Largs - Cumbrae
Headline route information
- Mainland port: Largs
- Island port: Cumbrae Slip
- Check-in-time: 10-minutes prior to departure for passengers and cars
- Crossing time: 10 minutes
- Vessels:
- MV Loch Shira (primary vessel)
- MV Loch Riddon or other smaller Loch Class vessels (seasonal vessel)
- Overnight berth: Largs
Introduction
The proximity of Cumbrae to the mainland, combined with its significant summer day-tripper market, means that it is one of the few routes on the network which is double crewed, facilitating a long operating day. A second vessel is also introduced during the summer months to enhance frequency and strengthen the service.
The route is typically operated by MV Loch Shira, the largest of the Loch Class vessels, supplemented by one of the smaller Loch Class vessels in the summer, usually MV Loch Riddon, for part of the operating day.
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 |
Please note, the operating day of a single crewed vessel is limited to the maximum hours that can be delivered by a single crew within the hours of work regulations and crew contractual agreements. More than a ‘single crew’ is where a small number of additional crew are added to the complement to extend the operating day. However, this falls short of a full extra crew.
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 Largs - Cumbrae 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 | Yes | No |
Categorisation of waters
The Largs - Cumbrae route operates in Category C waters in winter and Category D waters in summer (June to September). To all intents and purposes therefore, Largs – Cumbrae can be considered a Category C route and thus is governed by Merchant Shipping Notice (MSN) 1876 Working Time: Inland Waterways Regulations 2003 as Amended.
The key provisions of this legislation are as follows:
- ‘Working time’ relates to:
- Any period, including overtime, during which an employee is working
- Any period during which an employee is receiving training
- Any additional period which is to be treated as working time for the purpose of these Regulations under a relevant agreement
- Maximum working time is defined as follows – working hours should not exceed:
- 14 hours in any 24-hour period
- 84 hours in any seven-day period
- Working time over a full year (i.e. any 52-week period) should not exceed 2,304 hours
- The employer must ensure that any employee does not work more than 48 hours for any seven-day period, averaged over 52 weeks (i.e. annualised hours)
- In terms of rest periods, workers must have at least:
- 10 hours in each 24-hour period, of which at least six hours are uninterrupted
- 84 hours in any seven-day period
- Section 17 of MSN 1876 makes provision for seasonal work, thus facilitating differential summer and winter timetables, as is common with ferry operations across Scotland:
- A season is defined as no more than nine consecutive months in any 12-month period in which activities are tied to certain times of the year as a result of external circumstances such as weather conditions or tourist demand
The Largs - Cumbrae route is operated by ships from the ‘Small Vessel’ fleet, with crew living ashore.
Length of operating day
Winter
The table below summarises the length of the operating day and week on the Largs - Cumbrae route:
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Tuesday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Wednesday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Thursday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Friday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Saturday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Sunday | 0:30 | 12:25 | 0:30 | 13:25 |
| Total | 3:30 | 95:55 | 3:30 | 102:55 |
MV Loch Shira operates with two crews on any given day, a dayshift and a backshift, which facilitates the long operating day. The crew work on a one week-on, one week-off basis.
Summer
The table below summarises the length of the operating day and week for the primary vessel on the Largs - Cumbrae (MV Loch Shira):
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Tuesday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Wednesday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Thursday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Friday | 0:30 | 15:55 | 0:30 | 16:55 |
| Saturday | 0:30 | 13:55 | 0:30 | 14:55 |
| Sunday | 0:30 | 12:25 | 0:30 | 13:25 |
| Total | 3:30 | 97:55 | 3:30 | 104:55 |
The summer crewing arrangements on MV Loch Shira do not differ from the winter, with a two-shift system delivering a long operating day.
The table below summarises the length of the operating day and week for the secondary vessel on the Largs - Cumbrae route (conventionally MV Loch Riddon):
| Day | Start-Up | Sailing-Day | Close Down | Length of operating day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 0:20 | 10:55 | 0:10 | 11:25 |
| Tuesday | 0:20 | 10:55 | 0:10 | 11:25 |
| Wednesday | 0:20 | 10:55 | 0:10 | 11:25 |
| Thursday | 0:20 | 10:55 | 0:10 | 11:25 |
| Friday | 0:20 | 10:55 | 0:10 | 11:25 |
| Saturday | 0:20 | 10:55 | 0:10 | 11:25 |
| Sunday | 0:20 | 10:25 | 0:10 | 10:55 |
| Total | 2:20:00 | 75:55 | 1:10 | 79:25 |
The second vessel is operated by a single shore-based crew, which can comfortably deliver the timetable within the maximum permitted hours.
