As the country prepares for timetable changes this coming weekend, ScotRail has provided an update on changes to its services and a note regarding travel this Christmas.

The only major timetable change will be on the Glasgow Central to Lanark services, where trains will run every half an hour in the evenings from December 16.

The following stations, Barnhill, Carluke, Duke Street, Gleneagles, Lanark, Langbank, Paisley St James, Shieldmuir, Wishaw and Woodhall will see an increase in train services.

Other services across Scotland will continue to run as normal to similar pre-existing working timetables.

However, some lines and stations will be closed across the network as various infrastructure projects continue or get underway, which will affect some services in early to mid-2025.

The East Kilbride Project will take a big step forward next year, which will see no train services for 16 weeks, which will enable the line between Thornliebank and East Kilbride to be electrified.

Trains will stop running on Saturday, 25 January and will resume on Sunday, 18th Ma,y with a bus replacement service running between these dates.

From Saturday, 18 January, until Sunday, 4 May, the westbound platform at Alexandra Parade station will be closed to allow station improvement work to take place.

Passengers have been requested to start and end their journeys at Duke Street station, as a very limited service will serve Alexandra Parade while these works are being carried out.

As from Sunday, 16 February, Platform 1 at Hillington West will be closed for 13-weeks, to allow the platform to undergo repairs, Scotrail has recommended that passengers heading towards Glasgow should start their journeys from Hillington East station.

Work on the platforms at Dunkeld and Birnam will also be undertaken. All trains will continue to stop there while the work to raise the platform takes place.

From Monday, 20 January, the Monday to Saturday 10.50 Inverness to Edinburgh Waverley, and the 10.32 Edinburgh Waverley to Inverness services will not be able to stop at the station.

Christmas travel announcement

Some changes to ScotRail services will take place over the holiday period.

Services will finish earlier on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, with a gradual reduction in services after 7 p.m. on these days. Passengers wishing to know the exact times of the last trains from their local station should check the ScotRail website or online journey planners.

Breaking from normal tradition, ScotRail has decided to run extra services on Boxing Day this year, they will run between:

• Alloa and Glasgow Queen Street. 
• Arbroath / Dundee and Edinburgh Waverley via Kirkcaldy. 
• Dunblane and Edinburgh Waverley. 
• Edinburgh Waverley and Glasgow Queen Street via Falkirk High. 
• Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley via Shotts.
• Glasgow Queen Street and Edinburgh Waverley via Bathgate. 
• Leven and Edinburgh Waverley via Dunfermline. 
• Perth and Edinburgh Waverley via Kirkcaldy. 

From Friday, 27 December to Monday, 30 December, regular timetable services will operate.

“Our December timetable change represents another step in our ongoing commitment to deliver the best service we can, and encourage more people to choose rail travel instead of using the car.

Most of the changes around the country will be minor, but we’re asking all of our customers to make sure they check their journeys before they try to travel in case they have been affected.

There will also be changes to trains times during the Christmas period, including the last trains on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day departing earlier.

In the past, we have only been able to run trains in the Strathclyde area on Boxing Day, but this year we have been able to significantly extend that to include services to and from Arbroath, Leven, Dundee, Perth, Dunblane, Alloa, and between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

We are encouraging customers to plan ahead, and check the ScotRail app and website for journey times before they set off.”

Mark Ilderton, ScotRail Service Delivery Director