Arran ferry train link branded a 'scandal'

RESIDENTS and visitors to the Isle of Arran have again voiced their concern over the link between the ferries and the trains travelling to Glasgow Central.  There is no agreement on paper that says the trains should wait for passengers coming off a ferry – despite many of the passengers paying for a ticket to take them directly to Scotland’s biggest city.  If the ferry is running late, trains are unable to wait on passengers due to this having a further knock-on effect on the rest of the line – and, ultimately, other passengers.  But ferry firm Caledonian MacBrayne insist they try to be flexible if the shoe is on the other foot.  A spokesperson for CalMac, who operate the ferries between Ardrossan and Brodick, said: “There isn’t an agreement as such but we try to operate a degree of flexibility with Scotrail.  “When we are operating one or two boats, and there is an option, we can be flexible where possible.” But one irate Arran resident has hit out at the train company calling it a ‘scandal’.  The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It is a scandal that after getting a bus to Brodick then the ferry crossing that the train can just pull away knowing fine well that coming from an island people have missed hospital appointments and even missed their flights because of the attitude of Scotrail.  “On the Arran side, we have an early ferry on the Sunday but no bus runs that early so without a car it is impossible to use that service.  “Scotrail and CalMac need to have a meeting and sort it out once and for all.”  This comes on the back of a number of angry users tweeting to Scotrail about a missed train last week which meant that the visitors to the area had to walk to Ardrossan South Beach station and were bemoaning the lack of signs to get there as well as the fact that they had to wait to get the next train, adding to their journey times.  ScotRail said it works closely with CalMac to provide good journey opportunities across rail and ferry. In most cases, trains cannot be held to wait for late running ferries, because this would impact on customers waiting at other stations along the line, and on the smooth running of the wider rail network.