The leader of South Lanarkshire Council has called on the Scottish Government to reinstate vital plans to dual East Kilbride's rail line "before its too late".
Joe Fagan, who was appointed leader of the new administration following the recent local elections, has written to Transport Minister, Jenny Gilruth MSP, after the dualling of the line between East Kilbride and Busby was ditched.
In the letter he states that he protests "in the strongest terms against the removal of the dual track from the electrification and enhancement project on the East Kilbride rail line".
A sudden announcement in October of a U-turn on track dualling came via Transport Scotland causing anger among local residents and politicians.
Council leader Mr Fagan said in his letter to Ms Gilruth: "Be in no doubt about the strength of feeling in East Kilbride and the strength of feeling on South Lanarkshire Council.
"The Scottish Government are watering down this project and siphoning off investment to other parts of Scotland. This decision comes at the expense of our local economy and will be met with continued opposition.
"It is not too late for the Scottish Government to reconsider their position.
"The enhancement project is a once-in-generation opportunity to transform public transport in East Kilbride and the wider area.
"My community has waited decades for electrification and the joint electrification and dual track project could be a game-changer for our local transport system.
"Abandoning the remaining stretches of dual track, as the Scottish Government confirmed last autumn, is now their intention, is depriving East Kilbride of the future-proofed, modern infrastructure our town needs.
"Candidly, the abandonment of dual track on the East Kilbride has become a symbol of government neglect and dearth of ambition for our town. It is economic vandalism and it will be resisted."
Mr Fagan added: "Investment in the rail line is critical to reducing car dependency in the town. There are precious few alternatives.
"There is still time to reassess the issue and rescue double tracking - but the clock is ticking. I must insist that the decision to abandon dual track for East Kilbride is reversed before it is too late."
Previous Minister from Transport, Graeme Dey, said that while dualling the line had been “considered” in the business case development process, the cost was “prohibitive” and did not offer value for money or “represent the best use of scarce public finance resources”.
The Scottish Government say the line will have "greater resilience" through improvements to signalling and the addition of new ‘loops’ at Hairmyres.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: "The Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising the East Kilbride and Barrhead routes and preparatory work has already been under taken ahead of construction.
"Electrification of routes like East Kilbride and Barrhead demonstrate our aim and our commitment of decarbonising all rail passenger services in Scotland by 2035.”
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