There is widespread frustration on Arran after an 11th-hour announcement that the MV Alfred will be back on the main ferry route this weekend.
The announcement, which only came officially on Monday has disrupted travel plans as the service will be reduced to four crossings a day and means train and bus connections at both Brodick and Ardrossan will not meet the changed times of the ferries.
The MV Alfred is being brought in for four days from tomorrow (Saturday) to stand in for the MV Caledonian Isles which is being taken off the route to conduct what CalMac described as “critical” berthing trials at various other ports in the network.
This is being seen as preparation to find a new route for the MV Caledonian Isles when the new MV Glen Sannox starts on the Arran route, hopefully in the summer of 2024.
However, while the plan has been known for some time, it was the timing of the announcement which has angered the travelling public.
Indeed the first news of the change came from the Arran Ferry Committee last weekend, rather than the usual channels. Then on Monday came the announcement that there will be four sailings a day by the MV Alfred from tomorrow (Saturday) until Tuesday November 7.
Unfortunately, not all of these sailings will seamlessly link with the bus service on Arran or the train service at Ardrossan, leaving onward passengers with either long delays or no onward travel available at all.
Arran Ferry Committee consulted with Stagecoach to see if timetable alterations could be made, however, owing to the short timescale they could not implement changes and would also risk causing confusion for passengers already scheduled to use the bus service.
Stagecoach did confirm that, where possible, it would be able to wait up to 30 minutes to accommodate passengers, however this will not always be possible for operational reasons and especially on Monday and Tuesday during school times.
Additionally, the carrying capacity of MV Alfred (428 passengers) will be less than half of that possible by MV Caledonian Isles (1,000 passengers), although this is still an improvement of what MV Alfred offered when it was offering a reduced capacity during its six months here previously. It has only slightly less car capacity.
The reduced capacity also means that some passengers who were contacted by CalMac to amend their confirmed bookings, have had to have their bookings cancelled owing to space constraints. This included a number of visitors who were hoping to return home after the English school holidays.
Raising further ire, the altered timetable has resulted in the cancellation of the popular 6pm sailing from Ardrossan and the 7.20pm sailing from Brodick. This will impact regular commuters who are employed on the mainland and in Brodick, because either the arrival or departure times fall outwith normal working day hours.
CalMac, which has previously received criticism for its lack of communication and its clarity, said on Monday: “Further to previous correspondence, and following internal engagement, to enable MV Caledonian Isles to undertake berthing trails at various ports across the network from this coming weekend, I can confirm that MV Alfred will operate the following timetable between 4th and 7th inclusive on our cross-Clyde Arran services.
“We do recognise that the timings do not fully dovetail into train connections, however this is the maximum crew duty day that can be accomplished, with timings enabling four rotations daily on the route.
“We do apologise for this temporary impact to timetabled service, due to the critical need to undertake these berthing trials – however please be assured that should the Caledonian Isles be able to return to the Clyde any earlier than that currently planned, we will of course enable that.”