'Missing links' transport network badly in need of joined-up thinking

Published on Saturday 5 April 2008 19:47

TOO many Scots find themselves hanging around for hours because of badly timed rail and ferry connections, according to a leading Scottish transport think-tank.

A team of experts at the Scottish Association for Public Transport has called for the Government's roads and rails quango, Transport Scotland, to be placed in charge of scheduling for ferries, trains and buses across Scotland so that travellers can get to their destinations without hours of waiting.

They have flagged up a series of badly timed "missing links" which frustrate travellers and mean many have no option but to drive. They argue that Transport Scotland should be given the power to convene timetable conferences which will be able to draw up better connections.

They have made their call in a submission to an inquiry into ferry services by the Scottish Parliament's Transport Committee.

Examples they have flagged up include:

&#149 The Glasgow to Mallaig train arrives at 1.34pm, one minute before the Mallaig-Armadale ferry leaves for Skye. Travellers must wait until 3.05pm.

&#149 A traveller from Mull to Glasgow will find the first ferry to Oban will get in half an hour after the morning train to Glasgow – the traveller must then wait for almost three hours to catch a train south.

&#149 The Arran to Ardrossan boat runs every two hours and 45 minutes, but the train runs hourly.

&#149 The London Sleeper to Inverness arrives in the Highland capital at 8.30am, three-quarters of an hour after the Thurso train has left. Travellers must wait two hours and 10 minutes for the next train north and must then kill two hours in Thurso before getting a 7pm ferry to Orkney.

Dr John McCormick, chairman of the Association for Public Transport, said: "We know there are challenges and that services have to be run to tight timetables with economic constraints, but we believe that a lot more can be done to make the timetables work better together."

A Transport Scotland spokeswoman said any decision to change its remit was a matter for the Scottish Government.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: "As part of a commitment contained in the National Transport Strategy, we are already undertaking a comprehensive review of all ferry routes in Scotland with the aim of finding ways of improving ferry services."