eastwood.”
Paul Masterton MP stated:
“Train delays and cancellations are frequently brought to my attention by constituents in East Renfrewshire.
“I have previously written to ScotRail about local train services and to seek improvements for passengers.
“Confirmation that the number of carriages on Barrhead and East Kilbride train services are being increased is a very positive development and hopefully will lead to an improvement in performance.
“Both Jackson and I will continue to closely monitor the impact of local train services on the day-to-day lives of our constituents.”
Eastwood MSYPs Jack Dudgeon, Katie Leslie and Fatima Bari added:
“We are delighted that ScotRail will be introducing additional carriages on East Kilbride to Glasgow train services.
“Young people in Eastwood constantly tell us that more capacity on this line is something they want to see and we have been campaigning for this since we were elected in 2017. We look forward to the additional carriages being introduced.”
