SCOTRAIL have today announced that trains south of Ayr will run again immediately, after months of no-service caused by the station hotel.

Services between Ayr and Stranraer are now back on after being cancelled indefinitely earlier this year.

This means residents in Maybole, Girvan, and Barrhill, who have relied on replacement bus services, will be able to resume their daily travel by train.

Services cancelled indefinitely earlier this year when South Ayrshire Council enforced an exclusion zone at the old station hotel building as it was deemed unsafe.

The 16.59 Stranraer-Glasgow Central and the 18.13 Glasgow Central-Stranraer services will operate today.

On Friday the following services will operate:

07.00 Stranraer – Glasgow Central

08.08 Glasgow Central – Stranraer

16.59 Stranraer – Glasgow Central

18.13 Glasgow Central – Stranraer

It is now possible to reintroduce these services after work by Network Rail engineers was carried out, including a safety risk assessment and some changes to the railway infrastructure.

A further test of the route was also carried out this morning.