24.07.19
New railway station to be built in Ayr to replace historic stop
A new station is set to be built in Ayr town centre to replace the current railway stop, part of which had been housed in the historic Station Hotel – which was declared unsafe in August last year.
Transport Scotland called the erection of a new station “urgent”.
ScotRail staff have been working from portable cabins, while an exclusion zone had been established around the Victorian hotel and the available platform space therefore shortened – reducing the passenger capacity of trains at the station.
The future of Station Hotel is still uncertain while a structural report on the building is completed, while the nearby Burns House is set to be demolished in upcoming months and a square in the town set to be transformed.
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A spokesperson for Transport Scotland said: “There is clearly an urgent need to build adequate station facilities at Ayr station, one of ScotRail's busiest.
"Ideally, this should be linked to plans for the Station Hotel, Burns Statue Square and soon to be demolished Burns council office building. We stand ready to provide further support and guidance as this plan progresses.
“Returning full rail passenger services to Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway as quickly and safely as possible was the key initial priority.”
Next steps will include the council sharing the structural report with a specialist taskforce group, which was set up to deal with the crisis at the station building.
South Ayrshire Council leader Douglas Campbell said there was an "opportunity to have a modern railway facility in Ayr."
(Image credit: Andrew Milligan/PA Archive/PA Images)