Forth Road Bridge closed until January

The Forth Road Bridge between Fife and Edinburgh will remain closed until January because of a structural defect in the steelworks.

The bridge has been closed since midnight for initial repairs, but the damage was more severe than anticipated and is expected to take three weeks to fix.

This brief closure has already caused huge problems, including 11-mile queues at the Kincardine Bridge, the alternative crossing, and severely overcrowded trains.

The Scottish Government is preparing a ‘travel plan’, including extra trains and possibly even a ferry, to cope with pre-Christmas traffic. Transport Minister Derek MacKay MSP said:

“We are taking every step we can to lessen the impact of this closure. Action now, will mean that any closure is much shorter than it might be if we waited […] Additional bus and rail services are being provided between Fife and Edinburgh.”

Scotrail are urging passengers to avoid travelling if necessary.

For students heading to Edinburgh Airport, popular airport transport provider Univercity Taxis offers this advice:

“Now that the bridge is closed until new year we are currently getting in touch with all passengers booked to travel to change their collection times. Advice is to leave St Andrews 3-4 hours before check-in time, slightly less for very early morning flights as traffic will (hopefully) not be as busy.  Best advice is to take the train.

Would be interesting to see if taxi companies hike the prices as the journey via Kincardine is longer and takes more time. This could not happen at a worse time of the year, with all the students heading home for Christmas.”

St Andrews Shuttle have altered their service to avoid the heaviest traffic, with shuttles now running between 00:00 and 04:30 only:

“Anyone with flights departing between 05:50 and 10:00 would be advised to book one of the new, early shuttles running between 00:00 and 04:30. Those already booked with St Andrews Shuttle will be contacted and advised to rebook. We will also try to accommodate all new bookings through our website.

Those with flights after 10:00 are advised to take the train. They can also opt to book one of these early shuttles – better early than late!

Our experience so far is that leaving after 04:30 means being caught in heavy traffic delays of approximately two hours.

More information and updates can be found on our website.“

Updates can be found at https://twitter.com/trafficscotland and https://trafficscotland.org/