SCOTRAIL bosses who laid on a huge train to shuttle Disney cruise passengers directly from Greenock to Edinburgh stand accused of leaving Inverclyde with a "Mickey Mouse" service.
Local people - who have been left with a reduced timetable along the Gourock to Glasgow line for months - were left stunned when the publicly-owned operator had a six-carriage train roll in to Greenock Central for tourists.
Gourock Labour councillor Martin McCluskey slammed the decision to run the extra service for Disney Dream passengers.
He told the Greenock Telegraph: “Disney Cruise passengers have been offered direct trains from Greenock to Edinburgh, but local people have been left with a Mickey Mouse service by ScotRail.
“This is beyond a joke.
“We were promised a consultation on a new and improved timetable and we are still waiting.
“ScotRail says that they offer services to meet demand, but anytime there’s a big event in Glasgow - like the football on Tuesday night - people who live in Inverclyde have to put up with overcrowded, infrequent services.
“In living memory there hasn’t been a direct ScotRail service from Greenock to Edinburgh."
Angry locals also contacted the Greenock Telegraph to express their shock at the ScotRail decision.
One regular rail passenger, who did not want to be named, said: “We’re seeing the red carpet get rolled out for the tourists off a cruise ship while folk who live and work around here get nothing.
“It’s all well and good to say things like this will boost tourism into the area, but what does it matter if they won’t stay locally and spend their money here?
"Taking them out of town is ridiculous."
Another train commuter said: “We’ve had this big investment into the area but all it’s doing is making us a slightly nicer pit stop for these people before they head off to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
“And then finding out that ScotRail can actually run more services when they feel like it is a bit of a slap in the face to the people who have been putting up with the reduced timetable these last few months."
ScotRail announced earlier this year that it was axing several off-peak, limited stop "fast" train services along the Gourock to Glasgow line.
The recently nationalised firm said the move was an interim measure as part of its recovery from the impact the pandemic had on driver training.
The company has stated that it will soon share its plans for future timetables in Inverclyde, which it believes will help grow passenger numbers.
In response to the concerns raised about the decision to run an additional service for cruise ship passengers, Phil Campbell, ScotRail Customer Operations Director, said: “ScotRail is committed to supporting tourism and helping Scotland’s economy grow.
“Where possible, we’ll look to provide additional services, or extra carriages, when large scale events take place.
“It’s the right thing to do to support travel, and it ensures seats remain available for our regular customers.
“We’ll be sharing our timetable plans for Inverclyde with customers and stakeholders soon, and we look forward to hearing their views on our proposals.
“In the interim, our priority is to provide communities served by Gourock to Glasgow trains with a reliable half hourly daytime service, which has additional fast services at peak times.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel