Campaign now for city train services from Carluke and Lanark.

That is the simple message to anyone in the area who wants more and better trains to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

It comes from the area’s Labour List MSP Claudia Beamish as she tries to whip up local enthusiasm to take part in a major consultation exercise over the future of train services between Glasgow and Edinburgh, running on the line that goes through Carluke and Carstairs Stations.

Getting future extra cross-country services to actually stop at these two Clydesdale stations is what Claudia is pushing for but she says that her lone voice won’t be enough to press the area’s case; the more of her constituents who shout loudly for more trains, the better the chance of Clydesdale actually getting them.

She said that the public must grab the opportunity given them by the period of community consultations on the forthcoming Edinburgh to Glasgow Improvement Programme being conducted by Network Rail.

She said: “Work to improve the Glasgow to Edinburgh service offers real opportunities to improve rail services here.

“The new 5.42pm service from Edinburgh to Carstairs is a welcome addition to the timetable making it easier for people from Clydesdale to commute to work in Edinburgh and I want to see us build on that progress with a more comprehensive service to both Carluke and Carstairs.

“However, this will not happen without the backing of local people so it is vitally important that people in the area make their voices heard by taking part in the consultation.”

To find out how to make your views known during the consultation, which has just started, go to http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/11967.aspx or call on a Freephone number, 0808 2802000.