Rebecca Bignall, 23, frequently makes the journey from Helensburgh Central to Glasgow Central, Queen Street and Partick stations using her lightweight push chair.

The Logie Place resident said she must book her train 24 hours in advance, or risk being turned away by rail staff. However she says the service does not account for urgent trips.

“I book it when I can book it” she said. “I have been refused so many times I really have to try and book ahead.

“But how am I supposed to know if and when an emergency will come up?” Rebecca, who has been a wheelchair user since birth, has epilepsy and spina bifida. She frequently has to visit hospital, in particularly Yorkhill, and sometimes has to book appointments at the last minute.

This type of situation occurred recently when Rebecca had to go to hospital for an urgent — but not life threatening issue.

She told the Advertiser: “In this case I hadn’t booked because it was last minute and they told me they couldn’t put me on the train because there would be no-one to take me off at the other end — they always blame health and safety. But there was someone working on the train, surely they could help me — that’s what normally happens anyway even when I book it.

“I just had to go back up the road and rearrange the appointment for the next day. I was grateful the hospital let me reschedule.

“If something more severe comes up I worry about how I am going to get in.” She said using the service in this way makes her feel singled out. “It’s irritating,” she said. “I should be able to access the train whenever and travel on it like everyone else.

“The whole experience can be really stressful which doesn’t help my epilepsy situation, but it’s actually getting refused that I don’t like.” Travel disruption also makes her journeys more difficult and Rebecca said she was once left waiting in Helensburgh Central for transport which was promised to her, only to be told more than two hours later it was now not coming, meaning she had to return home. A ScotRail spokeswoman said: “We are grateful when disabled customers can give us four hours’ notice — either by phone or at stations — as it gives us time to ensure we offer the best possible experience of rail travel. However, we will always try to assist anyone who turns up without booking. We provide more than 80,000 pre-booked assisted journeys for disabled customers a year, and an estimated 20,000 more where no advance booking has been made.” She added: “We regularly hold forums with other accessibility groups to discuss these and other issues.” ScotRail offer a dedicated Assisted Travel Helpline number: 0800 912 2 901. Anyone needing assistance can call seven days a week between 7am and 10pm - outside these hours an answerphone service is available.