Look out for news in May this year as the Scottish government reveals which company will secure the contract to operate the major ferry routes in the Clyde and to the Hebrides.

Incumbent operator Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac for short), which is state owned, is facing a challenge from English outsourcing conglomerate Serco, which already has transport interests in Scotland. In 2012 Serco took over the ferry routes from the mainland to Orkney and Shetland which had been run by CalMac under the NorthLink brand. Last year, Serco was awarded the contract for the Anglo-Scottish Caledonian Sleeper overnight rail services.