Arran ferry

[stivis]

Kenneth Gibson asked a question at FMQ today regarding the issue.....
Aside that what you've got here is a Ferry and a Pier (Brodick) owned by CalMac(or one of their subsidiaries), investing in that Pier and a new ferry via a Scottish Administration
and Two Private Piers Troon and Ardrossan one with no infrastructure whatsoever Troon and to put one in , would be the equivalent cost of the GARL which was £170Million for 1.2 Miles and that's about the distance from Troon pier to Troon Station ( inflation had put up the cost to £210M
Ardrossan has an alleged infrastructure it's less than brilliant

Both Troon and Ardrossan will be standing waiting on a hand out, Troon will need a bigger bowl , simply because of the far higher investment needed

[Vivc113]

The whole thing is now with the Transport Minister for a greater study. I think I read this on ASH facebook page.

Also read that only 5 PERCENT of sailings were cancelled last year between Ardrossan and Brodick. Hardly unreliable.

[Vivc113]

There will be some action to 'Save The Ferry' at Ardrossan Harbour at 1450 hours tomorrow.

Why not head along to the demo.

[MANBEAR]

Believe that both Ardrossan and Troon will have to spend a lot of money to accommodate the new ferry and Troon would really have to put a bus service between port and train station just like Stena had to do when they moved from Stranraer

[stivis]

It's not a simple as that ,Stranraer and Cairnryan bus links

Stranraer and Cairnryan are about 7 miles apart
Troon to the Station are ,as I said , 1.5ish miles as the crow flies

P&O shut down the Troon to Larne service and operates from Stranrear to Belfast with 2 services per day less than the Crainryan link,
I have little doubt that the Brodich to Troon will be cut correspondingly, as well.
If P&O now seek to run this service, why cut it as unviable in January 2016?
Why was there no funding available by the Pier companies, Note I say the Pier companies.
Not any Government agency!!.......
What's the phrase used in Chewin' the Fat?

A Bus Shuttle Service is less than ideal both cost wise, and long term, Troon has even less of the poor infra-structure that Ardrossan has.
Ardrossan will cost a lot less, and that's not to mention Arran residents wishes
Consider Troon to Crosshouse Hospital or Ayr Hospital , 10 miles and around 18 miles , they ain't straight forward journeys Time wise each would take around between 50 mins and 80 min
now double it for the return , and the bus frequencies aren't the 15 minutes that Ardrossan has

Taxi? Seriously, do you really want to go via Mossblown ?

It's hardly the Ferry's fault that the NI ferry doesn't operate from Troon , and it's now costing the Pier Company money .
Radical I know , but "Troon suck it up, you profited from previous demise(s) of Ardrossan"

Have a look round Troon It's hardly on it's erse like Ardossan!!! 25 years ago Troon was a bit run down but the property market is very strong and quite buoyant(more than the pier)

If you wanted to write to the Transport Minister that would do a lot of good , as you are the residents of the community( the 3 towns and it has, to a certain extent am impact on you )

Humza Yousaf MSP
Minister for Transport and the Islands
St. Andrew's House,
Regent Road,
Edinburgh,
EH1 3DG

Or Email

Humza Yousaf MSP
Minister for Transport
scottish.ministers@gov.scot..



I have distinctly bad feeling about this thread

[Vivc113]

I have a bad feeling about this thread too.

[stivis]

Yes Indeedy

[bonzo]

According to the daily rubbish 253 sailings were cancelled in 2015 due to bad weather. I really can't see that being an accurate number. Seems very high.

[stivis]

The Daily Rascal is ......well just full of it, in 2014 the cancellations were 113 which was up from 26 the previous year

I thought the figure was under 2% of the total sailing, the Herald ( the one for adults published in WeegieLand) gave the figure

However the Rancid's figure** could be based on a figure that is inclusive of the Arran to Campbelltown sailings as they have been hampered by breakdowns as well
the Boats are over 30 years old and there is a parts supply problem, in previous years McCrindle's maintained the Vessels

** The figure was supplied by fellow Trinity Desperado The Ayrshire Post who are shameless portraying the Troon site as a panacea

[Vivc113]

Check out the demo at the harbour on ASH's facebook page. MP Patricia Gibson attended and I think I can see Councillor Willie Gibson in the crowd!!

[stivis]

Re the Trash Rag's figures
There are approximately 2500 crossings per Year , that is Ardrossan to Brodick (7 per Day 49 in a week)
and 250 cancellations ......That is 1 in 10 and 7 crossing per day ......So 2 cancellations in each 3 day period.


That sounds like mince to me ,if those statistics are correct and to be believed .Why is that not known to the Burgh? ......And as they say "the talk of the steamie"

I'd suggest that the 2530 (Ardrossan to Brodick)sailings have been manipulated and edited to address the 253 Cancelled Crossings

[stivis]

This what David Leask wrote in the Herald on the 12/10/2016

" Proposals to move Arran’s lifeline ferry link from the north of Ayrshire to its south have been branded as “nothing short of cataclysmic”.

The firm which owns the port in well-to-do Troon has offered to invest £8m in the town if it can poach lucrative links to the Clyde island from poverty-hit Ardrossan.

Associated British Ports has pledged to redevelop the mothballed ferry dock in Troon, South Ayrshire, which recently lost a service to Northern Ireland. "

Note the words, poach and the descriptions of the Towns , and the later comment about Troon's Dock....

Well as the saying goes ......No,I'll save that one for later.........The (Glasgow) Herald a paper I bought for years is now a imitation of what it was even 7 years ago, will promote Troon to satisfy their urban readership in Bearsden,Milngavie and the likes

Today edition had Gallagher writing "a carefully worded letter" which said absolutely nothing, knowing full well that some comments would ultimately bite him badly(as useless as a Chocolate Watch)
Does anyone ever consider the use of Partners, Partnership etc etc in a letter has any credibility?

I should point out that South Ayrshire council is run by Conservative/Labour/Liberal/Independant signed and agreed Partnership
Spot who's missing?
The Rascal supports South Ayrshire and has been promoting them for around about 6 weeks,(I'm told)

The Troon Port's owners Associated_British_Ports
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associated_British_Ports

It's all about the money!!