Ardrossan – Brodick
Headline route information
- Mainland port: Ardrossan (with Troon also being used at least in the short-term)
- Island port: Brodick
- Check-in-time: 30-minutes prior to departure for cars, 10-minutes for passengers
- Crossing time: 55-minutes from Ardrossan, 75-minutes from Troon
- Vessels:
- MV Caledonian Isles
- MV Isle of Arran
- MV Alfred, on temporary charter
- Overnight berth:
- MV Caledonian Isles (Brodick)
- MV Isle of Arran (Ardrossan)
- MV Alfred (Troon)
Introduction
The Ardrossan – Brodick route is one of the busiest on the Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Services (CHFS) network, with a strengthened two-vessel summer service facilitating the core resident demand and the significant summer visitor market.
It is important to note that, at the time of writing, the Ardrossan – Brodick route is being operated differently from how it conventionally is, for three reasons:
- The Pentland Ferries vessel MV Alfred has been chartered by CFL and is operating on this route at present, covering for MV Caledonian Isles, which has suffered a series of long-term breakdowns
- The failure of the Irish Berth at Ardrossan means that the chartered secondary vessel on the route, MV Alfred, is operating to and from Troon, and at a lower service frequency than if she was operating from Ardrossan
- The introduction of the two new Arran ferries, MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa, will not be until 2025
To this end, the analysis contained in this section is focused on the most recent ‘standard’ timetable (summer 2023 and winter 2023/24), with MV Caledonian Isles as the primary vessel supported by MV Isle of Arran in the summer months. MV Isle of Arran is shared with the Campbeltown run Thursday to Sunday in the summer, although this service was suspended in 2023 and 2024 due to the need to use the vessel elsewhere on the network.
Step 1: Route Service Level
The table below sets out the incremental ‘Route Service Levels’ which have been developed for this methodology:
| Level | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A | Shared single vessel, single crewed | Several routes in Orkney including: Rousay, Egilsay and Wyre; Stromness - Graemsay / Hoy; and Houton - Lyness / Flotta |
| B | Shared single vessel, with more than a single crew | Uig - Tarbert / Lochmaddy (summer, currently) |
| C | Dedicated single vessel, single crewed | Various 'small vessel' routes in the CHFS network, e.g., Sconser - Raasay, Tayinloan - Gigha etc |
| D | Dedicated single vessel with more than a single crew | Colintraive - Rhubodach, which uses a shift system to offer an extended operating day |
| E | Two dedicated vessels, each with a single crew | There are no routes with this operating model currently, Wemyss Bay - Rothesay being the closest |
| F | Two dedicated vessels, with one operating with more than a single crew | Several routes on the Shetland inter-island network, e.g., Symbister - Laxo / Vidlin |
| G | Two dedicated vessels, with both operating with more than a single crew | CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL) Gourock - Dunoon route |
Where the table refers to ‘more than a single crew’ (Levels B, D, F and G), this could be a small additional crew complement to extend the day or a full second crew. The crewing model will be described in the narrative which follows.
The table below allocates the Ardrossan – Brodick route to its relevant Route Service Level for both the winter and summer timetables, with commentary provided in the following sections.
| Timetable/Route Service Level | Level A | Level B | Level C | Level D | Level E | Level F | Level G |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
| Summer | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Categorisation of waters
The Ardrossan - Brodick route operates in ‘open seas’ and thus is governed by The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018. The provisions of this legislation are covered in Merchant Shipping Notice (MSN) 1877.
The key stipulations of MSN 1877 are as follows:
- On a sea-going vessel, the minimum hours of rest are:
- 10-hours in any 24-hour period
- 77-hours in any seven-day period (i.e., a maximum 91-hour week)
- The 10-hours of rest may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which is to be at least 6-hours in length
- It is also noted that, where a seafarer whose normal period of rest on board a ship is disturbed by a call-out, they should have a period of compensatory rest, as per the Merchant Shipping Notice MSN 1877 (M) Amendment 1
The Ardrossan – Brodick route is operated by ships from the ‘Major Vessel’ fleet. On the ‘Major Vessel’ fleet, the crew live aboard and the operation is centred around a single live-aboard crew which operates on a two-weeks on, two-weeks off basis. The timetable is generally structured around the maximum number of hours that a single crew can operate on a daily and indeed weekly basis, in line with MSN 1877.
