Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Hovercraft route across River Forth unlikely
ANY hope of establishing a hovercraft link between Kirkcaldy and Edinburgh appears dead in the water.
Councillor Neil Crooks, chairman of Fife Council’s Kirkcaldy area committee, said Edinburgh City Council has expressed “no appetite” to establish a cross-Forth link between the communities.
He was speaking about plans to redevelop the wider waterfront area of the Lang Toun, including the demolition of the former Stagecoach bus depot, where it has long been thought any hovercraft terminal would be situated.
However, a decade after a successful trial service operated between Kirkcaldy and Portobello, Mr Crooks said any chance of a permanent service beginning appears to be sunk.
“The old Stagecoach garages have no future and we have been encouraging demolition for some time now,” he said.
“The site is still earmarked for the hovercraft terminal but there appears little chance of that becoming a reality as Edinburgh City Council appears to have no appetite on their side of the Forth.”
During a trial service in 2007, 32,000 passengers used the route.
Lesley MacInnes, Edinburgh’s transport and environment convener, said: “No commercially viable service has been identified but we are happy to engage with any prospective operator.”