Changes to National Express Buses Serving Broughty Ferry from 4 May 2014

National Express Dundee have advised that they intend to introduce citywide service changes on 4 May 2014. These changes are driven by commercial considerations and have not been requested by Dundee City Council.

These are the changes to their routes that serve Broughty Ferry:
Service 5 will be combined with a new X5 service operating directly to Ninewells every 15 minutes. Along with the Outer Circle, there will be eight departures each hour from Barnhill/Broughty Ferry toward Dundee city centre. The X5 will operate non-stop from Dalgleish Road to Seagate.

Service 9/10/11/12 (outer circle) will have its route slightly revised to offer a more direct service between Dundee city centre and Broughty Ferry. The direct connection from Barnhill to Stobswell will be removed as the bus will use Broughty Ferry Road/Blackscroft rather than Arbroath Road/Victoria Street.

Service 5N will be cancelled. The night bus service was introduced in 2012 but has not managed to attract sufficient numbers of users to make it sustainable.

I know that many older residents living on, or close to, Dundee Road in The Ferry will be disappointed that these modifications will not improve the poor frequency of buses that run along their road to and from Dundee. These residents will continue to have to hike up to Strathern Road to get on the outer circle and the X5 services.

ScotRail Impose Above Inflation Fare Increases and No Appreciable Improvements in Broughty Ferry Timetable

Earlier this month, ScotRail increased rail fares for commuters and those needing to travel at 'peak' times by 3.1 per cent, while off-peak tickets were frozen. 

This above inflation increase of 'peak' fares was not matched by any significant improvements to the number of trains stopping in Broughty Ferry on the new timetable that began on 9 December.

Having to pay higher rail fares was disappointing news for all rail passengers in Scotland. It was however particularly disappointing for those who have been put off or inconvenienced by the irregular train times and the long gaps between some services stopping at Broughty Ferry station. 

The current timetable certainly falls far short of the recommendations of the Tay Valley Rail Study. That report made the case for a regular hourly service connecting Broughty Ferry with Dundee, Perth and Glasgow in the west and stations to Aberdeen in the North.

I understand that any more service improvements depend on the Scottish Government specifying these in the new franchise for train services in Scotland which is to be awarded soon.

There was one rather obscure additional Monday - Friday service improvement. There is an additional very early morning train that runs north to Aberdeen calling at Broughty Ferry at 5:46 am. It is the only service of the day which runs through Aberdeen as far as Inverness without changing trains.

Link to the current ScotRail timetable for trains to and from Broughty Ferry Station effective from 9 December 2013

Sunday Rail Services Calling at Broughty Ferry Begin with the 10:34 Train to Glasgow

Last Sunday rail services resumed at Broughty Ferry station after a gap of more than twenty years. 

As part to the new timetable effective from 9 December 2012, there are seven trains running every Sunday, four via Dundee and three heading north to Aberdeen. 

The first train of every Sunday is the 10:34 train via Dundee to Glasgow. As the visual display screen spells out, this is the train calls at Dundee, Perth, Gleneagles, Dunblane, Stirling and Glasgow Queen Street.

The Sunday timetable is as follows:

Down Platform - trains via Dundee

• 10:34 to Glasgow calling at Dundee, Perth, Gleneagles, Dunblane, Stirling and Glasgow Queen Street
• 14:00 to Edinburgh calling at Dundee, Leuchars, Kirkcaldy, Inverkeithing Haymarket and Edinburgh Waverley
• 20:13 to Edinburgh calling at Dundee, Leuchars, Kirkcaldy, Inverkeithing Haymarket and Edinburgh Waverley
• 23:28 to Perth calling at Dundee, Invergowrie and Perth

Up Platform - trains towards Aberdeen

• 11:18 to Aberdeen calling atdd Cdarnoustie, Arbroath, Montrose, Laurencekirk, Stonehaven and Aberdeen
• 17:28 to Aberdeen calling at Carnoustie, Arbroath, Montrose, Stonehaven and Aberdeen
• 22:28 to Aberdeen, Calling at Arbroath, Montrose, Stonehaven, Portlethan and Aberdeen

Read or download the new timetable for trains to and from the Ferry

Sunday Trains Return to Broughty Ferry After More Than a 20 Year Gap

At precisely 10:34 on Sunday 9 December 2012, the Aberdeen to Glasgow train will stop at Broughty Ferry and make a bit of local history. It will be the first Sunday train service in more than twenty years. 

