Forth Hovercraft plans - back in motion.

[overthewater]

In todays Courier Newspaper ( which covers Fife and Tayside) its been reported new talks will happen about a new hovercraft service over the forth. A new company with quieter vehicles is also being reported.

Hopeful a internet link will appear later on today.
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http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/lo...th-hovercraft-service-may-hold-water-1.830555

The local authority that sunk plans for a cross-Forth hovercraft three years ago has opened the door to relaunching negotiations.

Edinburgh City Council refused planning permission for a berth on the south side of the Forth despite a highly successful two-week trial involving thousands of passengers in 2007.

As a result, transport giant Stagecoach ditched the scheme.

With the proposal refloated, however, the council confirmed it would be happy to speak to the prospective operators about an alternative suitable spot for a landing terminal in the city.

Last week, Fife Council extended a planning condition requiring the old bus depot on Kirkcaldy Esplanade be demolished in June, giving more time for a new plan to be developed and keeping alive hopes the service will be launched.

Forthfast, which The Courier revealed in December has emerged as a potential operator, said it could have a 17-minute service between Kirkcaldy and Newhaven up-and-running in the next couple of years.

Marine consultant Alistair Macleod, who formed the company with engineer John Lidderdale, said: “Fife Council has always been supportive of the proposal and is as keen to get it running as we are but we have to come to some sort of arrangement with Edinburgh Council.

“We need a site that is capable of accommodating buses to take passengers into the city centre.

“We have asked Edinburgh Council to discuss a site with us but we are still waiting to have dialogue with planners.

“It turned down the previous planning application on the grounds of noise but the new hovercraft we propose to use is 15% quieter.”

An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: “We are aware that a new group has been formed to promote the possibility of a hovercraft service and that they are discussing an existing consent granted by Fife Council.

“No such planning consent exists from City of Edinburgh Council. We’d be happy to discuss the proposals.”

Fife Council transport spokesman Pat Callaghan reiterated its backing for the venture.

He said: “Anything that improves transport routes between us and Edinburgh must be supported.

“We have never altered our position that this is something we would like to see happen.

“I hope the Scottish Government takes the proposal seriously and gives as much support as possible to any franchise that takes it on.”

The proposal for a terminal at Portobello was turned down by Edinburgh councillors despite a recommendation of approval from planners.

When the service was trialled eight years ago some 32,000 passengers travelled across the water between Kirkcaldy and the capital.

 

[theageofthetra]

Out of interest when the trials were last done what time of year was it? Given the sort of wind speeds and waves that can often be generated in the Forth in the winter is this really viable for year round commuter traffic? Summer tourist traffic is a different matter. Didn't the huge Hoverspeed cross channel craft used to regularly get cancelled in high winds?

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Out of interest when the trials were last done what time of year was it? Given the sort of wind speeds and waves that can often be generated in the Forth in the winter is this really viable for year round commuter traffic? Summer tourist traffic is a different matter. Didn't the huge Hoverspeed cross channel craft used to regularly get cancelled in high winds?

Yes I think they did get cancelled, not sure about the Isle of Wight ones, there can't be many hovercraft servives now, I think they did have some in Hong Kong and possibly Vancouver, not sure if they still do now though.

They could certainly be "bouncy", quite fun when trying to have a drink on board which the cabin crew sold . One member of the crew said it was better to sit in the middle or rear rather than at the front.

 

[Busaholic]

Didn't the huge Hoverspeed cross channel craft used to regularly get cancelled in high winds?

Yes, to the extent that on the four separate occasions I booked a daytrip to Boulogne we got there OK and had to return by ferry, some hours late. Although none of these trips were at the height of summer, nor were any in the depths of winter. A swell was enough to see these beasts remain beached, there weren't gale force winds on any of these occasions. Obviously a short river crossing is different, but I'm sure wouldn't be without problems.

 

[Zoidberg]

... Obviously a short river crossing is different, but I'm sure wouldn't be without problems.

Compared to the English Channel, a Kirkcaldy/Edinburgh crossing might be considered short but it'd be of the order of 10 miles over the estuary exposed to the North Sea.

 

[button_boxer]

We need a site that is capable of accommodating buses to take passengers into the city centre.

Or they could complete the tram route as originally planned...

 

[oldman]

The trial took place during the school summer holidays.


