 No trains will cross the Forth Rail Bridge until Sunday, 29 July |
Commuters are being warned to expect a week of disruption as the Forth Rail Bridge has closed to all services. The 117-year-old bridge has shut for seven days meaning rail passengers will have to drive, use replacement bus services or board a hovercraft.
Although no work is being carried out on the bridge itself, Network Rail has suspended rail services so it can renew a major set of points at Inverkeithing.
It also plans to improve drainage in the North Queensferry tunnel.
Trains from Edinburgh to Dundee or Aberdeen are being diverted through Stirling and Perth, while services to Fife have been replaced by buses.
The work has been timed to coincide with the Fife trade holiday, a two week summer shutdown of Longannet Power Station and the suspension of roadworks on the road bridge.
The buses will run until Sunday, 29 July, when the work is due to end.
A spokesman for Stagecoach said that current trials of their Forthfast hovercraft service had also been timed to coincide with the closure of the rail bridge, accommodating commuters wishing to avoid congestion on the Forth Road Bridge.
The hovercraft will cross the Forth a total of 22 times a day - 11 in each direction - between Kirkcaldy and Portobello.
Network Rail said it chose the holiday period to minimise disruption.
The work at Inverkeithing junction is part of a �4m investment in Fife's rail infrastructure, which will include a complete renewal of a major set of points, aimed at improving reliability.
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