The Scottish Government must act fast in order to avoid complete transport chaos following the closure of the Forth Bridge until the New Year, according to Murdo Fraser MSP.
As a matter of priority Murdo is calling for increased capacity on existing Scotrail services as well as the addition of new routes to help travellers in and out of Edinburgh. More linking bus services will be required to help travellers get to West and East Lothian, areas poorly served by existing rail links.
Murdo also believes that increased parking capacity will be needed at Inverkeithing Park and Ride in order to deal with a huge influx of public transport users.
The closure decision was taken late on Thursday after the latest reports indicated the faults were more serious than had earlier been thought.
Early on Friday morning, 11 mile tailbacks have been reported approaching the Kincardine Bridge.
Commenting Murdo Fraser MSP said:
“The Forth Road Bridge has been creaking at the seams for a number of years and I would hope that the Scottish Government have contingency plans in place to deal with this type of situation.
“As a matter of priority the Scottish Government must look to add additional public transport services to help those who regularly use the bridge. Everyone who currently drives over the Forth will now require public transport to do so, this means we need longer and more frequent train services and bus links that can help those looking to access West and East Lothian.
“Park and Ride services at Inverkeithing are already working at near total capacity therefore the Scottish Government must announce what additional parking facilities will be offered to southbound travellers.
“With both the Clackmannanshire and Kincardine Bridges set to take on even more traffic in the coming weeks the authorities must take all precautions to ensure disruption and tailbacks are kept to a minimum.
“Closing the Forth Road Bridge for this length of time is unprecedented and the Scottish Government must be clear and transparent with the public in order to avoid further chaos at what is generally considered one of the busiest travelling periods of the year.”