Council to challenge reduced rail service

AMOTION was agreed by East Dunbartonshire Council last week to challenge the proposed reduction of rail services on the Glasgow to Milngavie line. The proposed reduction from four services to two services per hour during offpeak times is part of ScotRail’s Fit for the Future timetable review.

The review is taking place to bring in post-pandemic timetables from next May, with the halving of off-peak trains being in comparison to pre-pandemic timetables.

Joint council leader Vaughan Moody said: “ScotRail is suggesting that their timetable review is to ensure the service meets both the needs of customers and the aims of the Scottish Government as Scotland recovers from the pandemic.

“The reality is that review amounts to a wholesale cut in services, on a line that has been frankly unreliable for a number of years, with the numbers of trains operating off-peak on weekdays and during the day on Saturdays being halved from four to two an hour.

“This is unacceptable and we need commitments to a frequent, reliable service.”

The council has raised the issue of poor performance on the line with ScotRail and the Scottish Government in recent years, and it believes reducing the service will impact commuters to the city centre and tourists to East Dunbartonshire.

Joint council leader Andrew Polson said: “In a unanimous decision, this council calls on ScotRail, Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government to confirm that services will not be reduced on the Milngavie line – and seeks a commitment to improving service performance, which has been unacceptable for the people of this area for some time now.

“Surely with the backdrop of the UN climate conference we should be enhancing sustainable public transport, not diminishing it.”

The details of the motion confirm the council believes given the climate crisis, the use of public transport should be promoted, communities and residents in

Milngavie should not be disadvantaged by the proposed reduction, and the reduction will make it less attractive for tourists which is critical to the local economy.

The motion is being submitted to ScotRail, Transport Scotland and the Scottish Government.