The number of crew cabins on the ‘Major Vessel’ fleet is therefore a constraining factor on the number of crew which can be housed onboard and thus the level of service which can be operated. However, additional shore-based crew can be deployed to marginally extend the day where necessary.
Length of operating day
Winter
The table below summarises the length of the operating day and week on the Ardrossan – Brodick route:
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Tuesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Wednesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Thursday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Friday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Saturday | 1:00 | 11:55 | 1:00 | 13:55 |
| Sunday | 1:00 | 11:55 | 1:00 | 13:55 |
| Total | 7:00 | 90:05 | 7:00 | 104:05 |
MV Caledonian Isles operates with a single live aboard crew in winter. It is understood that the extended operating day is delivered through supplementing the core crew with a small number of shore-based crew, who return home in the evening or sleep in Bunkabin accommodation. This allows sufficient periods of rest to be achieved across the entirety of the crew to deliver the timetable.
Summer
The tables below summarise the length of the standard summer operating day and week for the Ardrossan - Brodick vessels, MV Caledonian Isles and MV Isle of Arran.
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Tuesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Wednesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Thursday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Friday | 1:00 | 15:35 | 1:00 | 17:35 |
| Saturday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Sunday | 1:00 | 10:30 | 1:00 | 12:30 |
| Total | 7:00 | 92:20 | 7:00 | 106:20 |
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Tuesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Wednesday | 1:00 | 13:15 | 1:00 | 15:15 |
| Thursday | 1:00 | 14:20 | 1:00 | 16:20 |
| Friday | 1:00 | 13:45 | 1:00 | 15:45 |
| Saturday | 1:00 | 15:55 | 1:00 | 17:55 |
| Sunday | 1:00 | 11:50 | 1:00 | 13:50 |
| Total | 7:00 | 95:35 | 7:00 | 109:35 |
MV Caledonian Isles and MV Isle of Arran operate on a broadly similar basis in summer and winter, with a single live aboard crew on each vessel delivering the service. The extended operating day is again delivered through supplementing the core crew with a small number of shore-based crew, who return home in the evening or sleep in Bunkabin accommodation. This allows sufficient periods of rest to be achieved across the entirety of the crew to deliver the timetable.
Route specific characteristics
- The primary vessel on the Ardrossan – Brodick route, MV Caledonian Isles, is closed deck and cannot carry certain categories of dangerous goods. In the winter months, this vessel operates the route on its own and thus dangerous goods which she is not permitted to carry move via a single daily return sailing between Tarbert (Loch Fyne) and Lochranza. Looking ahead, MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa have open decks, so this issue will soon be resolved
- In the summer timetable period, the secondary vessel MV Isle of Arran also operates the Thursday to Sunday Campbeltown run. She can also carry dangerous goods as she is open-decked
Step 2: Analysis of connectivity
This section summarises headline connectivity in terms of the number of ferry connections provided per day and time on-mainland and on-island. The interactive dashboard includes further detailed connectivity analysis, including information related to onward connectivity.
Winter Connections
In the winter timetable period, the Ardrossan – Brodick route is operated solely by MV Caledonian Isles. The tables below summarise the first departure, last arrival, number of connections per day and time on mainland / island.
