West Lothian Council's Executive voted in June to withdraw concessionary train travel to Edinburgh for OAPs and disabled people.

Now opponents of the cuts are gathering petition signatures in Linlithgow and plan to turn out in force at a protest meeting in Bathgate next Friday.

Sheila McGaw, secretary of Linlithgow and Linlithgow Bridge Pensioners' Association, said many older residents regularly took the train to Edinburgh and alternative transport was difficult.

She said: "I had an operation on my shoulder seven weeks ago and I am not able to drive yet. And there are people who are disabled all the time who are not able to drive at all."

Mrs McGaw, who placed a copy of the petition in Linlithgow library and also canvassed for signatures at a recent ruby wedding party, said full-price rail tickets were too expensive for pensioners and said there were fears more cuts would follow.

The cutbacks have yet to be approved by the full council, and no change will take place before April 2009.

Meanwhile, the council executive agreed to a wider review of all its services for the elderly by the end of the year.

Labour leader Graeme Morrice called for the full concessionary travel scheme to be reinstated at once.

He said: "As a smokescreen, the SNP have come up with an overall review. It is a back-door way to introduce further cuts into services."

But SNP council leader Peter Johnston, who voted against leaving travel concessions out of the review, said: "We are not looking to cut services.

"Every penny the council spends on services to the elderly will be maintained. But we do not have unlimited additional resources and we will be asking our senior citizens to tell us what their priorities are."

* Next Friday's protest meeting, convened by the West Lothian 50+ Network will take place at The Regal, Bathgate, and starts at 2.30 pm.