Emergency Service Alterations at Ayr Station Due to Unsafe Building

The private owners of the dangerous building adjoining Ayr railway station have failed to respond to a statutory warning notice – resulting in works that impact on services at the station. 

South Ayrshire Council has imposed an exclusion zone around the station because the former hotel building next to the station has been deemed unsafe. The hotel building isn’t owned or operated by ScotRail. 

The Council has identified the following faults

Defective sandstone on elevations and gables;

Loose/unsecure downpipes; 

Loose slates and decorative ironworks repairs; 

and a request to remove of the Station Hotel sign from the roof

 A Class 380 on the platform beneath the crumbling Ayr hotel

The owners have failed to take any action in response to this and the Council had to put in additional screens and fencing to increase security, prevent access to the dangerous building and minimise the potential risk to the public.


Ongoing monitoring by the Council since then has found the deterioration in the building is only getting worse, and is now considered an immediate risk to public safety.


This exclusion zone means services via Ayr will be disrupted for the foreseeable future.

According to the Scotrail website the following service alterations will apply until further notice:

Services between Ayr and Glasgow Central will have reduced capacity because of the restrictions that have been applied by the council, as the platforms at Ayr station can only accommodate four-carriage trains. A number of early morning services will also be subject to cancellation as we no longer have access to the Ayr Townhead servicing depot.

Customers travelling from Paisley Gilmour Street to Glasgow Central should use services from platform 1 if possible (Gourock and Wemyss Bay services), and the same on return from Glasgow Central.

Services between Glasgow Central and Stranraer will start and terminate at Kilmarnock
Buses are in place to get customers from Ayr to Stranraer. We are unable to run trains between Kilmarnock and Ayr due to the exclusion zone restrictions imposed by the council, which have impacted our platform and line capacity. 

Customers travelling to Stranraer from Kilmarnock, or vice versa, will be provided with a taxi to/from Ayr station, from where they will be able to get a bus.
Please speak with a member of our station team or use the station Help Point if you require assistance.

There will be no services between Ayr and Girvan
Buses are in place to take customers between Ayr and Girvan.
The Smith Street car park will be closed from 10pm on 30 August until end of service on 2 September
We're installing a queuing system so we can continue to help keep people moving this weekend, when we expect trains to be very busy.
Travelling to the Scottish Airshow this weekend, 1-2 September

Scotrail have said that they will do everything we can to get people to the Airshow, but the original plans for extra carriages aren’t possible now because of the restrictions that have been put in place by the Council.

Passengers travelling to the Airshow are advised to make alternative travel arrangements where they can.
Will services continue to run from Ayr station?

Despite media reports, Ayr station will not close on Monday 3 September and services continue to operate from there. There are no current plans to close the station, and Scotrail will continue to do everything they can to keep people moving during this difficult situation.

If South Ayrshire Council extends its exclusion zone then Scotrail would have to assess the impact this would have on the ability to operate trains from the station.
Will there be further changes to services?

Scotrail say that they will keep the matter under constant review, to ensure we are providing the best possible service to customers along the route. This includes customers at stations along the route closer to Glasgow Central, who are impacted by the reduced capacity.
How long will this disruption last?

The disruption to services will continue for as long as the council’s exclusion zone remains in place.
How can I keep up to date with what’s happening?

Please check @ScotRail on Twitter, the live departure information on our website, or download our app before starting your journey to check which services are operating.

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