A85 closure: ScotRail to run Oban-Taynuilt minibus from 11th June

With the necessary continung closure of the A85, ScotRail has agreed to run a replacement minibus between Oban Station and Taynuilt, starting tomorrow morning -Friday 11th June.

The service will operate three times daily to mirror the train frequency:

• leaving Oban at 8.11am, 12.56pm and 6.10pm
• leaving Taynuilt at 11.03am, 3.02pm and 9.00

The bus will take Taynuilt users into Oban, where they will have to wait for the Oban-Glasgow rail replacement coaches to make their onward journey.

Argyll and Bute’s spokesperson for Transportation and Infrastructure, Councillor Duncan MacIntyre, who is also Chair of the Oban, Lorn and the Isles Area Committee, stresses that everything is being done to bring the situation to a swift conclusion.

‘Clearly this has been a very difficult time for many people, including those cut off by the road closure and the businesses of Oban which rely for much of their trade on the A85 traffic.

‘I am very sympathetic to the situation they have found themselves in, and wish to assure them that all relevant agencies, including the council, are doing everything they can to ensure that this matter is resolved as quickly as possible.

‘At the moment, we are hopeful that the road may be reopened on Saturday, although the situation is fluid and is obviously dependent on how the lifting operation goes.

‘In the meantime, I would like to thank everyone affected by this incident for their patience. We all look forward to both the A85 and the rail line reopening as soon as possible’.

Signage confusions at diversions

There are complaints about the quality of the closure signs at the diversion points.

Signs simply state ‘Road closed’, with no information on local access arrangements that have been made (which we have published).

At the junction from the Connel Bridge with the A85 , despite the Road Closed’ sign, it is actually open all the way to Brander Lodge Hotel, just up from Crunnachy filling station.