Train leaves Scotland’s forgotten corner for the first time in ten months

A TRAIN has left the station of one of Scotland’s most remote areas for the first time in over ten months.

This morning the first train to leave Stranraer in nearly a year left the station at 0704.

Five passengers joined the historic service as it headed up towards Ayr and later Glasgow.

It comes after the service was shelved after a hotel fire 50 miles away closed the line last September.

ScotRail removed the train carriages from Stranraer by road earlier this year leaving locals concerned about the future of the line.

We previously told how residents of Wigtownshire in the southwest had been left “ignored”  and was in danger of becoming the forgotten corner.

The deliberate blaze closed Ayr railway station – the main travel hub to the region – forcing the line south to close until South Ayrshire Council demolished the fire ravaged derelict station hotel.

The former hotel was deliberately set on fire on September 25, 2023, an act which saw three teens arrested and charged.

The fire ended the ten-year saga around the historical Ayr Station Hotel which was closed and classed as “dangerous” in 2013.

The council previously stepped in to stop the hotel collapsing in 2018 when a second dangerous building notice which closed the line for several months.

Efforts to deal with the derelict site were delayed by the absence of its owner, Malaysian businessman Ung Eng Huat, who also goes by the name Sunny Ung.

After years of silence on the future of the crumbling Victorian residence following the blaze, Sunny reappeared in April this year to launch a late legal bid against the local authority in a last ditch attempt to take control of the site.

South Ayrshire Council has been acting under Section 29 of the Dangerous Buildings (Scotland) Act which gives them powers to bring down a site in the interest of public safety.

The court application by Sunny Ung to stop the work was rejected and in May council chiefs launched a global debt recovery bid to chase the businessman for the millions stumped up by the tax payer.

But until the demolition drama was resolved, Dumfries and Galloway residents who use the Stranraer route were left without a train service since last year due to the hotel sitting above the train line.

This morning the line was reopened for the daily three services between the southwest town and the central belt.

Network Rail confirmed last month that some services will return to the station following the completion of safety works.

ScotRail restored the direct electric services between Ayr and Glasgow on June 17.

But for those on the older diesel services – including Stranraer- they had to wait longer for drivers to be retrained and the overgrown lines to be restored.

A full timetable, with the return of services between Kilmarnock, Ayr, Girvan, and Stranraer, is expected to be in operation by mid-July.

Liam Sumpter, managing director, Network Rail, said: “Our thanks go to South Ayrshire Council for completing the critical safety work at the former Ayr Station Hotel.

“Our teams are working hard to have the track ready and alongside our colleagues at ScotRail we’re looking forward to welcoming passengers back to the station and on to services next week.

“We’d like to thank passengers and the Ayr community for their patience and understanding during the station closure.”

David Lister, ScotRail Safety, Sustainability & Asset Director, said the “devastating” fire had a significant impact on ScotRail services in the area.

“We know how much people rely on rail services, so we’re pleased that from June 17, we’ll be able to reintroduce electric services between Ayr and Glasgow and will work with Network Rail to complete all activities required to re-establish services south of Ayr due to the extended period of closure.

“We’re grateful to customers for their patience and understanding while we work towards the full return of services later in July.”