A second public consultation event will take place on Monday 21 August between 1pm and 5pm at Plaza Mall (outside Costa Coffee), EK Shopping Centre. The first event took place at Duncanrig Secondary School in June.

Locals are being encouraged to share their thoughts on a potential park and ride, public transport facility and active travel connections at Hairmyres Rail station.

These elements form part of the East Kilbride Rail Enhancement Project, which is a key part in the Scottish Government’s plans to decarbonise Scotland’s railway to passenger services by providing greener trains along the route. The plans also include moving Hairmyres station to a new site off Redwood Avenue – approximately 600m to the west of its existing location.

Head of Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services, Colin Park, said: “This event will gather comments and queries about the transport interchange to help ensure that the scheme meets the needs of the surrounding residents and other interested parties.

“South Lanarkshire Council’s Proposal of Application Notice (PoAN) for a transport interchange plays an important part in the wider proposal for the East Kilbride Enhancement Project.

“The application represents a significant opportunity to provide improved transport connections for the local community that goes hand in hand with Network Rail’s anticipated upgraded station facilities for Hairmyres.

“As part of the ongoing development, Network Rail and Transport Scotland are planning to engage fully with communities to update them on the East Kilbride Enhancement Project in the near future. 

“This will include the delivery and timescales of this critical investment in future infrastructure. 

“In the meantime, the council are taking forward the proposed transport interchange element through the planning process.”

For those who cannot attend the in-person event a webpage, which has been live since 26 June 2023 and will remain so until Friday 25 August 2023, contains information about the project, as well as an electronic version of the survey/questionnaire for comments. For more details go to the council website.

Mr Park added: "The feedback from our first consultation event in June, along with Monday's event and the ongoing online consultation, will be used when considering the next steps for the project."