Ayrshire MSP calls for rail line investment

LINK: Glasgow to Largs rail line via Kilwinning station (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

An Ayrshire MSP is calling for UK government investment to improve one of the region’s rail lines, where disruptions and faults are “common”.

Kenneth Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, has shared his concerns with others in the council area for the Glasgow to Largs line.

North Ayrshire-based Gibson believes that issues linking the coastal town and city has often left “passengers stranded without clear information”.

A Facebook post by Mr Gibson said: “I have again been contacted by several constituents regarding concerns about repeated delays on the Glasgow-Largs line caused by signalling faults.”

Gibson assures he contacted Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop about the investment and the role of Network Rail in tackling these issues.

He added: “In September, I asked Fiona Hyslop to urge Network Rail to allocate greater investment to the line, with the objective of improving reliability and increasing the service frequency.

“However 5 months on and there is still no progress on the horizon from the UK Government to invest in the line.

“While Network Rail again acknowledged signal failures, warm words are simply not good enough to guarantee the line is future proof and delivering and acceptable service for my constituents.”

“I therefore strongly urge the Labour MP for North Ayrshire for North Ayrshire & Arran to call on Sir Keir Starmer to deliver the infrastructure investments needed to finally make train services more reliable and more frequent.”

Figures indicated Largs station served 384,000 passengers in 2024 which Gibson believes shows an “appetite for more travel”, but infrastructure limitations brings the service to one train an hour.

The historic line between Glasgow and Largs was officially opened in June 1885, extending the earlier line to Fairlie, and was later electrified by British Rail in 1987.