This train service is part of the the new ScotRail timetable which begins on Sunday. The new timetable features four Sunday trains going west via Dundee (one to Glasgow, two to Edinburgh and one to Perth) and three trains going north to Aberdeen on Sundays. On weekdays there will be seven trains going via Dundee towards Glasgow or Edinburgh and eight trains going North to Aberdeen.

Click on this link to read and download the new timetable.

In the early 1990s the then British Rail suspended most of its services stopping at Broughty Ferry. In fact they reduced their service to just a handful of trains a week. 

Over the last couple of years and after sustained local pressure, train services have been gradually increased; not enough but sufficient to stimulate increasing passenger numbers and a hope that we might get The Ferry properly reconnected to the rail network. 

While I acknowledge the recent improvements to the rail timetable, I shall continue to make the case for an increased hourly service from Broughty Ferry and the introduction of fair ticketing prices from Broughty Ferry. I hope the Scottish government will build these reasonable requirements into the conditions of the new franchise for rail services in Scotland due to come into effect in 2014.

Good and Bad News from Scotrail for Train Services from Broughty Ferry Station

There was good and bad news about the rail services to and from Broughty Ferry station earlier this week. Would you like the good or bad news first?

Last September, I welcomed the announcement about improvements to the schedule of trains that were to be stopping at Broughty Ferry Station when the then new national rail timetable was coming into force on Sunday 11 December 2011. This included four more trains a day going south and three more trains a day heading north. These improvements were introduced on a pilot basis to be evaluated in 2012.

The good news is that from Sunday 9 December 2012, one further train a day will stop at Broughty Ferry in both directions. This afternoon service will help fill one of the gaps in the current timetable.

The bad news is that ScotlRail will not be delivering an hourly timetable of stopping trains at Broughty Ferry on the Aberdeen to Glasgow and Glasgow to Aberdeen route. There will continue to be long gaps between services and it will remain difficult, if not impossible to commute into Dundee from The Ferry unless you have unusual working hours.

I have been saving this for last. The best news is most definitely that the pilot programme of improved stopping trains at Broughty Ferry has been judged a success on the basis of growing passenger numbers. So our rail services in The Ferry are no longer a pilot programme. In other words, we are no longer under threat of returning to a station with virtually no train services. For that we have to thank all those passengers who have voted with their feet and let the train take the strain.

Finally, I shall continue to press for a comprehensive timetable of stopping trains at our station. This makes sense environmentally and practically.

More Trains Stopping at Broughty Ferry Station Please ScotRail

On Monday I was notified by Broughty Ferry Community Council that John Yellowlees, the External Relations Manager at ScotRail, will be attending their meeting on the evening of Tuesday 6 November. Apparently, one of the items he will be covering will be the new timetable for Broughty Ferry begining in early December.

I understand passengers number using trains to and from Broughty Ferry have risen significantly since the  increase in the number of stopping trains on the timetable that came into force from 12 December 2011. 

What would make a significant boost to passengers number is the development of a consistent hourly service to Glasgow and Aberdeen with changes in Dundee for services to Edinburgh. This would not only be more predictable for the travelling public, but good for ScotRail revenues and kinder to the environment.

I hope John Yellowtrees won't be coming empty handed to The Ferry.  We could do with some good news about more stopping trains at our station on new timetable coming into force a couple of weeks before Christmas.

Folk in Broughty Ferry deserve a regular train service to match the improvements on the platform such as the digital information screens.

We also need a regular and frequent train service between Dundee and The Ferry so that, when the V and A opens in 2015, visitors can easily extend their visit from the water front site in Dundee to the centre of Broughty Ferry.

Beginning Today Timetable of Additional Trains Running to and from Broughty Ferry - Monday 12 December 2011

Broughty Ferry Station

New Timetable

Beginning
Monday 12 December 2011

(Monday to Saturday unless otherwise specified)

Northbound Trains

06:31 to Inverurie

09:45 to Inverurie

11:07 to Aberdeen

15:09 to Aberdeen

17:47 to Inverurie

19:00 to Carnoustie

23:10 to Aberdeen

Southbound Trains

06:29 to Dundee

07:41 to Glasgow

10:43 to Glasgow

15:09 to Edinburgh

17:11 to Edinburgh

23:38 to Perth (Monday to Thursday)

00:33 to Perth (Friday Only)
Read or Download Special Timetable of Broughty Ferry Trains