If someone wants to do it commercially, good luck to them, but I notice the words of the Fife Council man - “I hope the Scottish Government takes the proposal seriously and gives as much support as possible to any franchise that takes it on.”

I smell subsidy.

 

[Busaholic]

Compared to the English Channel, a Kirkcaldy/Edinburgh crossing might be considered short but it'd be of the order of 10 miles over the estuary exposed to the North Sea.

I hadn't appreciated it was that length. In that case, unless the technology available to hovercraft has improved apace, which is somewhat doubtful, they may well hit problems. I hope not, as hovercraft and their near cousins were super inventions and deserve to be used more than in just a military context.

 

[PaulLothian]

The only time we used the cross-channel service, the return trip was cancelled, despite a flat calm, because of a bank of fog mid-channel! The Forth is well-known for the haar that often makes Edinburgh cold and dank even on summer days.

 

[overthewater]

The first day of operations, was awful weather wise, with very choppy waves etc. That same day the Burntisland Highland games was cancelled, first time in a very long time, hint....

Also by Wednesday the first jounrey to Edinburgh and the last Jounrey to fife were all revised for communters.

 

[GrimsbyPacer]

I hope the Fourth isn't muddy.
Before the Humber Bridge was built a hovercraft ran from Grimsby to Hull. Very popular I'm told. But it was cancelled after just 1 year because of technical issues with the river being muddy and shallow.
Also the Blackpool to Southport one isn't around anymore.
They seam to be unreliable and rather shortlived.

 

[Murph]

I hope the Fourth isn't muddy.
Before the Humber Bridge was built a hovercraft ran from Grimsby to Hull. Very popular I'm told. But it was cancelled after just 1 year because of technical issues with the river being muddy and shallow.
Also the Blackpool to Southport one isn't around anymore.
They seam to be unreliable and rather shortlived.

The Forth is very muddy west of Inchkeith, but cleaner to the east of it, as you're basically into a large North Sea bay at that point (more or less). The Kirkcaldy to Portobello route would be to the east, but that means that it's got North Sea conditions to deal with if there's an easterly or north-easterly wind of any real strength. I think it would need to be a pretty large hovercraft to have good availability on that route.

Burntisland to Granton would be much more sheltered from the weather (but can still see some fairly big seas when the wind gets up). The advantage of that route would be the possibility of using the existing docks for a more sheltered landing.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

Didn't the huge Hoverspeed cross channel craft used to regularly get cancelled in high winds?

The SRN4 craft were capable of operation in up to force 8 gales. It was indeed the winds exceeding that which caused cancellation; they could have coped with a greater sea state but winds above force 8 would have made it impossible to make headway.

When near the limit they would often take interesting routes - one crossing I was on in a strong westerly sticks in my mind - we hugged the French coast as far as Cap Gris Nez and then turned towards Dover with the wind and seas right behind us.

From Calais to Gris Nez it took about 40 minutes; we then raced over to Dover in literally just 15 minutes!

 

[pompeyfan]

People seem to forget that the solent is hardly a mill pond, although sheltered by the Isle of Wight it still gets storms off the Atlantic via the English channel. They still seem to operate in all but the severest swells. I'd be interested to know why mud prevents a hovercraft from running reliably, as wet mud has a similar surface to wet sand?

 

[Clip]

People seem to forget that the solent is hardly a mill pond, although sheltered by the Isle of Wight it still gets storms off the Atlantic via the English channel. They still seem to operate in all but the severest swells. I'd be interested to know why mud prevents a hovercraft from running reliably, as wet mud has a similar surface to wet sand?

Indeed and whilst recreational ones are smaller they do race them over land and water which includes muddy approaches to the water so they must surely face the same issues.

In fact I quite fancy doing the one over the Solent very soon now that I am thinking about it

 

[pompeyfan]

In that case be quick as the 2 current ap88 craft have replacements already under construction.... The larger Solent express craft (which did the original trial run) is in warm storage as it was running well below capacity and so was inefficient on fuel.

 

[theageofthetra]

Do you have any details on the new craft?

 

[pompeyfan]

A quick google for 'new hovertravel craft' provided me with this link

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-30209360

They're being built by griffon hoverwork at a factory next to the itchen bridge in southampton.

 

[theageofthetra]

Good to hear they are being built locally.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Good to hear they are being built locally.

Yes indeed.