Train travel continues this week for Lochcarron pupils

10th January 2012

Pupils from the Lochcarron area will continue to travel to Plockton High School by train for the rest of this week as their normal route - via the A890 Stromeferry By-pass - remains closed due the threat of rockfall.

On Monday 9 January 2012 46 pupils from the Lochcarron area travelled to Plockton High School by train. They were joined by 10 pupils from the Applecross area, who stay in hostel accommodation on weekdays. They arrived at school at 11.16 am and the Lochcarron pupils returned to Strathcarron at 5.56 pm. They missed the first two periods of classes but made up for the lost time at the end of the day with supervised homework.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) and for the rest of the week, the pick up times for Lochcarrron pupils heading to Strathcarron railway station are being changed and will be:- Ardaneaskan, 10 am; Kishorn, 10.10 am and the Bank, Lochcarron, 10.20 am.

Meanwhile, arrangements for providing a passenger ferry service between North and South Strome to combat the closure of the A890 Stromeferry By-pass are taking shape and it is intended to introduce this service for the Plockton pupils on Monday 16 January.

The Sula Mhor cruise boat from Plockton, which is used during the summer for tourist trips, will undergo further trials of the slipways before being introduced.

The Council also intends to introduce a car ferry service between North and South Strome Ferry, using the six-car turntable ferry from Glenelg. The ferry will undergo trials on Wednesday.

The timetable of the passenger and car ferry will be published as soon as they are confirmed.

Councillor John Laing, Chairman of the Council's TEC Services, was at Plockton to welcome the pupils as they arrived for school today.

He said: "I am pleased that we were able to accommodate the pupils and my thanks go to the pupils and their parents for so readily adapting to the change in travel arrangements and to Scotrail and to staff at the Plockton High for their invaluable assistance.

"Hopefully, we will have the ferry service in place next week, which will ensure a normal school service can be provided."

It is likely that the A 890 road between Lochcarron and Plockton/Kyle will remain closed for at least another two weeks because of the danger of further rockfall, which forced closure of the road on 22 December.

The railway line remains open and the main east-west diversion remains the A 82/A87 trunk road.