Renfrew Ferry Closure
[photos : Bryan Smith]
Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has decided that the present Renfrew Ferry across the Clyde will close on 31 March 2010 to save £400,000 a year, although it is talking to private sector operators about possible replacement facilities. Trials began on 8 February 2010 of a 48-seat amphibious bus on loan from Holland, which it is proposed to run up to the big Braehead shopping centre. Sadly it broke down immediately with suspension problems and the picture below shows it coming out of the garage for a road trip to the repair yard . Basically it looks like a very big bus, save for the two thrusters at the rear and of course completely sealed underneath. Let us hope they remember to close the doors!
There are records of a Renfrew ferry operating in 1614 although news reports suggest that the operation is almost six centruies old. It is known that the Ferry Inn was opened in 1789 and by 1791 the ferry was operating from its present site. The ferries used ropes or chains fixed on each bank, at first hauled by hand, but from 1868 by steam-power.
Larger vessels in the early 1900's allowed the carriage of motor vehicles. At a time when the Clyde was the heartland of shipbuilding, the ferry was busy with workers travelling to the shipyards and factories on both sides of the river. After WW2 traffic started to fall as the shipyards and factories were closing down. The opening of the M8 Kingston Bridge in 1970 and the A898 Erskine Bridge in 1971 abstracted traffic away and precipitated the decision to end the vehicle ferry in 1984. One of the older ferries is now moored on the Clyde as a multi-purpose entertainment venue.
Two passenger/ bicycle ferries, the Renfrew Rose and Yoker Swan, took over the route in 1984. One ferry operates with the second kept in reserve for periods of maintenance and repair. Each boat can carry 50 passengers but rarely has more than 12 people on one trip. Strathclyde Partnership for Transport has declared the service a lossmaker and will withdraw it after 31 March 2010. The vessels are to be offered for sale or scrap.
