THE “appalling lack of service” from train operators during the recent delays and cancellations in Helensburgh and the surrounding areas will be debated in the Scottish Parliament this week.

Helensburgh and Lomond MSP Jackie Baillie will raise the issue over the poor and unreliable service experienced by regular commuters in recent weeks.

Last week, trains were disrupted for five days in a row beginning with the delayed works to replace the Bonhill Road railway bridge in Dumbarton which over-ran.

And the problems continued this week, with a signalling fault at Craigendoran, damage to the overhead electric wires between Dalreoch and Dalmuir, and trains running half the usual size due to ‘maintenance requirements’ creating more major disruption for passengers – not just on the Helensburgh-Edinburgh service, but also on the Balloch-Airdrie and Dumbarton-Cumbernauld routes.

Commuters’ anger was heightened after contingency plans for replacement bus services failed to cope with demand and left many passengers late or stranded.

Ms Baillie said: “In the past month, the railway lines which serve my constituency have been disrupted almost daily. I have had countless numbers of emails, tweets and messages from constituents who have been left stranded at stations unable to get to and from work. Quite simply it is an appalling lack of service and ScotRail is failing local commuters.

“The agreement that ScotRail has with First Bus only allows passengers to use train tickets on their buses east of Dalmuir. This means passengers from my constituency are paying twice for travel – once with their rail passes and a second time for a bus ticket when trains are cancelled.

“I have already raised the issue with ScotRail but intend to raise it with the cabinet secretary as the situation appears to be getting worse.

“It is simply ridiculous to expect people to pay more and more for their train travel at the same time that the service is so poor. The people of this area deserve better from ScotRail.”

A ScotRail spokesperson said the vast majority of issues had been infrastructure related, adding: “The autumn and winter seasons present difficulties for the railway. This year has been no different with Storm Ali having an understandable impact on our performance.

“We will continue to work night and day to deliver the best service for our customers in Dumbarton, Helensburgh, the Vale of Leven and beyond.

“The ScotRail Alliance is investing billions in improved infrastructure and hundreds of millions of pounds on new and upgraded trains as we continue to do everything we can to improve performance.”