March Newsletter – Harbour Spotlight

Oban Ferry Terminal, Railway Pier

Fast facts:
  • Oban Railway Pier is a statutory harbour area.
  • Only CMAL port with two linkspans.
  • One of only four CMAL ports with railway station nearby. The others are Gourock, Wemyss Bay and Largs.
  • CMAL-owned ferries depart from here to serve Mull, Lismore, Colonsay, Coll, Tiree and Barra.
Facilities: vehicle marshalling area, EV charging station, two linkspans, slipway, quayside berthing, terminal building with ticket office, shops, waiting room and toilets, and access to adjacent train station and bus stances.

Oban is a busy port and a ferry transport hub on the west coast, sheltered by the island of Kerrera. It handles up to 18,000 vessel movements annually, 13,000 of which are CMAL ferries operating from the Railway Pier ferry terminal and Lismore Slipway.

In 2019, we installed a new linkspan and extended the marshalling area, a project which had a combined value of £1.8 million. The extended marshalling area has helped alleviate queuing on the public highway during busy summer periods, and the new linkspan ensures a safe and efficient service for ferries, predominantly travelling to Mull. Watch our timelapse video of the new linkspan being transported to Oban on the Lara 1 crane barge in February 2019 here.

In August 2020, we also completed operational works to enhance traffic safety at the harbour. During the nine-week project, upgrades to surfacing, barriers and route marking were made to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety at the ferry terminal.