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No bother for the hover
IT SWEPT on to the beach in Edinburgh just 12 minutes after leaving Kirkcaldy, its dramatic arrival heralding a possible new era of cross-Forth travel.
The first passenger crossing of a trial hovercraft service amazed and delighted its backers yesterday as the state-of-the-art vessel completed the ten-mile crossing in just over half the scheduled 20 minutes.
Paying passengers can experience the novel link for themselves from Monday, but they may not be able to count on such calm conditions as the two-week trial gets under way.
The 130-seat hovercraft, which entered service between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight last month, can operate in 99.4 per cent of weather conditions experienced in the Forth, its captain said yesterday.
However, Capt Barrie Jehan said strong winds could increase crossing times to 30 minutes.
He said the Solent Express was "probably the most advanced hovercraft ever built" and more comfortable than a catamaran.
After inflating its air cushions in seconds and amid a swirl of sand, the 90ft vessel flicked round and eased down the beach without its passengers feeling any movement.
Stagecoach is launching the £300,000 experimental service to Portobello after becoming fed up with the lack of progress with previous plans for a ferry trial between Burntisland and Granton. It will receive £92,000 of public money.
The success of the inaugural crossings yesterday, which carried politicians including Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister, is likely to delight Stagecoach as it seeks to similarly accelerate plans for a permanent cross-Forth link.
The transport giant has teamed up for the project with Lothian Buses, which will provide connecting services to Edinburgh city centre and the Ocean Terminal shopping centre in Leith.
Brian Souter, the Stagecoach chief executive, said that after years of studies by consultants, it had taken two bus companies to make something happen.
He said if the trial was a success, it could lead to a network of routes across the firth to Edinburgh, from as far away as Alloa.
Mr Souter stressed that the hovercraft experiment was intended to demonstrate what was possible and assess likely demand, and the first permanent service could be on a different route, and using a standard ship.
He said: "There is no substitute to trying something out."
The Scotsman revealed yesterday that an ongoing Fife Council-commissioned feasibility study had found the viability of a hovercraft would be "pretty hopeless" and no business case would stack because of its cost.
Consultants are understood to favour a 75-seat fast ferry which could run between Burntisland and Granton in about 20 minutes. However, they will incorporate the results of the hovercraft trial into the £750,000 study, the first stage of which is due out in two months.
The detailed study follows an investigation which established the viability of a maritime link.
The first passenger crossing of a trial hovercraft service amazed and delighted its backers yesterday as the state-of-the-art vessel completed the ten-mile crossing in just over half the scheduled 20 minutes.
Paying passengers can experience the novel link for themselves from Monday, but they may not be able to count on such calm conditions as the two-week trial gets under way.
The 130-seat hovercraft, which entered service between Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight last month, can operate in 99.4 per cent of weather conditions experienced in the Forth, its captain said yesterday.
However, Capt Barrie Jehan said strong winds could increase crossing times to 30 minutes.
He said the Solent Express was "probably the most advanced hovercraft ever built" and more comfortable than a catamaran.
After inflating its air cushions in seconds and amid a swirl of sand, the 90ft vessel flicked round and eased down the beach without its passengers feeling any movement.
Stagecoach is launching the £300,000 experimental service to Portobello after becoming fed up with the lack of progress with previous plans for a ferry trial between Burntisland and Granton. It will receive £92,000 of public money.
The success of the inaugural crossings yesterday, which carried politicians including Stewart Stevenson, the transport minister, is likely to delight Stagecoach as it seeks to similarly accelerate plans for a permanent cross-Forth link.
The transport giant has teamed up for the project with Lothian Buses, which will provide connecting services to Edinburgh city centre and the Ocean Terminal shopping centre in Leith.
Brian Souter, the Stagecoach chief executive, said that after years of studies by consultants, it had taken two bus companies to make something happen.
He said if the trial was a success, it could lead to a network of routes across the firth to Edinburgh, from as far away as Alloa.
Mr Souter stressed that the hovercraft experiment was intended to demonstrate what was possible and assess likely demand, and the first permanent service could be on a different route, and using a standard ship.
He said: "There is no substitute to trying something out."
The Scotsman revealed yesterday that an ongoing Fife Council-commissioned feasibility study had found the viability of a hovercraft would be "pretty hopeless" and no business case would stack because of its cost.
Consultants are understood to favour a 75-seat fast ferry which could run between Burntisland and Granton in about 20 minutes. However, they will incorporate the results of the hovercraft trial into the £750,000 study, the first stage of which is due out in two months.
The detailed study follows an investigation which established the viability of a maritime link.
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