Route specific characteristics
- The Largs – Cumbrae route facilitates a large summer daytripper market to Cumbrae. Much of the additional demand is from foot passengers, many of whom will be travelling to Cumbrae to cycle around the island. This can create traffic management challenges at Largs, which is a constrained slipway site in the middle of an urban area
Step 2: Analysis of connectivity
This section summarises headline connectivity in terms of the number of ferry connections provided 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 Largs – Cumbrae route is operated solely by MV Loch Shira. The tables below summarise the first departure, last arrival, number of connections per day and time on mainland / island. It should be noted that time on mainland and time on island are calculated from published timetables.
| Sailing Details | Mon-Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|
| First departure | 06:45 | 08:15 |
| Last arrival | 20:40 | 20:40 |
| No. of sailings | 26 | 23 |
| Time on mainland | 13:05 | 11:35 |
| Time on island | Nil | Nil |
| Sailing Details | Mon-Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|
| First departure | 07:00 | 08:30 |
| Last arrival | 20:25 | 20:25 |
| No. of sailings | 26 | 23 |
| Time on mainland | Nil | Nil |
| Time on island | 13:35 | 12:05 |
The key points of note from the above tables are as follows:
- As with many routes in the winter timetable, there is a consistent operating day Monday to Saturday, with a slightly reduced service level on a Sunday due to a later start
- There is a break in the operating day between 14:15 and 15:15 to allow for crew changeover or rest breaks
- The timetable comfortably facilitates a standard working day in Glasgow and other towns such as Paisley and Greenock
Summer Connections
In the peak summer timetable period, the Largs - Cumbrae route is conventionally operated by two vessels, MV Loch Shira and MV Loch Riddon. It should be noted that the peak timetable only operates Friday to Sunday outwith the school holidays (late June to mid-August). During the school holidays, the peak timetable operates daily.
Therefore, whilst the Largs - Cumbrae route is best described as a ‘Level F’ in peak summer, there is some subtlety within this definition in that it is a ‘Level D’ outwith the peak summer timetable period. The tables below summarise the first departure, last arrival, number of connections per day and time on mainland / island for the peak timetable period:
| Sailing Details | Mon-Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 06:45 | 06:45 | 06:45 | 08:15 |
| Last arrival | 20:40 | 22:40 | 20:40 | 20:40 |
| No. of sailings | 49 | 51 | 49 | 45 |
| Time on mainland | 13:05 | 15:05 | 13:05 | 11:35 |
| Time on island | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Sailing Details | Mon-Thur | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First departure | 07:00 | 07:00 | 07:00 | 08:30 |
| Last arrival | 20:25 | 22:25 | 20:25 | 20:25 |
| No. of sailings | 49 | 51 | 49 | 45 |
| Time on mainland | Nil | Nil | Nil | Nil |
| Time on island | 13:35 | 15:35 | 13:35 | 12:05 |
The key points of note from the above tables are as follows:
- From Monday to Thursday, the route operates as a single vessel crossing until the 09:15 departure from Largs, after which the second vessel enters service to form the 09:30 departure. The two vessels work in tandem to provide a fifteen-minute frequency across the day until circa 20:00, when the second vessel completes its operating day. MV Loch Shira thereafter offers a final sailing of the day departing Largs at 20:15 and Cumbrae at 20:30. This timetable also operates on a Saturday
- The same base timetable operates on a Friday, but MV Loch Shira operates two additional return sailings, departing Largs at 20:45 and 22:15
- The Sunday timetable broadly replicates that of a weekday, but the service does not commence until 08:15 (compared to 06:45 on a weekday) and thus the operating day is shorter and four fewer sailings are operated
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:
- There is an hourly train service between Largs and Glasgow Central, although this is not entirely clockface (i.e., on a repeating regular interval) in the early morning and early / late evening. The ferry is more frequent than the train but, given walk times from the slipway to the station, wait times should never be much more than 50 minutes, generally less
- For those who have a concessionary travel pass or would prefer to use the bus, the McGills service 901 (the ClydeFlyer) provides a half hourly service across the day, which connects well with the ferries. The last bus however departs at 20:05 so the last few sailings of the day arrive too late for it (although the last train is 22:53, so there is always an onward connection)
- The ClydeFlyer also serves a wider range of destinations than the train, including Braehead Shopping Centre and Greenock
- There is a frequent bus service between Cumbrae Slip and Millport which operates from 06:40 through to 20:35, which is generally timed to meet the ferry
The figure below shows onward connectivity (drive times) by car from Largs (noting that all destinations in Cumbrae have a drive time of less than 30 minutes). This is broken down to journey times of 0 minutes (in blue), 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.
