27 January 2012
Better timetable & new partnership needed to boost Stranraer rail line
News release from David SpavenThe Ayr-Stranraer railway – which recently lost many of its passengers following the Stena ferry switch to Cairnryan Port – needs a better timetable and a new development partnership if its fortunes are to be reversed. In a feature article in a special Scottish issue of the authoritative Modern Railways magazine [1], transport consultant David Spaven [2) writes that:
“the line’s timetable has long been the most complex and irregular in Scotland, reflecting in part the need to connect with ferries”, but now has “the potential to tap into a significant market for day leisure trips from the Glasgow area to visitor attractions in southern Ayrshire and western Galloway”.ScotRail’s recent introduction of a new fast direct train from Glasgow Central to Stranraer at 9.41a.m. is seen as an important first step in developing new markets for the railway, but 4-hour gaps remain between afternoon trains.
Spaven – whose consultancy produced the 2009 Ayr-Stranraer Rail Regeneration Study [3] – argues that the line has been neglected due to the lack of a cross-boundary and cross-sector line partnership. He notes the achievements of the line’s voluntary support group SAYLSA, but highlights a growing consensus within the rail industry and the wider rail lobby that the Ayr-Stranraer railway requires a formal and properly funded ‘Community Rail Partnership’ [4]. Support for this comes from Network Rail, whose Planning & Development Manager Scotland, Nigel Wunsch, says:
“Our community rail team would be delighted to work with an active and successful community rail group working with relevant local authorities and RTPs [Regional Transport Partnerships] to develop opportunities.” Referring to the many rail improvements secured by the Partnership Manager for HITRANS, the regional transport partnership for the Highlands, ScotRail’s Director of Planning & Development, Jerry Farquharson, puts it simply: “What we need is a Frank Roach!” Spaven’s article concludes that:
“it does seem highly unlikely that politicians would risk the public opprobrium of proposing the withdrawal of passenger services to Stranraer…It is clear, however, that without positive intervention by the public sector, the railway south of Girvan [5] faces a minimalist, cost-driven future.MORE INFO: David Spaven on 0131-221-9019 or 07917-877399
NOTES FOR EDITORS: [1]
‘What next for Stranraer?’ from February 2012 Modern Railways magazine.
[2] David Spaven is Principal of the Edinburgh-based Deltix Transport Consulting.
[3]
Summary of the 2009 Ayr-Stranraer Rail Regeneration Study for Transform Scotland.
[4] Community Rail Partnerships (CRPs) bring together a diverse range of stakeholders along a local railway (or network of lines) with the common aim of promoting the railway, boosting passenger numbers, ensuring the railway meets the needs of local communities and encouraging community engagement at stations. There are now over 40 CRPs across England & Wales, federated into the Association of Community Rail Partnerships, see http://www.acorp.uk.com/ .
[5] ScotRail’s December 2011 timetable increased the number of daily trains north of Girvan from 12 to 15.
END OF RELEASE