High-speed ferry routes take off

Date: 24 Jul 2007 00:00 Source: Lloyds List

Plans are at an advanced stage for two new high-speed passenger ferry services at either end of the UK.

The services will not only provide daily commuters with a quicker way to work, but will also provide the local tourist industries with a boost.

The planned services are across the Firth of Forth in Scotland, and across the Bristol Channel, linking the Welsh ports of Swansea and Penarth with their English counterparts of Ilfracombe and Minehead in North Devon.

The UK’s second passenger-carrying hovercraft service is a real possibility. A two-week trial across the Firth of Forth in Scotland, using the world’s most modern passenger carrying hovercraft, Hovertravel’s 130 passenger capacity Solent Express, is under way.

This 28 m craft only entered service this June, and is usually found operating in the south of the UK, across the Solent between Southsea and Ryde on the Isleof Wight. The 2007-built BHT 130 Solent Express has been taken to Scotland by UK train and bus operator Stagecoach to prove the viability of a regular, year-round hovercraft service linking Kirkcaldy in Fife with Scotland’s capital Edinburgh.

The proposed hovercraft service is aimed at the daily commuters who regularly drive from Fife across the Forth Road Bridge, as well as tourists to the area. Chronic daily congestion on the Forth Road Bridge, coupled with high bridge toll fees and a congestion charge in Edinburgh, all point to the viability of a high-speed passenger ferry service.

A recent study revealed that 70% of cars crossing the Forth Road Bridge only have one person in them.

The two-week hovercraft trial is running from July 16-28, with 11 round trips per day between Kirkcaldy in Fife and Portobello Beach, close to Edinburgh. It is no coincidence that the trials are taking place during the closure of the Forth Road Bridge for vital repairs. Integrated bus services are provided at both ends of the 20-minute crossing. The trial was launched by Scottish Transport Minister Stewart Stephenson.

“Public transport has clear environmental benefits over the car and we are very excited by the potential of the hovercraft service,” said Stagecoach Group’s chief executive Brian Souter.

“The hovercraft can shorten journey times for commuters and, we also believe, it will appeal to leisure travellers based in Scotland and tourists from overseas.”

The £300,000 ($614,000) trial is being funded by Stagecoach, SEStran (South East of Scotland Transport Partnership), the Scottish Executive, Fife Council and the City of Edinburgh Council.

Marine Consultant Alistair Macleod has carried out the detailed planning of the service for Stagecoach, which has ferry operating experience through its Fuller Ferries subsidiary in New Zealand. The transport operator believes that a cross-Forth hovercraft service is viable, and that running a two craft service round the year would cost £2m ($4m) per annum.

Each hovercraft would cost around £4.5m, and Stagecoach estimates passenger load factors of around 9,000 per week (470,000 passengers per annum). It says that while such a service would initially require public investment, within a few years passenger volumes could grow to make it commercially sustainable.

Stagecoach is also planning a new high-speed passenger-only ferry service linking the UK southwest tourist resorts of Torquay and Brixham, in Devon.

Meanwhile, ferry operations specialist Chris Marrow of Mariners Marine Consultants is behind plans for a new cross-Bristol Channel ferry service. Under the working title of North Devon Ferries, Mr Marrow plans to start a passenger-only catamaran service linking the two Welsh ports of Swansea and Penarth with Ilfracombe and Minehead in North Devon.

A 138 passenger capacity vessel is being considered, but this could be increased to a 300 passenger capacity high-speed catamaran if demand warranted it.

One vessel being considered is operating in French Polynesia. North Devon Ferries’ long-term plans include starting a passenger/light vehicle (cars, vans and motorbikes) service across the Bristol Channel, as well as starting a passenger/vehicle service between Ilfracombe and the Republic of Ireland (either Cork, Rosslare or Yougal). Both of these ambitious projects would, however, require public funding due to the high cost of the infrastructure required for a car ferry service. The port of Ilfracombe has recently completed a £2.6m refurbishment, but the planned outer breakwater would be needed for any realistic passenger car ferry operation.

The proposed cross-Bristol Channel ferry service has the backing of local councils and business leaders in both North Devon and South Wales and could be up and running by the summer of 2008.

At a meeting held in Swansea at the beginning of July between all interested parties, sponsored by the West Wales Chamber of Commerce and the City and County of Swansea councils, feedback was extremely positive.

“This is an exciting and innovative idea,” said Steve Penny, president of the West Wales Chamber of Commerce. “We were impressed with the business plan and are looking forward to seeing how it can be developed over the coming months.”

Swansea Council leader Chris Holley said that the plan was a great opportunity for tourism on both sides of the water.

Add your support to the campaign by visiting www.northdevonferries.co.uk

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High-speed ferry routes take off

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