| Sailing Details | Mon-Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 07:00 | 07:00 | 09:45 |
| Last arrival | 20:15 | 17:35 | 20:15 |
| No. of sailings | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Time on mainland | 08:45 | 08:45 | 08:45 |
| Time on island | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Sailing Details | Mon-Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 07:55 | 07:55 | 08:20 |
| Last arrival | 18:55 | 18:55 | 18:55 |
| No. of sailings | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Time on mainland | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Time on island | 11:25 | 08:45 | 08:40 |
The key points of note from the above tables are as described in the text below:
- MV Caledonian Isles operates five return sailings per day between Ardrossan and Brodick, Monday to Friday (10 single sailings in total)
- On a Saturday, she lies overnight in Brodick following her arrival at 18:55, meaning that there are only four Brodick - Ardrossan connections on that day (nine single sailings in total). This compresses available time on mainland relative to a weekday
- By extension, the first departure on a Sunday is from Brodick (08:20), meaning that there are only four Ardrossan – Brodick connections on that day (nine single sailings in total)
- It should be noted that time on mainland and time on island are calculated from published timetables
Summer Connections
In the summer timetable period, the Ardrossan – Brodick route is conventionally operated by two vessels, MV Caledonian Isles and MV Isle of Arran. Whilst the latter vessel is primarily dedicated to the Arran run, it is important to note that:
- MV Isle of Arran operates the Campbeltown run Thursday to Sunday between late April and early September
- She is also operated as the second vessel on the Ardrossan – Brodick route during this period, and thus the route is not operated as a two-vessel service for the full summer timetable period
Therefore, whilst the Ardrossan – Brodick route is best described as a ‘Level G’ in summer, there is some subtlety within this definition. The tables below summarise the first departure, last departure and number of connections per day:
| Sailing Details | Mon-Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 07:00 | 07:00 | 07:00 | 07:00 | 0945 |
| Last arrival | 20:15 | 20:15 | 22:35 | 20:15 | 20:15 |
| No. of sailings | 10 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Time on mainland | 11:25 | 10:05 | 11:15 | 12:45 | 10:00 |
| Time on island | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Sailing Details | Mon-Wed | Thurs | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 07:00 | 07:00 | 08:20 | 08:20 | 09:05 |
| Last arrival | 20:15 | 18:55 | 21:25 | 22:55 | 20:55 |
| No. of sailings | 10 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Time on mainland | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Time on island | 11:25 | 11:25 | 13:45 | 11:25 | 08:40 |
The key points of note from the above tables are as follows:
- From Monday to Wednesday, Ardrossan – Brodick is operated very much as a ‘standard’ two-vessel route. One vessel lies overnight at Ardrossan, the other at Brodick and they both depart at largely the same time, offering an almost symmetrical timetable and ten return crossings per day
- On a Thursday, the second vessel does not operate the 16:40 or 19:20 sailings from Ardrossan, instead forming an 18:40 departure to Campbeltown, where she lies overnight upon arrival at 21:20. By extension, the 18:00 from Brodick also does not operate on a Thursday, meaning that there are eight crossings from Ardrossan and nine from Brodick
- On a Friday:
- The second vessel returns to Ardrossan from Campbeltown, departing at 07:35 and arriving into Ardrossan at 10:15. The 07:00 and 09:45 departures from Brodick and the 08:20 from Ardrossan are therefore not operated on a Friday
- The second vessel then makes an evening return to Campbeltown, departing at 18:40 and arriving at 21:20. The 16:40 and 19:20 sailings from Ardrossan and the 18:00 from Brodick are not operated on a Friday
- However, the primary vessel makes an extra return sailing, departing Ardrossan at 20:30 and Brodick at 21:40, maintaining eight crossings in each direction
- On a Saturday:
- The second vessel departs Campbeltown at 07:00 and calls at Brodick (arrives 09:20, departs 09:45) to support the Saturday accommodation changeover day on Arran. The 07:00 ex Brodick and 08:20 ex Ardrossan do not operate on a Saturday
- Thereafter, the timetable largely adopts its standard form. The one exception is that the 19:20 departure from Ardrossan is delayed until 22:00 to provide a late Saturday evening sailing. Nine sailings in each direction are offered
- Sunday
- As is common across much of the network, the Sunday timetable is thinner, with six sailings in each direction per day
- This is partly because the second vessel operates an Ardrossan – Campbeltown rotation in the middle of the day (departs Ardrossan 13:50, arriving back at 19:35)
Connecting public transport
The interactive dashboard incorporates a detailed breakdown of onward connectivity from all ports on the network, including connecting bus and rail services and contour-based journey time mapping. Key headlines include:
- Monday to Saturday, almost all arrivals into Ardrossan are met with a connecting rail service to Glasgow Central. However, train pathing constraints mean that wait times are variable. For example, in summer 2023, the 13:25 arrival in Ardrossan connects with a train departing at 13:36 (an 11-minute wait). In contrast, for the 10:40 arrival into Ardrossan, the next train is not until 11:36, a 56-minute wait
- The same is also true for rail services connecting with the ferry, where the gap between the train arriving and the ferry departing varies across the day. The above said, unlike ferry services connecting with much less frequent train services (e.g., Oban and Mallaig), the relative frequency of the Ardrossan Harbour service provides passengers with confidence that there will be an available connection within a reasonable timeframe. Moreover, Ardrossan South Beach is within walking distance for some / a short taxi trip for others and provides additional rail connections from the Largs line
- Sunday rail connectivity is however poorer. Of the six summer Sunday ferry arrivals into Ardrossan, only four offer a meaningful connection with a train (the 10:00 and 13:25 arrivals have very long waits for the next train)
- Brodick bus terminus is co-located with the ferry terminal and offers a range of bus connections across Arran
The figure below shows onward connectivity (drive times) by car from Ardrossan and Brodick. This is broken down to journey times of 1-30 minutes (in green), 31-60 minutes (in yellow), 61-90 minutes (in amber) and 91-120 minutes (in red):
Step 3: Carryings, capacity utilisation and performance
This section sets out the key route headlines with regards to carryings, capacity utilisation and performance – described in the form of answers to questions. The data / charts underlying this commentary are included in Appendix A, and detailed route specific data, including sailing-by-sailing analysis, is provided in the interactive dashboard. The appendix covers the period to the end of calendar year 2022, as a full year of 2023 sailing-by-sailing data was not available at the time of its production.
Key supply-side changes since 2014
In order to understand recent route trends with regards to carryings, capacity utilisation and performance, it is important to record the primary supply-side changes over the last decade or so.
2013
- Whilst slightly outwith the ten-year horizon, it is worth noting that the Ardrossan – Campbeltown route was first introduced as a summer trial in 2013, using the second summer vessel deployed on the Ardrossan – Brodick route (MV Isle of Arran)
2014
- Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) was introduced onto the Ardrossan – Brodick route in October 2014. This led to the average passenger and car fares being reduced by 33% and 56% This can be seen on page 15 of Transport Scotland’s Evaluation of Road Equivalent Tariff on the Clyde and Hebridean Network.
- The reclassification of the length at which a vehicle is classed as commercial from five metres to six metres led to a 26% reduction in commercial vehicle (CV) and coach carryings, as some goods that would previously have travelled in HGVs switched to vans This can be seen on page 23 of Transport Scotland’s Evaluation of Road Equivalent Tariff on the Clyde and Hebridean Network.
2015
- The Ardrossan – Campbeltown route was made permanent in 2015
2018
- The new Brodick Ferry Terminal opened on 12th May
2023
- Transport Scotland chartered the Pentland Ferries’ vessel MV Alfred in 2023 and she entered service on the route in May. This allowed MV Isle of Arran to be redeployed to cover vessel outages elsewhere in the fleet
2024
- MV Caledonian Isles has been out of service for most of 2024 due to a series of breakdowns and requirements for remedial work on the vessel
- The Irish Berth at Ardrossan was temporarily closed on 19th January following a dive inspection, which revealed concerns about its condition. This closure was made permanent on 2nd As MV Alfred can only operate from the Irish Berth, she has been diverted to Troon, from which she operates two return sailings per day Monday to Thursday and three return sailings per day Friday to Sunday (summer 2024 timetable)
How have carryings changed over time?
- Passenger carryings grew strongly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing by 19% between 2014 (the year that RET was introduced) and 2019. Passenger growth was much more modest than the growth in car traffic (49%) over the same period. This illustrates a common trend across many routes on the network, whereby many pre-RET foot passengers chose to travel in a car once fares had been reduced
- Car carryings on the Ardrossan – Brodick route have not however recovered their pre-pandemic position, standing at 88% of their 2019 level in 2022, whilst passenger carryings had only returned to 82% of their 2019 level
- As with many routes on the network, the reclassification of the length at which a vehicle is defined as ‘commercial’ from five metres to six metres when RET was introduced has led to a sharp reduction in the number of CVs carried. There were 23% fewer CVs carried in 2019 than 2014, although carryings have remained at broadly the same level post-pandemic. CV carryings have however increased post-pandemic
How has reliability and punctuality changed over time?
