Shedding of direct service to Edinburgh prompts fury at festival time

The Motherwell Times has received a number of complaints from passengers who have taken exception to the fact that they now need to change trains at either Bellshill or Carfin station.

One, Isobel Duffy told us: “I could hardly believe that this service had been done away with.

"It is of course especially inconvenient for people wanting to go into the festivals but you would think that there would be a direct link between Motherwell and Edinburgh instead of having to change.”

However, a ScotRail spokesperson said: “We are operating more than 80 per cent of pre pandemic service levels across the country, however passenger numbers are still at only 50 per cent of the pre COVID level.

“The pandemic has changed how people travel across all of Scotland.

"We are keeping our timetable under regular review and designing new schedules to accommodate future levels of passenger demand, ensuring service levels meet demand, whilst providing the taxpayer with best value for money.

"Any changes will be shared with customers ahead of time.”

As we have reported, Motherwell Station is in the midst of an ambitious £14.5 million redevelopment project.

The second phase of operations is expected to be completed later this year.