Ayrshire MSP Sharon Dowey has slammed the Scottish Government’s handling of ScotRail since acquiring it in April this year.

This comes after ScotRail published its April arrival and departure times, which showed that almost one quarter of trains did not terminate or arrive at Ayr station on time.

Ms Dowey is calling on the SNP to give Ayrshire’s rail passengers the service they deserve, by delivering trains that arrive and depart on time, and by reversing the service cut which will harm residents, businesses, and tourism.

The Conservative MSP said, “The situation with ScotRail has gone from bad to worse since the SNP took ownership of it.

"We’ve seen it with the ferries, and we’re seeing it again with the trains – the SNP just can’t get transport right.

“No rail service operates without any delays. However, this is more than the odd training running a bit late.

"One in every four trains aren’t arriving on time at Ayr station, which is hardly an incentive to use the rail service.

“If the SNP really want to get people to ditch their cars and go green, they need to deliver a reliable rail service.

"They need to get a grip on this situation before it gets even worse.”

The Scottish Government have been approached for comment.