- As with many routes on the network, the number of cancelled sailings has steadily increased over time, and significantly so since 2017 on this route, likely reflecting the network-wide challenges of fleet and infrastructure age. There have been several high-profile vessel and infrastructure breakdowns on the Ardrossan – Brodick route in recent years, including in 2024, which is not shown in the data
- Delays have also been steadily increasing since 2014 – 18% of all sailings in 2022 were recorded as being late, with almost 7% recording ‘Level 2 Lateness’ (i.e., over 30-minutes). By way of example, this compares to only 9% of sailings in 2014, of which only 3% were ‘Level 2 Lateness’
Why are sailings cancelled?
- As is common across most routes, the primary cause of cancellations is adverse weather. The number of sailings lost to weather-related cancellations was broadly stable between 2014 and 2019 but there was a sharp increase in 2021 and 2022, despite now operating from the new berth at Brodick
- The Ardrossan – Brodick route has also had significant issues with vessel and infrastructure breakdowns in recent years, including several breakdowns of MV Caledonian Isles and infrastructure failures at Ardrossan
Why are sailings delayed?
- There are several sources of delay on this route, with adverse weather generally being a prominent cause. However, since 2017, ‘knock-on delay’ and ‘loading delay / loading related delay’ have both become increasingly prominent, likely reflecting the high volumes of traffic carried and occasions when only one vessel has been in service during summer (either due to a redeployment or breakdown)
How many days per year do services operate to timetable?
- Since 2017 (and excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021), 40% of days have operated to timetable (i.e., all sailings on that day arrived on time). This however reduced significantly in 2022, when only 26% of days operated to timetable
- The Ardrossan - Brodick route is however very intensively operated, and a better measure here is the percentage of individual sailings operated to time. This has generally been around 80%, meaning that roughly two in every ten sailings run late. In 2022, this number reduced to 69%
How often has the vehicle deck been full or nearly full?
2014-2022
- The growth in car and van traffic on the Ardrossan - Brodick route since RET was introduced in 2014 has led to an increased number of ‘high utilisation’ sailings, which CFL has historically classified as being over 70% full. This is despite the route being operated by two ‘Major Vessels’ for much of the summer, albeit MV Isle of Arran is one of the smaller vessels in this fleet
- That said, there has not been a particularly significant growth in the proportion of high utilisation sailings since 2017, which suggests the route has reached something of a settled position. This may in part be because the most popular day-tripper sailings are already full at peak times, with lower growth in the off-peak, although more detailed analysis would be required to evidence this
2022 by month
- Analysis of capacity utilisation by month highlights that vehicle deck capacity was a persistent problem over the summer timetable period in 2022. This was particularly the case in July and August, where around 30% of sailings were effectively full to capacity. This is to be expected given the day-tripper market in the Firth of Clyde
- It is important to recognise that, like other short routes with high tourism volumes (e.g., Oban – Craignure), certain sailings will be more capacity pressured than others. Therefore, whilst there may be capacity available across the day, it may not always be on the sailing on which people wish to travel
- It should be noted that a shortage of passenger capacity on this route is not routinely an issue, especially on MV Caledonian Isles, which has a higher passenger certificate than MV Isle of Arran. There will however be the odd sailing, which is full, when the Arran Highland Games takes place for example. It has also been an issue on MV Alfred in 2024, as she has a much lower passenger capacity than MV Caledonian Isles and is operating fewer crossings per day from Troon than she did from Ardrossan
Forthcoming Changes
The analysis presented above reflects the Ardrossan – Brodick route in its current form, summer 2024 disruption notwithstanding. It is important to note however that the operation of the Ardrossan – Brodick and Ardrossan – Campbeltown routes will likely change when MV Glen Sannox and MV Glen Rosa are introduced onto the route. The preceding analysis will therefore need to be updated once this new tonnage enters service.