Sunset over Ailsa Craig (Alister Firth) The magnificent Galloway Hills   The Barrhill Community Rail Bus has been funded with contributions from the Ayrshire LEADER programme, Barrhill Community Interest Company, Carrick Futures, South Ayrshire Council and SAYLSA.  If you would like to support the work of SAYLSA by becoming a member, you can do so online. Click this link for details.

Welcome to the official website of the Stranraer to Ayr Line Support Association (SAYLSA) which was set up in 2007 to promote the rail link to and from the towns of Maybole, Girvan and Stranraer and the surrounding districts of Carrick and Wigtownshire in south west Scotland. The railway runs through some of the most attractive scenery in Scotland and was built precisely because of the emergence of ferry services at the shortest crossing point between the British mainland and Ireland. The route was opened in October 1877, providing a new link between Glasgow and Belfast. Click this link for a history of the line. SAYLSA acts as a community rail partnership, having been formed by people from the local community keen to play a part in promoting the line, its facilities and its train services to ensure its future when Stena relocate their ferry services to Loch Ryan Port on Monday November 21 2011, by-passing Stranraer and the rail terminus there altogether. SAYLSA believes there are freight and other opportunities beyond simply serving existing ferry passengers, especially tourism. Like the famous Settle to Carlisle Railway in northern England, the Stranraer to Ayr line runs through equally spectacular scenery, some of the most beautiful, yet relatively undiscovered, in Scotland. The line retains its semaphore signalling and is one of the last in the UK to continue to operate token block working. We would encourage you to travel this amazing railway and enjoy the many local places of interest here.

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