Winter timetable is set to continue for a further month

The summer timetable which was originally set to launch later this month, has been postponed until April 26th. This follows the recent announcement by the Scottish Government that restrictions are set to remain in place in Scotland until next month at the very earliest.

The summer timetable can be accessed on the CalMac website at: https://www.calmac.co.uk/covid19/calmac-latest-update-winter-timetable-extension.

Passengers should check the website and local travel restrictions before planning any journeys and importantly, should be aware that bookings have been temporarily paused for the period commencing March 26 through until April 25.

Transport Scotland have also now confirmed that the fares increase due to take effect on March 26 will go ahead as planned, despite local opposition . See next week’s paper for the full story as Comhairle nan Eilean Siar call for a halt to the fare increases, claiming it will simply serve to hurt, not only hauliers and travellers, but every islander.

Robert Morrison, operations director for CalMac, said: "CalMac and Transport Scotland remain flexible and responsive to feedback from communities and any increase in service demand.

"Working within Scottish Government guidelines on social distancing, we will be ready and able to deliver a full summer timetable quickly when this is confirmed by Transport Scotland."