Graham Simpson has called on the Scottish Government to deliver a better train service for East Kilbride.
Graham has written to the Scottish Government asking when electrification of the line will happen and whether there are plans to have two tracks from Busby.
It followed a visit by the former East Kilbride West councillor to Scotrail’s control centre in Glasgow, where he discussed the problems facing staff as they battle to keep the single line service running on time.
Graham said: “East Kilbride is proud of the fact it is Scotland’s first new town, but sadly it is still suffering from a second class rail network many decades on.
“Speaking to the staff at ScotRail they are doing a great job but with one hand tied behind their backs as they struggle to deliver the service that East Kilbride deserves.
“Rail travellers have being paying high prices to be crammed into trains, with many having to stand for their full journey.
“Fortunately Scotrail have listened and are going to invest in more rolling stock to alleviate this issues with four carriages becoming the norm on all trains to EK by May of next year.
“It’s a start, but what really needs done is for the Government to finally do something about the woefully inadequate service being offered to the East Kilbride residents compared to other areas of the country.
“East Kilbride is still growing and needs a transport infrastructure to reflect this, not just on the roads but the rail network needs to be looked at as a matter of urgency.
“In this day and age the technology is there for this issue to be revisited and resolved by the Scottish Government. We have had welcome investment in the Airdrie line and it is time for East Kilbride to get the same.
“Not only would it give the long suffering people of East Kilbride a service fit for a town of its size. The building work alone would create much needed jobs and bring investment into the local area.”
He heard about EK’s trains to Glasgow Central routinely suffering at rush hour, having to give way to peak services from other areas.
Whilst on the tour he also raised the on-going issues with commuters sometime crammed into just two carriages, with Mark Ilderton - Head of Integrated Control and discovered that this will be resolved with the service moving up to four carriages before May of next year.