ScotRail bosses have admitted that a large number of staff absences due to the Omicron variant has prompted an amended timetable for trains in and out of Ayrshire.
The rail operator revealed that the rapid spread of the virus has caused big shortages among its workforce.
As a result, a new amended Monday to Friday timetable came into force yesterday and will be in operation until Friday, January 28.
David Simpson, ScotRail operations director, said: “Like most businesses, ScotRail is not immune to the impact of coronavirus.
“We’ve been working flat out to run a safe and reliable railway in really difficult and rapidly changing circumstances.
“We’ve looked to spread these changes out across the day where possible to minimise the impact on our customers, but people should plan ahead and continue to check the train times right up until they arrive at the station.
“We urge anyone travelling with us to stay safe and continue to follow government guidance. This includes maintaining good hand hygiene and wearing a face covering for your entire journey.”
The following services have been amended:
0730 Glasgow to Ayr will now call additionally at Milliken Park, Howwood, Lochwinnoch, Glengarnock and Dalry.
1631 Glasgow to Ayr will now call additionally at Paisley Gilmour Street, Johnstone, Milliken Park, Howwood, Lochwinnoch, Glengarnock and Dalry.
1734 Glasgow Central to Ayr will now call additionally at Johnstone, Howwood, Glengarnock and Dalry.
0734 Ayr to Glasgow will now call additionally at Newton on Ayr, Barassie, Dalry, Glengarnock and Johnstone.
0829 Ayr to Glasgow has now been re-timed and will depart at 0835.
And the following services are withdrawn:
0745, 0829, 0900, 0932, 1000, 1030, 1200, 1531, 1640, 1717, 1747 Glasgow Central to Ayr.
0717, 0741, 0853, 1252, 1452, 1525, 1548, 1624, 1824, Ayr to Glasgow Central.
0814 Kilwinning to Glasgow Central; 0722 Largs to Glasgow Central.
0827, 0906, 0925, 0955, 1155, 1355, 1727, 1826, 1925, Glasgow Central to Gourock.
0625, 0811, 0954, 1054, 1254, 1424, 1454, 1524, 1549, 1724, 1824 Gourock to Glasgow Central.
Transport focus senior stakeholder manager Robert Samson said: “It’s better for some services to be temporarily withdrawn on a planned basis than to have chaotic last-minute cancellations as these are harder for passengers to deal with.
“Passengers need clear, reliable information to plan their journeys and a timetable that is dependable. These temporary changes to the timetable should deliver an increased level of certainty for passengers.”
Bus operator Stagecoach West Scotland is also experiencing similar difficulties.
In recent days, they too have been forced to cancel some services in the Ayrshire region.
Among those affected were the X16, 43, 3 and X77 services.
But passengers are being warned that more disruption could be on the way.
A Stagecoach West Scotland spokesperson said today: “As is the case with other transport operators and many other organisations, we are seeing a continuing impact on our staffing levels as a result of the pandemic.
“The majority of our services are operating as normal and our teams are working very hard to continue to run planned services for customers.
“However, due to the increasing numbers of employees impacted by the virus, we may have to make some changes to services. Where this is the case, we will continue to ensure customers are updated through our customer channels with as much notice as possible.”
Passengers are being advised to check their operator’s social media pages for updates.
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