LOCHWINNOCH train station should be urgently upgraded to make it more accessible for visually-impaired people, a councillor has insisted.

Andy Doig, who represents the village, recently spotted the station is the only one in West Renfrewshire which does not have tactile paving.

These paving slabs have raised dots on them to warn blind or partially-sighted people about hazards and are usually placed near the edge of a platform.

The paving has been installed at Johnstone, Milliken Park and Howwood stations but Lochwinnoch has not received the same treatment.

It comes amid an ongoing campaign to get step-free access at the station, as there is currently no way for disabled people to get to platform two.

Councillor Doig said: “Lochwinnoch station is the only one out of all the West Renfrewshire stations that does not have tactile paving on the platforms.

“Johnstone, Howwood and Milliken Park stations all have tactile paving, yet Lochwinnoch does not.

“I am sick of my ward getting second-class treatment.”

There have been several pleas made to the UK and Scottish governments for accessibility upgrades at the station but these have so far been snubbed.

The Scottish Government can nominate stations it feels should be prioritised but the final decision rests with Westminster.

At the end of 2018, Scottish transport secretary Michael Matheson said Lochwinnoch did not meet UK Government criteria for investment.

Renfrewshire South MSP Tom Arthur wrote to UK transport secretary Grant Shapps at the end of last year to ask for the criteria to be altered.

Transport Scotland (TS) has said Network Rail is developing a plan to install tactile paving at all stations by the end of March 2029.

A spokesman added: “Our vision is all disabled people can travel with the same freedom, choice, dignity and opportunity as other citizens. We are aware of the accessibility challenges presented at Lochwinnoch.

“However, with limited funding available, any recommendations we make need to be prioritised in terms of need and available budgets across Scotland.

“We continue to look at other ways in which accessibility improvements can be delivered. TS has specified accessibility improvements outputs on electrification and enhancements programmes, thereby increasing the number of accessible stations on the network.”