Helensburgh rail station's ticket office could see its opening hours slashed under proposals unveiled byScotRail.

The news comes as the rail operator announced it would be launching a review tomorrow of all customer-facing services. 

The plans would see ticket office opening hours significantly reduced at Helensburgh Central and Cardross - the only two stations left in Helensburgh and Lomond with a staffed ticket facility.

The Helensburgh Central facility is currently open from 5.55am to midnight, Monday to Saturday, and 7.50am to 11.45pm on Sundays. 

The new times would be 5.55am to just 7pm Monday to Friday, 7am to 7pm on Saturday, and 9am to 6pm on Sunday.

Cardross would see its current hours drop to just two or three a morning.

Where it currently opens 7.25am to 2.15pm, Monday to Saturday, it would now be 7.15am to 9.45am, Monday to Thursday. It would be open until 10.15am on Fridays. 

It would be shut completely on Saturday and Sunday, instead of just Sunday as currently.

The impact of the changes could hit 120 stations across the country, with reductions at Dumbarton, Alexandria, Balloch and Dalmuir, as well as the closure of Clydebank's ticket office.

ScotRail said stations would still have ticket vending machines, help points where customers can speak to staff, and 24-hour CCTV.

No members of staff will lose their jobs and will be redeployed to provide "enhanced" customer service, ScotRail confirmed.

Rail bosses said that before the pandemic customers were "increasingly" using online options or ticket vending machines rather than ticket offices and that there has been a 50 percent drop in the use of offices over the past 10 years. 

This will be the first time since 1991 that ScotRail has reviewed the opening hours of its ticket offices. 

Phil Campbell, head of customer operations, said: “There has been no real review of our ticket office opening hours for 30 years, and it is important we keep up with the changing habits of customers who no longer rely on purchasing tickets in that way.

“With more than a 50 per cent drop in the use of ticket offices, heightened by the pandemic, we want to do everything we can to make sure everyone has a hassle-free journey.

“Nobody in ScotRail will lose their jobs as a result of these changes, and it is important to note that rather being about cutting jobs, this is about adding value for our staff and customers.

“Over the coming weeks we’ll be talking to customers, staff, and stakeholders about the improvements they can expect to see and experience as they travel around Scotland’s Railway.”