TRAINS between Dumbarton and Glasgow will be cut by a third when ScotRail’s new timetable begins this month.

The half-hourly Monday-Saturday daytime service between Dumbarton Central and Springburn will be axed from December 13.

ScotRail is reducing services on a number of routes because of a downturn in passenger numbers, and revenue, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

The half-hourly service on the Helensburgh-Edinburgh route will not change, while the Balloch-Airdrie service, which also runs every 30 minutes, will stop additionally at Kilpatrick and Bowling to plug the gap left by the withdrawal of the Dumbarton-Springburn trains.

Dumbarton councillor David McBride said: “Any reduction of service will just have a negative effect on social distancing.

“Those who still have to travel to work deserve the same standard of service. I would urge the Scottish Government to step in and ensure our service is not reduced.”

A ScotRail spokesperson said: “We have reduced the service from six trains per hour to four, but only between Dumbarton Central and Dalmuir.

“We had put two extra trains on as a trial in 2016, but there has been no increase in passenger demand as a result of the extra services.

“By withdrawing them, we will help improve reliability of the train service in West Dunbartonshire and reduce the cost to the taxpayer with little, if any, customer impact.”

The spokesperson added: “All services will have a normal formation of six carriages during peak times from the timetable change. Once we understand how customers have redistributed amongst the services, we’ll consider if we should remove any carriages to reduce cost for the taxpayer.

“We don’t believe there will be any overcrowding issues.”