MSP Brian Whittle has urged Scotrail and Transport Scotland to get ahead of the game and have plans in place for further problems caused by Ayr Station Hotel.

South Ayrshire Council hopes to reduce the size of the exclusion zone around the building enough to allow train services south of the town to be restored.

But Brian wants rail bosses to start planning now to avoid another loss of service if the situation changes. He said: “Whatever the final decision on the station hotel is, it’s quite possible demolition or repair works will require further restrictions to rail service. If that happens, we need to be better prepared.”