What have been the 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.
2015
- Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) was introduced onto the Largs - Cumbrae route in October 2015. This led to the average passenger and car fares being reduced by 31% and 24% This can be seen on page 15 of Transport Scotland’s Evaluation of Road Equivalent Tariff on the Clyde and Hebridean Network.
How have carryings changed over time?
- Passenger carryings had been growing strongly prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing by 11% between 2014 and 2019, driven by the introduction of RET in 2015. However, passenger numbers have not fully recovered from the pandemic, standing at only 88% of their 2019 level in 2022
- Car carryings grew particularly strongly following the introduction of RET in October 2015 and, by 2019, were 33% higher than in 2014. Car carryings have also fully recovered from the pandemic standing at 103% of their 2019 level in 2022
- 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 38% fewer CVs carried in 2019 than 2014, with the decline correlating with the introduction of RET. The close proximity of Cumbrae to the mainland and the absence of significant bulk flows to and from the island means that it is comparatively easy to serve using vans
How has reliability and punctuality changed over time?
- Cancellations were relatively high in 2015 and 2016 (although still just over 4% of all sailings in 2016) but diminished significantly in 2017. However, they have been steadily increasing year-on-year and by 2022 were approaching 4% again
- It should be noted that MV Loch Shira suffered an outage of several months over the summer of 2024 due to damage to the hinges on her vehicle ramps
- Delays have also steadily crept up on the route but they are generally short (Level 1 lateness, i.e., 5-10 minutes after the published arrival time) and still only account for around 2% of all sailings
Why are sailings cancelled?
- As a shorter route operating in categorised waters, adverse weather has less of an impact than on many of the longer routes on the network. Nonetheless, it still accounts for the majority of the cancellations in most years
- As on many routes, mechanical problems have become more common in recent years, and were a major cause of cancellations in 2021 and 2022 (and will be in 2024)
- “Emergency” was also cited as a significant disruption cause in 2021 and 2022, which it is understood relates COVID-19 issues, e.g., crew self-isolation
Why are sailings delayed?
- Almost all delays on this route are attributable to a knock-on delay from a previous sailing or a loading delay. This is entirely to be expected given the very high summer volumes on the route, particularly with respect to foot passengers and cyclists
- Moreover, for vehicles, the marshalling area at Largs is undersized and vehicles need to cross a pedestrian walkway to board. When disembarking at Largs, vehicles quickly come to a priority junction with the busy A78 Trunk Road through the town centre, which can then lead to blocking back onto the ferry. All of this affects turnaround times and causes delay
How many days per year do services operate to timetable?
- Prior to the pandemic, 80%+ days operated to timetable (i.e., all sailings on that day arrived on time). This reduced to 79% in 2020 and 2021 and 74% in 2022, reflecting the comparatively higher level of cancellations and delays in those years
- The Largs - Cumbrae route is however very intensively operated, and a better measure here is the percentage of individual sailings operated to time. This is generally around 95% and, given the high frequency of the service, demonstrates that the route is generally reliable
How often has the vehicle deck been full or nearly full?
2014-2022
- Vehicle deck capacity is not routinely a problem on the Largs – Cumbrae route overall, with around only 10% of sailings per annum having an occupancy of 75% or greater, although this number has crept-up slightly in recent years. It is also worth noting that the second summer vessel, generally MV Loch Riddon, has a much smaller vehicle carrying capacity than MV Loch Shira, the largest Loch Class vessel in the fleet and so will more frequently be full
- There was a spike in vehicle deck utilisation in 2021, but this is because fewer sailings were operated as the country gradually emerged from the second national lockdown
- It is however important to recognise that high utilisation sailings are likely to be clustered together, for example at morning and evening commuter times and summer Saturdays. That said, for those travelling to Cumbrae on leisure, there is a bus service which meets the ferry at the slipway, so taking a car is not always essential
- There will be certain sailings on peak summer weekdays where the passenger deck is full to capacity but the high frequency of the service makes this a manageable issue
2022 by month
- Despite the seasonality of this route, high utilisation sailings are relatively evenly distributed across the year, although there was a clear peak in August in 2022 and drop-offs in October through December (and also February)
- The winter capacity challenges are likely to relate to commuter peaks. With a one-vessel service in winter, there is a longer gap between sailings and thus commuters will cluster onto certain sailings to allow them to get to their end destination in time
Forthcoming Changes
It is understood that this route is part of the CMAL Small Vessels Replacement Programme (SVRP), a large-scale procurement and replacement programme for the existing Loch Class fleet. The timing of new vessels being introduced is unknown at present.