West of Scotland MSP Katy Clark says she is furious about recent cuts to train services to Largs, just as the town gears up for its biggest annual event.
The popular Largs Viking Festival, which draws huge crowds with its parades, live entertainment, food markets, and the burning of a Viking longboat, is now facing a major setback.
The firework display attracts families from all over Scotland.
ScotRail has slashed Sunday train services from hourly to every two hours, severely affecting access to the town.
Ms Clark said: “These changes are not only disappointing—they’re unnecessary.
“Largs, Fairlie, and West Kilbride already have fewer rail services than other parts of Ayrshire. Cutting them further without proper consultation is unacceptable. We need more trains, not fewer.”
Ms Clark, who has already written to ScotRail about the withdrawal of key commuter services, says the cuts are hurting local residents and businesses.
She added: “Journey times have increased, peak services have been cut, and our children are arriving late to school.
"The Largs route seems to be the first to suffer whenever there’s a shortage of trains or drivers.”
The MSP is urging ScotRail to rethink its decision, especially with the Viking Festival approaching.
She added: “These cuts will hit local trade hard during one of the busiest weekends of the year. ScotRail needs to step up and provide better service to Largs, Fairlie, Saltcoats, and Ardrossan.”
As the Viking Festival draws near, the community is demanding action to ensure that visitors can attend the event without transportation issues.
Viking Festival chairman Douglas Blair said he did not want the festival to be used as a 'political football' and had not personally received any correspondence on the matter from MSP Katy Clark.
He said: "We require more trains and more carriages which is the bottom line. I have not had any correspondence from MSP Katy Clark regarding the situation.
"The festival has not changed and the dates have been in the diary for a long time. They managed to re-jig the whole Ayrshire network for The Open Championship coming to Troon, which I appreciate is a large international sporting event, but our own Viking Festival attracts great interest from the central belt.
"We feel that a two hour service on Sunday won't help and we are looking for a one hourly service with extra carriages to cope with the big numbers expected."
The Largs Viking Festival takes place between Saturday, 31 August and Sunday, 8 September, at the Largs Promenade where people can experience life in a 13th Century Norse-Gael village.
ScotRail has issued travel advice for customers ahead of another busy weekend on Scotland’s Railway.
The train operator is encouraging customers travelling this weekend to plan their journeys in advance, with football action in Glasgow and the Largs Viking Festival getting underway.
ScotRail has confirmed it will add additional carriages, where possible, to trains between Glasgow Central and Largs.
Queuing systems may be in place at key stations along the route, so customers should allow extra time for their journey.
Fewer services are operating due to the temporary timetable currently in place as drivers continue to make themselves unavailable for rest day working, while members of the trade union ASLEF consider ScotRail’s latest pay offer.
Phil Campbell, ScotRail Customer Operations Director, said: “With another busy weekend for travel across Scotland’s Railway ahead, we’ll be doing everything we can to help customers get to where they need to be.
“Trains are expected to be busier than usual with the Largs Viking Festival getting underway. To support these events, we’ll be adding extra carriage where we can.
“However, customers are reminded that with the temporary timetable currently in place, there are fewer services than normal in operation.
“That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to allow extra time for travel, and to check their journey in advance on the ScotRail app or website.
“Buying return tickets before you board using our mTicket system on our mobile app will help your journey run smoothly.”
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