Councillor calls on government to 'get round the table' to keep new Hairmyres rail project on track

An East Kilbride councillor is urging decision makers to get round the table to keep the multi-million pound Hairmyres Interchange project on track.

Independent Councillor for East Kilbride West, David Watson, has called on the Scottish Government to find a solution to the funding gap for the new Hairmyres railway station after capital funding was withdrawn in the recent budget.

He has called for urgent government talks with South Lanarkshire Council, SPT, Transport Scotland and NetworkRail.

The relocation of Hairmyres station is a part of the £139million East Kilbride Enhancements Project which will see the delivery of an integrated transport interchange.

But the decision to remove capital funding from SPT in the Scottish Budget means that a £1.8 million contribution towards a new car park, bus stop and interchange at Hairmyres will be withdrawn.

Councillor Watson says the lack of funding for SPT “puts in jeopardy” the £1.8 million financing of the park and ride facility at the proposed new Hairmyres station.

He said: “The Scottish Government needs to show some urgency in this matter as there will be several consequences for East Kilbride if this project is not completed.

Councillor David Watson

“It will mean continued issues at Hairmyres Hospital regarding parking, affecting staff, patients, visitors, and residents.

“It will have a knock-on effect for active travel routes throughout the town and a missed opportunity to improve bus travel, with the bus interchange at the proposed park and ride.

“It is sheer madness that there has been no joined-up thinking from the Scottish Government. Building the new station without the appropriate park and ride facility would be up there with building an aircraft carrier with no planes.”

He added: “The residents and commuters to East Kilbride have already been let down by the Scottish Government withdrawing funding for the full dualling of the line, they should not get away with hitting East Kilbride with a double whammy by torpedoing the promised park and ride transport interchange at Hairmyres.

The proposed new Hairmyres station

“Hopefully, politicians from all political parties will put East Kilbride first and stand up against this cut and find a solution to stop this given that it has the potential put an end to the proposed new station at Hairmyres.”

South Lanarkshire councillors have branded the Scottish Budget “farcical” and have called for the reinstatement of funds to keep the East Kilbride rail upgrade on track.

The local authority, who are working with SPT and the government on the project, has said it had no prior notice that SPT’s general capital support from the Scottish Government would be reduced to zero.

Council Leader Joe Fagan said last week: “The Scottish Government stabbed our town in the back when they downgraded works on the East Kilbride line and now they’ve done it again. This is the grimmest, most utterly stupid Scottish Budget there has even been and it will eliminate vital funding for the new park and ride interchange agreed for the new Hairmyres station.”

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “Given the current financial constraints, with Scotland’s Capital budget being reduced by 10 per cent, a decision was taken to pause SPT’s capital funding for 2024-25, with a view to keeping it under review in future years. Transport Scotland and SPT are in dialogue about the impact of this decision and maintaining their forward investment programme.”

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