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£57 million investment announced by Wightlink

The Isle of Wight’s market-leading ferry operator, Wightlink, today announced details of a £57 million investment package, encompassing all areas of its business. In particular, all three cross-Solent Wightlink routes are set to benefit from the planned expenditure, which is unprecedented for a local transport provider.

In a comprehensive package of measures unveiled at a conference held in Ryde, Wightlink announced the purchase of new catamarans for its Portsmouth-Ryde passenger route, an improvement plan for Ryde Pier and upgrades to its Portsmouth-Fishbourne car ferry fleet. These add to the three new ships already ordered by the operator for the Lymington-Yarmouth service and the expenditure is additional to that allocated to ongoing fleet and terminal maintenance.

Scheduled to roll out over the next four years, the investment plan also includes provision for terminal improvements, a radical overhaul of Wightlink’s systems, booking technology and website, and the introduction of a new brand identity for the operator. This will be used across every aspect of Wightlink’s communication with customers from July onward and will appear on the new Lymington-Yarmouth ships when they go into service later in the summer.

Speaking at the conference, Wightlink Chief Executive Andrew Willson said that the investment would “completely transform the quality of the service that we can offer to all our customers. It will ensure that we have the capacity and flexibility vital to deliver an efficient, reliable service, provide better facilities and offer all round value.”

The plan in detail:

Portsmouth-Ryde route

£9 million has been allocated to upgrade both the fleet and the terminal at Ryde and Portsmouth Harbour.
A robust new generation of catamarans will be introduced in summer 2009, purpose-built to better cope with the punishing weather conditions experienced on the route.
The new ships have already been ordered and will be built in the Philippines. State of the art, with attractive on board facilities, they will provide passengers travelling between Portsmouth Harbour and Ryde with much improved reliability and comfort.
Designed to offer fuel efficiency, the catamarans will carry green passports, verified by Lloyd’s Register.
Wightlink intends to make improvements at Ryde Pier, but stresses that this part of the plan is at a very early stage. Talks with concerned parties will form part of the planning process.
As part of the improvements, new retail facilities will be provided to match those already in place at Portsmouth Harbour.
Berthing arrangements will be upgraded.
Extra car parking will be added to ease the flow of traffic on and off the pier – currently a concern to many users. Again, talks with concerned parties will form part of the planning process.

Portsmouth-Fishbourne route

An investment of circa £17.5 million will be made in the most heavily-used route to the Isle of Wight, which carries more than 50 per cent of all traffic to and from the Island.
Although at a very early planning stage, the package of measures envisaged will provide a quicker, smoother and more customer-friendly service.
Planned upgrades to the existing Saint class fleet are intended to improve greatly Wightlink’s service and efficiency, as well as providing extra capacity at times of heavy demand.
The funding includes provision for a revamp of the terminal layout at Fishbourne as well as improved customer service facilities.

Lymington-Yarmouth route

As previously announced, an overall expenditure of £26 million has been allocated to fund the building of three new ships, make improvements to the linkspans in Yarmouth and Lymington and provide a better range of retail facilities.
Two of the three new ships have now been built and the third is on schedule for delivery in spring 2009.

Additional investment plans

In addition to the fleet and terminal investment, Wightlink is spending £4 million on making wide-ranging changes to other elements of its business.

Retail improvements have already been implemented at the Gunwharf and Portsmouth Harbour terminals, while Wightlink’s headquarters have been moved to the Gunwharf Terminal and its call centre to a new facility at the Portsmouth Harbour Terminal.
In response to customer research, the Wightlink website – wightlink.co.uk – is being revamped, to make it easier to navigate and provide a broader range of information. The new site will be launched during late summer 2008.
New systems and technology are being developed to ensure that customers find the booking experience easy and straightforward. Behind the scenes these will also help to streamline the reservations process, as well as improving customer reception and the check-in process at the terminals.
In July Wightlink will move to a new brand identity, developed after a series of research sessions conducted with members of the local community. Intended to create a more modern image for the operator, a new logo has been designed to incorporate ‘Part of Island Life’ – which is the very essence of Wightlink’s existence.