After a hotel fire 50 miles away halted the line for six months, rail users in Stranraer are afraid they might not see trains return to the rails.
People who travel the Stranraer line claim they have been left “feeling forgotten” since a planned fire closed Ayr train station in September.
The line had to close while the listed structure was demolished since the fire destroyed the nearby abandoned station hotel.
According to the South Ayrshire Council, efforts are being made to guarantee that trains can resume operating “as soon as possible” in collaboration with partners such as ScotRail.
The Ayr Station Hotel, which was closed and designated as “dangerous” in 2013, was the subject of a protracted tale that culminated with the fire.
The owner of the abandoned site, Malaysian businessman Ung Eng Huat, also known as Sunny Ung, has not been present, which has made efforts to deal with the site difficult.
Once again in 2018, the council intervened to prevent the hotel from falling after issuing a second dangerous building notice.
In November, ScotRail resumed some services from Ayr North to Prestwick and Glasgow; however, there have been multiple delays in the intentions to resume southbound services.
Some residents of the town are upset about the delays for trips to Stranraer.
The timing of the line’s reopening was recently moved from mid-April to June 2 on National Rail’s website.
The Ayr-Stranraer Trainline Action Group’s head, Jim Heron, believes that the delayed development “is creating a crisis” and is critical of both ScotRail and the council.
“We were told it would re-open in January, then March, then April, and now it’s the summer,” stated the 75-year-old.
“As soon as practicable, trains from Stranraer to Ayr must be resumed.
“I’m quite sure the people making the decisions could demolish the hotel walls by the rail line in two weeks.”
According to Mr. Heron, the organisation offered suggestions to ScotRail about how the trains may run to a point just south of Ayr before being cleaned and refuelled elsewhere, but “there was no interest”.
What Rebecca Richardson perceives as “ongoing inaction” to address the matter has her upset.
One of the many commuters who took the Stranraer to Ayr line for school is Mrs Richardson’s 14-year-old daughter, who said the disruption ‘has utterly disturbed her daily routine’.
She reported the issue to Dumfries and Galloway Council, ScotRail, and South Ayrshire Council, but “nobody is taking ownership” of it.
“Everyone has given us different answers,” she continued.
“I can’t believe how long it has continued for. The thing that frustrates me the most is the lack of communication. Nobody responds to us or explains the situation in detail.
“In the end, it seems as though nobody gives a damn about this section of southwest Scotland; it feels like the forgotten region.
Some individuals are unaware that the folks south of Ayr are the ones most impacted—not the ones where the fire occurred. People in Stranraer already have it difficult enough without this.”
Joe Lynch said that the train line has been closed for “far too long” and expressed concern that the temporary closure may turn into a permanent one.
The South Rhins resident accused operators of “failing to meet any dates they put out” and stated he saw no end in sight to the delays.
The possibility of “death by a thousand cuts” worries him.
Mr. Lynch’s concerns have been heightened by the fact that ScotRail took two Class 156 trains from service in March for maintenance work because of how long they had been idle.
The 65-year-old added: “My concern is the queue may never reopen, it could be the case that it closes by default because officially no-one uses it.”
According to official estimates, Stranraer railway station handled over 40,000 passengers in 2022–2023—the most since Covid.
Prior to the pandemic, the station saw 65,000 annual users in total.
However, Mr. Lynch believes that since the ferries abandoned the town more than ten years ago, the rail connection to Stranraer has been neglected and wants it modernised to match those north of Ayr.
“The line north of Ayr is well invested in, there’s electric trains, they are fast, frequent, run early and late at night.”
Mr. Lynch has also voiced his disapproval of the replacement bus service, citing the 20-mile detours via Newton Stewart that resulted from A77 closures, which prolonged travel times by an additional thirty minutes.
The delays and discontent felt by Stranraer train users have been brought up with the South Ayrshire Council, ScotRail, and Network Rail.
The council acknowledged the effect the construction is having on rail services and emphasised that it has a dedicated webpage for updates.
“Works at the former station hotel are continuing,” a spokesman stated.
“We just disclosed that we found structural deterioration in the building’s northern portion, and that this
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