Anger at chaos after transport chiefs’ advice
THE first test of Transport Scotland’s Forth ‘contingency plan’ was always going to be a difficult day for commuters.
But the government agency did little to ease the confusion and frustration of motorists.
On Sunday, Transport Minister Derek Mackay revealed a plan that was designed to allow people from across Fife and Edinburgh to get over the River Forth quickly and safely.
This included extra trains and buses and dedicated routes in and out of Fife towns, with a ‘priority lane’ for buses and lorries. Transport Scotland said on Sunday night this would mean closing the vital Kincardine Bridge to all traffic, except locals, buses and lorries.
But the agency, headed by new chief executive Roy Brannen, who earns up to £120,000-a-year, performed a U-turn within hours of the plan being launched. Officials tweeted that the bridge would be open to all traffic.
The first traffic management plan, which sent drivers on the longer route to the Clackmannanshire Bridge, started at 4am.
But just two hours later, with tailbacks of up to five miles long, the agency changed its mind, causing commuters to become confused and frustrated.
Politicians and traffic campaigners criticised the government, saying it was ‘running scared’.
Transport Scotland bizarrely denied that it had told motorists the Kincardine Bridge was for bus and lorries only, despite using Traffic Scotland’s Twitter account to say the bridge was closed to cars.
Angry commuters described the plans as a ‘disaster,’ and said the bridge was still closed to most motorists.
Rebecca Smith, 24, who commutes between Edinburgh and Kirkcaldy, described the road plans as a ‘nightmare’.
The shop assistant said: ‘They specifically said that cars shouldn’t go across the Kincardine Bridge unless they were local. I was checking online all night because I was worried about being late for work.
‘It was just chaos, nobody had any clue where they should be going. Before I left the house at about eight I saw an update saying that cars could use the Kincardine Bridge so I tried to cross it, but they wouldn’t let me over. I had to go over the Clackmannanshire Bridge.’
Another young driver said she was stopped from crossing the Kincardine Bridge at 3pm.
She said: ‘I’m not from the area and had no idea where the detours were taking me. It was really confusing, and no one was helping.’
Scottish Conservative transport spokesman Alex Johnstone said: ‘Transport Scotland blatantly put out advice yesterday saying cars could not use the Kincardine Bridge. Now they are blatantly backtracking.’
Mr Johnstone added that the U-turn showed ‘complete incompetence’ from the SNP, and he demanded answers on when the government first became aware that repairs needed to be carried out, its full contingency plans, and whether the crisis would carry on into the New Year.
A spokesman for the AA said Transport Scotland’s plans had been ‘a bit headless chicken’, adding: ‘It sounds like it was something that was put together at a town hall meeting and not by transport chiefs.
‘Presumably they thought that a bus and HGV lane might ease the traffic, but obviously this would not work and has just caused more problems.’
As well as chaos on the roads, train passengers had to wait in long queues, with many rail services offering standing room only despite 6,500 extra seats being made available by ScotRail.
The first train from Inverkeithing to Edinburgh at 6.15am had no spare seats, and the number of passengers allowed to get on was restricted as ScotRail ‘staggered’ the boardings between stations so people could be picked up at every stop.
Carlos Martin, from Edinburgh, works for Amazon in Dunfermline. He said: ‘This is going to put hours on my working day. They should have prepared better.’
And to add to travellers’ woes, the 17.07 between Glenrothes and Edinburgh was reduced to only two carriages because of an earlier fault.
A Transport Scotland spokesman said: ‘Kincardine Bridge has always been open for cars and this will continue to be the case.’
‘Plans were a bit headless chicken’